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Winning on the court and winning in the classroom aren’t always synonymous in AAU basketball.
But for the Louisiana Lightning based out of Houma, they’re one in the same.
Featuring players from Houma, Raceland and Thibodaux, the Lightning have struck on both fronts.
After a rough start to the year on the court versus much stronger competition at February’s John Lucas Tournament in New Orleans, the eighth grade group coached by Damond Bateast rebounded and culminated the campaign with a third place finish in the classic bracket of Orlando’s AAU Division 2 Nationals in July.
“We started working together a lot, and by the time we got to nationals it was a whole different team. We became a family,” said guard/forward David Robinson.
The squad also picked up a pair of players – Anthony Rainey Jr. and Devante Johnson – before heading to Orlando for nationals and featured one of the more formidable backcourts in the tournament, according to Bateast.
“They were two good players who fit in well with what we were trying to do and then a lot of our players had gotten a substantial amount of rest so we were pretty fresh going into nationals as well,” said the coach. “Going into the tournament I knew we would do well because we have very good guard play.”
Bateast said the Lighting came back from behind to win two games in Orlando where they were down double digits.
“Once halftime came and we were able to make adjustments I knew that we’d be able to come back in both of those games. The kids were confident. They never were down on themselves during the course of those games. They just pretty much turned it up and we just fought back where we took control of the game and we didn’t let go. Once we took control of the game the kids were able to get a nice lead and by the end of the game you knew we were the better team.”
The squad lost one game in pool play and was dropped down to the classic bracket after pool play – a disappointing result, but the team made the most of it by winning four games before losing an early-morning matchup in the classic bracket semifinals.
“After we played those first two games I don’t think any of the kids thought they would lose again in that tournament so they were real upset. In the classic bracket, the guard play once again was so dominant that a lot of teams weren’t able to hang with us,” Bateast said.
Now the team looks to move up to Division I AAU hoops next year while keeping players on track to attend college. There will be a minimum GPA and ACT score for the team as well as guidelines for which courses they should take.
“They do well in the classroom, they’re good character kids, I kinda emphasized on that from the beginning of the year – education and having good character,” Bateast said.
Four of the five members of Louisiana Lightning teams who achieved a 3.0 attended a pizza party at Harley Davidson in Houma last week.
“It feels great to get a 3.0 and know I can do well in school. It’s important because you need academics to be able to succeed in high school and go to college,” said small forward Kevin Mott of the eighth grade team.
Eight grade team members Robinson and Kenneth Poindexter as well as sixth grade team member Omari Dillard-Johnson were also honored and made honorary Iron Elite members. Bateast said the majority of the players have a GPA of 2.5 or better.
The Louisiana Lightning feature a blend of players from the Houma-Thibodaux area, including several players from Raceland as well. The local AAU organization has had a nice summer, taking home third in the AAU Division 2 Nationals bracket at a tournament held in Orlando.
