Post St. Patty’s Day Sports Q&A
March 19, 2017
Judge trial to resume later in March
March 21, 2017
The Biddy U8 World Tournament ended on Tuesday night, which means that we printed this edition of our paper before knowing who won the prestigious event.
But one thing is for certain: local teams fared well and showed they can play hoops with the best of them.
Several local teams competed deep into the four-day event, with a couple among the short list of favorites to win it all.
At press-time on Monday night, Terrebonne Parish Recreation was in the driver’s seat to win the title for their second-straight year after beating West St. John and Thibodaux on Sunday night.
Thibodaux also was still in play, and had to win a couple games on Monday to attempt a rematch with TPR.
Also still in the competition past the first weekend were Raceland and South Lafourche – both of whom won multiple games at the prestigious event, which features 16 of the best U8 teams from around the Southeast.
The event is played annually in Thibodaux at the Harang Auditorium.
“It’s amazing to see the talent and the look on the kids as they’re competing,” Biddy National Director Firmin Simms said on Friday afternoon during credentialing. “You have kids at this age group that are just growing to love the game of basketball, and it’s just a really good thing to see.”
A lot of that talent is locally grown, as well.
Fresh off a varsity basketball season which saw four prep teams from the Houma-Thibodaux area make the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Top 28, the area also did itself proud at this event.
For TPR, the success is status quo – another dominant team for the storied local youth program.
The Tigers won the championship last season under coach and local businessman Brandon Castle.
Castle, who owns B&B Wings in Houma, said he loves working with local talent, and said it’s one of the most fulfilling things in the world to develop players at a young age.
The Tigers are fierce. They have a roster that’s deep, and they attack opponents with a pressure defensive scheme that is designed to create offensive opportunities in transition.
“It’s just a great thing,” Castle said. “The kids are great, man. They put in the work and you can see all of their confidence growing as they get more and more experience on the court.”
TPR was scheduled to play New Orleans in the Finals of the Winner’s Bracket on Monday night.
With that position, the Tigers are guaranteed to finish at least fourth place in the event.
But Thibodaux has a good shot, too.
Thibodaux challenged Terrebonne on Sunday, holding a lead at the end of the first quarter and also into halftime.
But TPR pulled away late, pushing the host team into the loser’s bracket, needing several wins to get back into the championship picture.
“Our kids battle,” Castle said. “We play good competition, and we’ve been behind in some games, but we battle. We always compete.”
In the consolation bracket, South Lafourche and Raceland are still in play, as well. The Tarpons opened with a victory over Port Barre on Saturday, then fell to New Orleans and Madisonville on Sunday to get into the consolation bracket. They then trumped Opelousas while there to stay alive.
For Raceland, the path has been dramatic, as well.
The Jaguars lost their opening game to New Orleans, but then won three-straight games at press-time to keep pushing forward.
Against Central of Baton Rouge, the Jaguars overcame an early deficit and won late in the contest.
But regardless of the winners, runners-up and everyone in between, those involved tout that the 2017 Tournament was one of the best ones yet in Thibodaux.
Officials applauded the city throughout the week for its hospitality and ability to host such a quality event.
Tournament director Dr. Mickey Jennings said he takes pride in putting on a quality event, because he wants to create an experience the kids will remember for the rest of their lives.
Jennings also said the event shows the great volunteerism of the people of the Bayou Region, because annually, the event is well-attended and also well-supported with volunteers from around the area.
“We run a good tournament,” Jennings said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it all, and it takes a great effort. But we do run a good tournament, and we are very proud to say that.” ∙
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