Suspect led officers on high-speed chase in stolen car … while drunk
January 2, 2018
Colonels can score, now they want to defend, too
January 3, 2018
H.L. Bourgeois boys’ basketball coach Andrew Caillouet likes his team – a lot.
“We think we can make a run,” Caillouet said.
Central Lafourche coach Mark Sanders is hopeful, too, as is Thibodaux coach Tony Clark and others around the league.
But that’s the problem – literally everyone in District 7-5A is good, which means that on every Tuesday and Friday night, some quality teams will win, but others will lose as the tale of the season unfolds.
Coaches around the area stress that the local Class 5A district is brutal with literally every, single team still in playoff contention at press-time on the boys’ side.
Coaches said they like their teams, but know that 2018 will bring tough games – lots and lots of tough games.
“Where do you go for a win?” Caillouet asked himself. “Terrebonne won 20 games last year. Mark (Sanders) has a really good team at Central. Tony (Clark) has a really good team at Thibodaux. The River is always solid – athletes everywhere. They all play well on their home courts. There is no easy game. There’s no place to rest. You have to play every game or you’ll lose – it’s really as simple as that.”
“It’s a challenge – there’s no question,” Sanders added. “The records get misleading sometimes because we beat up on each other, but all of these teams are well-coached and are very solid.”
The numbers don’t lie.
On paper, H.L. Bourgeois is the lead dog, ranking in the Top 10 in power rankings throughout the season. But if the playoffs started today, Thibodaux, East St. John, Hahnville and Destrehan would all be in the field, as well.
Central Lafourche and Terrebonne were just on the outside of the Top 32 at press-time, but not by much.
“It’s a grind,” Clark said. “For us, we love the competition. The kids like to play against good opponents. The fans like it, as well. For us, as coaches, it’s stressful at times, but it keeps everyone’s attention because we all know that we can’t afford to take anything for granted.”
On the girls’ side, the league is less top-heavy with East St. John (No. 21) and Thibodaux (No. 23) currently in the playoffs if the season ended today.
Others are close to contention, but haven’t quite broken through, including Destrehan, which won the Class 5A State Championship last year, but sits near the bottom of the rankings in Class 5A.
In District 7-4A, don’t blink or you’ll miss all of the action, as coaches voted in the offseason to shift from the home-and-home round-robin model to just one round of district play.
That means that district play will not begin for several more weeks, as teams will face one another just once, before crowning a champion.
The decision has been heavily debated among coaches since the vote and opinions have been voiced on both sides of the argument.
Assumption coach Derek Szush said he doesn’t like one round of district play, adding that he thinks the district should either go back to two rounds or add an end-of-season district tournament to decide its automatic postseason bid.
“Other districts do it,” Szush said. “I think we should look into it, too. I think the players would enjoy it, and I think it would be terrific for the fans in the area. I really think we should look into making that happen – sooner, rather than later.”
South Lafourche boys’ basketball coach Brian Callais started on one side of the line, but has since ended up on the other.
Callais said he voted against the one-round alignment, but now thinks it’s a good thing because it allows district teams to expand their non-district schedules, which allows for a more diverse schedule.
“That helps when you with the power rankings,” Callais said. “You face more teams, so you have more opportunities to get points at the end of the year with your schedule.”
But Callais agreed with Szush and said he thinks a year-end tournament would be a welcome addition to the end of the season.
On the court in District 7-4A, the competition will be fierce – just like in Class 5A.
On the boys’ side, Morgan City and South Lafourche have soared to winning records in non-district play, but Ellender and Assumption are lurking. The Patriots have struggled mightily in non-district play, but they’ve faced arguably the most difficult schedule in Louisiana. The Mustangs have talent, but have also taken a few licks against an elite schedule under Szush.
E.D. White, Vandebilt and South Terrebonne are also in the mix – each chasing postseason contention.
On the girls’ side, it’s a three-horse race with Ellender, South Lafouche and South Terrebonne appearing to be the front-runners.
The Lady Patriots are the defending Class 4A State Champions and they’re as loaded as ever. The Lady Tarpons are also solid, returning UNO signee Traya Bruce and future college signee Victorianna Nelson from a team which made the Quarterfinals last year. The Lady Gators also return most of their roster off a 20-plus-win team last season, which made the second-round of the playoffs.
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