New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans)
March 16, 2010Frederic Adams
March 18, 2010
The basket wasn’t at its customary 10-foot height.
There were no slam-dunks and no players above 6-feet tall – or even 5-feet tall for that matter.
But despite the lack of these usual basketball customs, the competition was high and the stakes even higher last week at the 8-year-old World Biddy Tournament in the Warren G. Harang Auditorium.
“The quality of play from these boys amazes me each year,” said Firmin Simms, the national director for Biddy Basketball. “That’s what keeps us coming back.”
In all, 16 teams made it to the tournament, including Terrebonne, South Lafourche and Larose Biddy organizations.
But in the end, it was the Thibodaux All-Stars who were the Tri-parish area’s most successful team, advancing all the way to the semifinals.
That finish was the farthest the Thibodaux team had ever gone in the World Biddy Tournament.
However, the Wichita East All-Stars eventually beat Thibodaux, 32-27, but not before the team rattled off four-straight wins to secure a third place finish for the tournament.
Thibodaux All-Stars coach Quinn Strander said taking the team deep into the tournament is a thrill neither he nor his players will ever forget.
“I have experience coaching kids on the college level and even going to the NCAA Tournament and all of that stuff,” he said. “I always said nothing could top that, but this experience might have done it. To see the looks on those kids’ faces as we were winning those games, man, that’s something I’ll never forget.”
Strander’s son, Quinn, was one of two Biddy All-American selections for Thibodaux. Peyton Amedee also was named to the team.
“I’m so proud of all of our kids,” Strander said. “They did their best all week and did everything they could. Wichita has so many more kids to draw from than we do, so we did what we could with the hand we were dealt, and I’m proud.”
Thibodaux hosted the event for the 14th-straight year.
Wichita coach Johnny Murdock said despite making a more than 800-mile trip with a team full of 7- and 8-year olds, the hospitality of the city keeps them coming back each year.
“It’s funny, because I was just telling one of my parents, ‘You know, I kind of like it here, and I could maybe live here,'” he said. “The people are awesome to us and it’s really been a great week.”
Mandeville coach Bob Whelan agreed with Murdock and said the city welcomed them with open arms.
“It’s been so much fun for our kids and everyone has been great to us,” he said. “This is an experience that will stick with our kids forever.”
Fundamentals and sportsmanship are the basic principles of Biddy Basketball.
And while those things were on display throughout the entire week of the World Tournament, competitive edge also took center stage.
Murdock was issued a technical foul during his team’s game with Thibodaux for arguing with the officials.
The coach and two of his assistants were later ejected from the team’s championship game loss to Mandeville, causing he and an official to get into a shouting match on the sidelines after the game.
But dealing with adversity is just part of the growing process, according to Murdock.
“It teaches them toughness and character,” he said. “Dealing with the officials, playing through tough circumstances, while being a long way from home, those things instill mental toughness in these kids that they will take with them to other ventures in their lives.”
Simms agreed and said the league would not be as successful if competition was not placed in high regard.
“We sell Biddy Basketball as a brand that is highly competitive,” Simms said. “Teaching the kids the right way to play the game and sportsmanship are great, but we want these kids to have a desire to win, too. And this week, we’ve balanced that well.”
Whether the children at this year’s World Tournament will move on and become legends like former Biddy players Larry Bird and Julius Erving is unknown, but there was certainly plenty of potential on the floor throughout the entire week in Thibodaux.
“The kids learn so much from what they see on TV,” Simms said. “The 8’s [8-year olds] play like the 10’s used to play. The 10’s play like the 12’s used to play. The talent with our kids is incredible.”
Thibodaux All-Stars guard Quinn Strander makes a move on Tucker Klingenberg with the Wichita East All Stars. * Photo by CASEY GISCLAIR
