Local basketball coaches ready for the season

Nicholls wins on Hail Mary
November 8, 2017
Locals punch tickets to Pontchartrain Center
November 8, 2017
Nicholls wins on Hail Mary
November 8, 2017
Locals punch tickets to Pontchartrain Center
November 8, 2017

Football playoffs begin Friday night and the volleyball playoffs wrap up this weekend in Kenner.

That means that the winter sports season is about to begin – great news for basketball fans.

Terrebonne General Medical Center hosted its Tri-Parish Media Day for basketball last week – an opportunity for local media members to meet and greet with basketball coaches before the start of the new season.


Coaches in attendance offered optimism for what’s ahead and on paper, the 2017-18 basketball season should be loaded for teams in the Houma-Thibodaux area.

“The area is loaded,” H.L. Bourgeois boys’ basketball coach Andrew Caillouet said. “We think we have a solid team. But around the area, where do you start? There’s Ellender, who is loaded. We think (Central Lafourche coach Mark Sanders) has a great team. Thibodaux is loaded. Terrebonne has a new coach and has confidence. South Lafourche is excited about their team. There are no easy games. Every night is a challenge.”

That’s not just coach-speak.


Local basketball should be loaded – especially after a dominant season last winter/spring where several teams pushed deep into the state playoffs.

On the boys’ side, Ellender is, as always, one of the teams to beat.

The Patriots made it to the Class 4A State Finals last year and lost a thrilling game to Washington Marion – one of the best games in the history of the Top 28 Tournament.


This year, the Patriots figure to be strong again with guys like Marquie Mosely, Askyre Anderson and Kobe Hartman leading the team forward.

Ellender did lose a great one in DaVontavean Martin, but coach Cornell Scott said he challenged his team to keep working – even with their best player from last season gone.

“No one can replace him,” Scott said. “We know that. But we have to know that we have a lot of talented players in our locker room. I think we’re focused. I think we’re ready to get back out there and show what we can do.”


The Patriots are in Class 4A – in a loaded district which features teams like Assumption, South Lafourche and now E.D. White.

Coaches of all three of those teams said they’re excited about the year and the chance to try and compete for a postseason bid.

“Our kids are working hard,” South Lafourche boys’ basketball coach Brian Callais said. “I think we’ve had a good start. Our practices have been good and the kids want it.”


“We’ve had a great summer,” said Assumption coach Derek Szush, who spent several seasons at Terrebonne before taking the job with the Mustangs over the summer. “Our team looks different now than it did during the summer, but the kids are confident and I think they’re getting used to what’s expected of them.”

But Class 4A isn’t the only place for talent.

Our area’s 5A district is beastly with H.L. Bourgeois, Thibodaux, Central Lafourche and Terrebonne joining the River Parish teams for a mix that will be brutally tough every Tuesday and Friday night.


Thibodaux coach Tony Clark said he hopes for more from his team after what he called a “disappointing” year last year.

“I expected more,” Clark said.

Trojans coach Mark Sanders said his team has endured some injuries, but has been feisty in practice. Caillouet said he, too, is amped up for the season.


On the girls’ side, everyone is chasing Ellender – the defending Class 4A State Champions.

But coach Kenneth Dixon said even with several returnees, the Lady Patriots are not where they need to be just yet.

That could mean opportunities are present for South Lafourche and South Terrebonne – two other 20-plus-win teams in District 7-4A.


“Our kids are humble. They’re working hard,” Dixon said. “But it’s hard to get them to pay attention to detail right now. Maybe when we start to play and they get pushed around a little bit, it will come. I think it’s hard to focus when you’re seeing the same people on the court every day.”

In Class 1A, the big news of the offseason came from Houma Christian. Just weeks after making it to the state championship game, the Christian Warriors hired longtime coach Kathy Luke to lead the program into the future.

Luke, a long-time coach at Vandebilt, spent time with St. Charles Catholic and Riverside Academy in the past few years.


Now back in Houma, she said she’s eager to lead a new team into the future.

“The welcoming and reception I’ve gotten have been tremendous,” Luke said. “We have good kids. I think right now, we’re working hardest on our fundamentals and trying to teach our kids the right way to play. They’re capable of doing it. We like the talent in this group.”

For most, the season is still many weeks away from beginning, but there are plenty preseason opportunities available before the year begins.


This weekend will mark both the Lafourche Parish and Terrebonne Parish jamborees – an opportunity for local teams to get work against one another.

After that, there are tournaments and games in mid-to-late November to kick off the regular season.

Davontavean MartinCASEY GISCLAIR | THE TIMES


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