Nicholls unveils football signing class
December 27, 2017
Predictions for 2018
December 27, 2017
Last year in late-February, the South Lafourche boys’ basketball locker room looked like the lab of a mad scientist.
There were papers everywhere – each with scribbles of scores from around the state on the back.
On the grease board were enough numbers to keep a statiscian busy for a month – power rankings figures and scenarios for both the Tarpons and also others around the state.
The Tarpons were just outside of the Top 32 teams in Class 4A and coach Brian Callais knew it. The team did all the math, competed as hard as it could on the floor, but still fell a touch short, finishing No. 33 in the Class 4A power rankings – the first team to not make postseason play.
This year, the Tarpons hope the math is on their side and if recent play is any indication, there’s not much to worry about for the fans of Big Blue.
The South Lafourche basketball team is off to a solid start to the season, posting a 9-4 record through 13 games, beating Berwick, St. Martinville, Grace King, Brusly and others along the way.
Callais said he likes the way his team is playing heading into the New Year. But when it comes to power rankings projections and everything else, he said he gives credit to his coaching staff for helping the team schedule better, which the team hopes will allow them to maximize their points and reach the playoffs this spring.
“We sat down as a staff and talked about it and we wanted to schedule smarter,” Callais said. “A lot of our opponents in the past have been from the local 5A district, but then when district play starts, those teams are beating each other and it really limited our ability to earn points. Our coaches did an excellent job creating our schedule this year and we think we have better opportunities to get points than we have before.”
But, of course, your schedule doesn’t matter unless you win, and the Tarpons have found ways to do that so far in non-district.
The Tarpons endured some early-season adversity, traveling to the Thibodaux High School Tournament early in the year, surrendering the first two games of the season before beating St. James.
The Tarpons then hosted H.L. Bourgeois, falling to the Braves 77-65 in a game that was probably a little closer than the score would indicate.
But since losing to the Braves, South Lafourche has soared, winning eight of their past nine games to head into this week’s E.D. White Tournament with some momentum.
The Tarpons have weapons. Senior guard Matt Bellanger leads the team in scoring, averaging 11 points per game.
Bellanger struggled earlier in the season with his stroke, but has since caught fire. At the Patterson Tournament, he scored opponents, making shots behind the 3-point-line.
In a win against Berwick, he also was clutch at the free-throw line, making a few big shots to seal a win.
Also big for South Lafourche are forward Luke Chiasson, Austin Cantrelle and DaMarcus Caine, as well as guards Marquis Francis, Jon Vega and Anthony Francis – all players capable of extending the floor and making shots from beyond the arc.
“We can shoot the basketball,” Callais said. “We don’t have a great presence inside, but we make up for that with our outside shooting.”
But like any other team, there are things the Tarpons can improve upon when 2018 starts.
In the team’s final game before Christmas, South Lafourche beat Grace King 42-37, but Callais was less than thrilled with the team’s execution in victory.
The Irish generated more than 20 offensive rebounds against the Tarpons, which allowed Grace King to shoot several more times than the Tarpons in the game.
Callais said after the game that he credits his team for fighting, but added that the team would work throughout the holidays to continue to polish its craft.
“We’re going to work on our rebounding – boxing out,” Callais said. “We’ve got to make free throws, make layups and we’ve got to be ready to play. A win is a win and I’m glad we won the game. But I tell our kids to look at the bigger picture right now and we’ve got to play better basketball than what we showed tonight.”
South Lafourche will return to action this week at the E.D. White Tournament. During their three games, they will have a re-match with H.L. Bourgeois and games with Central Catholic and West St. John.
After the holiday, the Tarpons will play in the Thomas Jefferson Tournament where they will take on Belle Chasse, John Ehret and Central Catholic again.
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