Tourney gives teams early look at competition

One of the advantages of playing pre-district basketball tournaments for area teams is facing unfamiliar foes that bring different schemes to the court.

Add to the mix a chance to face district teams early at those tourneysŠ that’s lagniappe.

The Casey Kozminski Tournament at H.L. Bourgeois High School last week provided local coaches an early assessment before heading into district play.

Joining the host Braves in the round-robin tourney were boys’ and girls’ teams from Ellender High and boys’ teams from Terrebonne and South Terrebonne.

As teams approach the mid-season point, the progress reports are out.

Terrebonne Tigers’ head coach Byron McPherson said his team played with intensity in Thursday night’s win over the Braves. He’s hopeful the win will spark the Tigers’ play during the rest of their non-district games.

“Even though district play is (more intense), it’s always good to get a look at your opponent,” he said. “We’re not going to take this game thinking we are going to do the same thing in district because we know that during district time, everybody steps their play up. We’re going to have to step our play up.”

Last week’s tourney also exposed weaknesses in the Tigers’ play, according to McPherson, something he expects will improve over the short haul.

“We have to keep playing, keep learning and playing,” he said. “We’re a young team, an inexperienced team; so, we just have to tighten up and continue doing the things we are doing right.”

H.L. Bourgeois boys’ head basketball coach Andrew Caillouet proved his team’s inexperience.

Against the Tigers and South Terrebonne Gators, the Braves struggled to grab rebounds and gave opponents numerous second chances.

With more practice, Caillouet hopes his team will finish ballgames.

“I think our team will be ready, but you don’t want to go to district so flat that you have doubt in the kids’ minds that (they) can win,” he said. “We miss too many easy shots. We are a horrible rebounding team. We are not going to beat good teams if we continue to give them second-chance opportunities.”

The Braves’ confidence level was an issue with his team’s 0-10 start.

“The one thing I regret is maybe I should have scheduled a tad bit easier because we are such a young group,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate this much youth. We had a few more seniors come in late because of football, which will help us to some degree. We play nine people most nights. Four of those nine are sophomores and one of them is a freshman. When coaches say they’re young – we’re young.

“The kids know we can play with people, but do the kids know we can win? That’s the biggest factor,” he added.

Lady Braves’ head coach Claire Berry said despite some people claiming it’s a rebuilding year, she doesn’t like to use that language.

Her team showed their poise in a three-point loss against the Lady Patriots, and proved they can fight back from a halftime deficit in their three-point win over St. Mary.

It’s the positive sign the coach was looking for, competing against teams who were bigger and more athletic than them.

With one more area tournament to play – tomorrow’s MidSouth Bank Classic at Ellender High – the coaches still have time to make adjustments heading into their respective district play.

H.L. Bourgeois’ Phil Jackson drives to the hoop as Terrebonne’s Mike Williams (2) defends. Last week’s Casey Kozminki Tournament at H.L.B. gave area teams an early look at their district competition. * Staff photo by KYLE CARRIER