Braves want to have storied season

The H.L. Bourgeois boys’ basketball team is always loaded.

That’s not anything new – an annual tradition for the team under coach Andrew Caillouet.

But this year, the Braves think they’re even better than normal.

That has some around the community thinking that a championship season may just be revving up for the boys in Gray.

The Braves have talent oozing out of their locker room – a returning class that’s deeper and more talented than just about everyone in the Houma-Thibodaux area and also even into the New Orleans metro area.

On opening night, H.L. Bourgeois crushed Chalmette 84-38 in their gym – a great start to a year filled with lofty expectations.

“For our guys, our goals are the same every year,” Caillouet said at TGMC Media Day a few weeks ago. “Our guys will tell you loud and clear that they’re trying to win the State Championship. We like our team. We like the chemistry they have and let me tell you – these guys work hard. They leave everything they have on the floor in games and especially in practice. That makes it easy for me. That makes it awfully fun to coach.”

The Braves have a depth of high-end talent on their roster.

Dominant guard A.J. Rainey is the leader of the group – a multi-year starter who is now in his senior season with the team.

Rainey is dynamic and flashy, but is also a sound fundamental player.

He is one of the best long-distance shooters in the Houma-Thibodaux area – owning the ability to shoot 3-pointers several feet behind the line to extend the defense.

In the opener, Rainey had just 11 points. But he had several assists and steals, which Caillouet said shows a sign of maturity in his senior guard.

“He does everything to help us, and he’s really a player willing to do a lot of those little things throughout the game,” Caillouet said. “Everyone knows about his scoring ability and all of those things, but he’s really a solid defensive player as well. And he likes to get his teammates involved. We know that we’re at our best when we aren’t just watching A.J. play. We know we’re at our best when we have a lot of guys rolling.”

There are a ton of other weapons in the arsenal.

The Braves have several talented scorers on their roster this season, including Deondre Buggage, Anthony Ruffin, Terrell Barrow, Divine Martin, Kenneth Nisby and Ben Caillouet, among others.

Against Chalmette, Buggage set the pace with 27 points, while Barrow pitched in 12.

Caillouet said in other games, the scoring order will be reversed and other players will lead the team to victory.

“We have a lot of depth,” Caillouet said. “We know that some nights, we may have a we kids who aren’t making shots or who are having an off night. But when you have that kind of depth, we also know that it’s unlikely that we’ll all be having a tough night. Someone is going to be rolling and we will try and take advantage of it.”

If there is one thing the Braves don’t have, it’s height.

H.L. Bourgeois lacks a post presence, which means that they have to play doubly hard defensively to secure rebounds against larger, more physical teams.

Caillouet said the Braves like to pressure the basketball and press at times, which others, they play back and challenge shooters.

No matter the strategy, he said he wants his team to play fast and aggressive, challenging opponents to beat them while playing at their pace and tempo.

“If we had size, we’d feel really good about our ability to wear a ring this year,” Caillouet said with a laugh. “But we don’t have it, so we have to try and fight against it in other ways. We like to push the ball and play fast. We rebound as a team. For us, it’s really not anything new. We haven’t had a big-time post presence for several seasons, so it’s more of a continuation of the norm for our guys.”

Now, the challenge is to peak at the right time of the year.

The Braves were one of the highest seeded teams in Class 5A last season, but their playoff experience was a little bit weird.

They opened up at home against East St. John which would normally be a tough draw, but wasn’t because the Wildcats’ entire varsity team was suspended for the game because of a fight in the final regular season game against Central Lafourche.

In the second round, the Braves traveled to take on Helen Cox, who was likely under-seeded. H.L. Bourgeois never found a rhythm in that game and lost.

Caillouet said that early-playoff defeat weighed heavily on his team throughout the offseason, and the players now aim to make sure they reach their goal this season – first to make it to the Top 28 and then to push into the last game of the season.

“It will take a lot of work,” Caillouet said. “But we think we can get it done.”

A.J. Rainey

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