Cream rising to the top slowly in prep basketball season

The local prep basketball season is almost a month old.

And the contenders are beginning to rise to the surface in both the boys’ and girls’ basketball standings.

There is a lot of youth in the area in the 2018-19 basketball season as several teams are coping with replacing the large, dominant senior classes we saw in the area last spring.

But through a month of action, it’s apparent that there are still teams capable of making deep playoff pushes — even despite the youth.

BOYS BASKETBALL — FILLED WITH CONTENDERS

On the local boys’ basketball scene, some of the regular contenders are still powerful.

In Class 5A, it’s a bit of a guessing game as to who the top contenders are — a youthful bunch of teams that are going to get better as the year goes on.

There are no questions about Thibodaux.

The Tigers have experience, talent and elite athleticism — a group led by Kyren Lacy, Kobi Johnson and Marvin Robertson, among others.

The Tigers have roared to a 7-0 record at press-time and they haven’t often been challenged. Just one of their games have been decided by single digits and even that game wasn’t exactly “close” — a 9-point win against Patterson.

It appears that the Tigers are the kings of the local Class 5A jungle, but other locals are trailing behind trying to pick up the slack.

H.L. Bourgeois is 5-4, but has struggled at times with youth and inexperience.

“This is as young a team as we’ve had in a long time,” coach Andrew Caillouet said. “They’re good kids — great kids. But

The Braves have junior Deondre Buggage — arguably the top scorer in the area. But the team around Buggage is mostly without experience — albeit very talented.

H.L. Bourgeois hosted its home tournament this weekend and took some lumps, falling to Westgate and Central Lafourche. They rebounded by beating Terrebonne in the finale.

The Tigers and Trojans are both on the “contender” list locally.

Terrebonne started hot for first-year coach Richard Jones, winning five of their first six games.

But since then, they’ve lost five of six, including three-straight close losses at the H.L. Bourgeois Tournament.

The Trojans are also youthful under coach Mark Sanders. They’re 2-4, but have beaten the Braves — a quality win.

In Class 4A, Assumption looks like the top dogs, but Ellender is young and getting better. The Patriots play several underclassmen — even some freshmen. They’re 7-3 at press-time and are getting better as the season goes on.

Also in the Class 4A district, E.D. White has a lot of returnees and is looking sharp early in the season. They join a pool of teams, including South Terrebonne, Vandebilt, Morgan City and South Lafourche who are trying to overcome youth and get some wins.

PARITY RULES LOCAL GIRLS’ SCENE

On the girls’ side, there are a slew of quality local contenders.

In Class 5A, Thibodaux is 5-4 and looks like a team that will threaten the playoffs.

The Lady Tigers have post player Bren’naisa Adams and a slew of talented guards. They’re a matchup problem for most of the teams on their schedule.

A surprise story in Class 5A is H.L. Bourgeois. The Lady Braves are 10-1 — their only loss to South Lafourche. The Lady Braves have talented guards, quality bigs and elite athleticism.

Senior Nashalie Dominguez is one of the top slashing threats in the area for the Lady Braves.

“Our kids are hungry,” coach Michael Melancon said. “They have kept a positive mindset and want to prove that they can play this game as a high level.”

Terrebonne and Central Lafourche also will try and generate steam in the Class 5A district, though both have had struggles against top competition early in the season.

In Class 4A, it ’s a broken record — South Lafourche, South Terrebonne and Ellender are the top teams — at least on paper.

The Lady Tarpons lost 3 players to the college ranks last offseason, but it hasn’t mattered. They’ve started the season 7-2 with wins over Thibodaux, H.L. Bourgeois and Hahnville (twice).

South Terrebonne started the season with a loss against H.L. Bourgeois, then got hot and have won 8-straight games. The Lady Gators employ senior Chloe Fleming — arguably the top guard in the area. She’s a threat to score 20+ points in every, single game she plays.

For Ellender, the numbers are a bit misleading. The Lady Patriots 5-3, which would indicate possible early-season struggles. But the Lady Patriots have played an insanely difficult schedule, so it’s too early to tell how the team might fare.

In Class 1A, Houma Christian is one of the best teams in the state of Louisiana, owning a 9-1 record under second-year coach Kathy Luke.

The Christian Warriors are dominant defensively and are getting better offensively — a favorite to make the Top 28 at the end of the season .

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