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The H.L. Bourgeois boys’ basketball team was solid in 2016-17 – one of the top teams in the state in Class 5A throughout the regular season.
But they peaked too early.
The Braves earned the No. 5 seed in the playoffs, but got beat in the round of 16 against No. 21 Helen Cox – a team that was likely much better than their seed.
This year, the Braves want to right the wrongs of last season.
This year, they want to try and win it all.
As always, expectations are high in the H.L. Bourgeois locker room as the team returns several key players off a group which won more than 20 games last season
The Braves have been busy throughout the summer playing summer leagues and team camps around Louisiana.
Coach Andrew Caillouet said he’s seen exactly what he’s wanted out of his team in the offseason: improvement, energy, hunger and a desire to continuously get better.
“We’ve played well for most of the summer,” Caillouet said. “I’ve liked our energy and our effort and I really think the kids have dedicated themselves to what we’re doing. We play so hard. … You know, in our program, we have a high standard and we set high expectations. I think right now, the goal our kids are chasing is they want to go win the state championship. We don’t say that to be cocky. We know it will be a lot of work and no one is going to give us anything we don’t earn. But our kids believe in themselves and think they can play with anybody.”
Caillouet said that mindset starts from the first day of the season.
Yes, H.L. Bourgeois is in District 7-5A, which is one of the toughest districts in the state of Louisiana.
But the Braves don’t exactly go light on themselves in non-district play, either.
Caillouet said he and his coaching staff intentionally pit the Braves against some of the best programs in Louisiana throughout the season in an effort to get his team battle-tested.
In addition to the experience, the games also boost the Braves power points – the law which rules the playoff landscape in Louisiana high school basketball.
“With the way the points system works now, there’s so many benefits to making that challenging schedule,” Caillouet said. “But for us, I think that’s just what suits our style. We feed on energy and as a coach, I know those types of games get me going, but they get the kids going, as well. I think sometimes when you face a lesser team that you’re much better than, it can sometimes hurt your flow and affect the effort of the kids. But we challenge ourselves. We don’t want any nights off.”
Perhaps the reason the Braves can create such an ambitious schedule is a because of a talented roster which features some of the top players in the area.
The Braves return a lot of familiar faces in 2017-18, including standout guard A.J. Rainey – one of the most explosive players in the area.
Caillouet said Rainey proved to the basketball community that he could score freely last season, posting several games with double-digit points – including some with 20 points or more.
But this season, Caillouet said he’s challenged his point guard to focus on excelling somewhere else.
“He gets a lot of credit for his offense, but I don’t think people realize that he’s one of our best defenders, too,” Caillouet said. “We talked about it. I know he has goals to be First-Team All-District or the Most Outstanding Player in the district. I challenged him. I told him, ‘A.J., focus your energy and your effort on being the best defensive player in this district.’ If he can do that, I think he’s going to be a force and more importantly for our team, our guys feed off of that.”
In addition to Rainey, the Braves also return Terrell Barrow and Divine Martin. In summer league action, junior guard Ben Caillouet has also made strides.
Add it all together with the emergence of a few transfer players who are also expected to see prominent minutes and the Braves think they have a winning recipe.
Throughout the summer, Caillouet said his team has gelled, overcoming some in-game adversity to accumulate some wins.
The coach said the Braves usually strive to be “about .500” over the summer, but after the two-day, six-game E.D. White summer camp over the weekend, the team had far exceeded those expectations.
“I think we’re something like 15-2 or something like that, so we’ve had a lot of success,” Caillouet said. “But I think what’s more important than that is the kids, for the most part, have really done it by playing good basketball. Over the summer, it’s good to face a little adversity because it builds toughness and I think we’ve had some of that and it’s been good for us. … We’re excited. We think this is a good group and they have a chance to compete with anyone.” •
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