The Thibodaux Tigers continue to take care of business & are trying to remain a lock for the #1 seed going into the playoffs. The Tigers have been nothing short of impressive all season with the hopes of getting to the top 28 in Lake Charles. The talented Thibodaux team beat Destrehan 59-52 with senior Marvin Robertson & sophomore Rashod Winslow leading them in scoring with 18 points a piece. The Tigers was on upset alert this past Friday versus arch rival H.L Bourgeois, but Tony Clark’s team found a way to win 59-48 on the road in front of a packed house. Sophomore Rashod Winslow continues to emerge as one of the better prospects in the Tri-Parish area finishing the game with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocks, & 4 steals. Winslow has been a matchup nightmare all season for opposing teams because of his ability to score on the perimeter & in the paint. The talented sophomore is somebody to keep an eye on for the next two years. Senior Marvin Robertson was terrific for the Tigers in this game as well finishing with 14 points, 6 rebounds, & 5 assists. Thibodaux is tough & very feisty on defense, which disrupts a lot of teams when they are trying to get into their offense. They also can get buckets from a number of different players & they shoot very well beyond the arc. It’s no doubt this team has what it takes to make a run at Lake Charles especially with opposing teams having to come their home “The Jungle”. People that have been to “The Jungle” for a basketball game know that it’s an atmosphere like no other. H.L Bourgeois junior Deondre Buggage led his team with 18 points & 5 assists in a losing effort.
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Head Coach Jeff Jones will tell you he didn’t come into this game seeking revenge after losing to Rayville 57-48 on the road last week. But I’m willing to bet his players was looking forward to getting another shot to take down the defending 2A state champions on their home floor. The Chargers won 70-60 in front of a packed gym to improve their record to 21-7 on the season. Senior Jahein Spencer *UAB Signee* was big time once again for the Chargers leading all scorers with 30 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, & 4 steals. Spencer has shown time & time again that he is arguably the best two way player in the state. His ability to score effectively as he does & guard the best player on the opposing team at a high level is a major reason why the Chargers have won a lot of big games this season. Spencer’s 6-4 215 pound frame is what sets him apart from the rest & he makes sure that imposes his will night in & night out. Junior Jordan Johnson was big time for the Chargers as well finishing the game with 13 points, 12 rebounds, & two electrifying dunks that sent the crowd into a frenzy. This was the first game back in two weeks for the 6-7 Johnson after injuring his wrist. Rayville senior Mylik Wilson *ULL Signee* led his team in scoring with 23 points. Wilson made a number of clutch plays for the Hornets throughout the game but it wasn’t enough on the road in a hostile environment. Wilson was the only Hornet in double figures for the game. Walker junior Jalen Cook put on a heroic performance against with many believe the best team in the state regardless of class Scotlandville. Cook scored a game high 38 points with 23 of those points coming in the second half. Scotlandville came into the game 28-1 & hadn’t lost a game on their home floor since 2011. The Wildcats have been pretty up & down all year coming into the game 19-9, but this type of a win against a really good program like Scotlandville can ignite their season. A lot is to be said about Cook’s 38 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, & 4 steals but what was really impressive was his defensive play against one of the best players in the state Reece Beekman. The Hornets junior was held to just 17 points on the night & Cook made things extremely tough on him for four quarters. Beekman’s teammate Carvell Teasett took up the slack finishing with 26 points that included five three pointers. Teasett has shown all season that he is capable of filling up the stat sheet when called upon. The Wildcats also got a big game from sophomore Brian Thomas who finished with 18 points & 11 rebounds. This is the time of year when every team wants to start hitting their stride & what a better way to start that with a win on the road against the defending state champions. Many believe 5A is very wide open this year so don’t be surprised to see Walker in the mix to win it all come March. And when you have a stud like Jalen Cook, I think it’s safe to say he has shown he can put a team on his back & get it done against the best of the best. Madison Prep won a tough one at the MLK Basketball Showcase against 5A state runner up Landry Walker 50-47. The Chargers trailed 23-22 at the half, but coach Jeff Jones’s team responded in the second half with some key defensive stops late in the fourth quarter by Jahein Spencer & Elijah Tate. Jahien Spencer showed why he’s a division one prospect leading all scorers with 24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, & 3 steals. Spencer’s defensive presence is what helped his team get the win in the end. Teammate Elijah Tate hit numerous of big shots throughout the game & his defense was big down the stretch for the defending 3A state champs. With a plethora of college coaches in attendance, I think it’s safe to say Tate put his name on the map after this performance. The 6-3 junior finished the game with 17 points, 5 assists, & 4 steals. Landry Walker senior Dywan Griffin was the lone bright spot finishing with 22 points, 5 assists, & 3 steals. Griffin was the only player for the Charging Bucs that reached double figures on the night. Griffin who is a two sport athlete had Louisiana Tech entire football offensive staff & head coach Skip Holtz in attendance to watch him play. UTSA staff was also in attendance watching Griffin. The Sophie B. Wright Warriors were hitting on all cylinders beating the defending 5A state champions 80-65 in the MLK Basketball Showcase. The Warriors never trailed in this game & it was obvious from the start that head coach Jason Bertrand had his team ready to play. It’s no secret that when the Warriors’ three headed monster is playing good this team is damn near impossible to beat. Rhode Island signee Greg Hammond was phenomenal finishing with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, & 4 steals for the Warriors. Hammond wasn’t the only one who made their presence felt with teammate Damiree Burns *Southern signee* finishing with 21 points as well, 11 rebounds, & 1 block. Charlie Russell left his mark on the game finishing with 12 points that included a coast to coast one handed dunk in the second half. The play from Rashaun Vance off the bench was key as well for the Warriors, who finished with 13 points. Vance used his athleticism on both ends of the floor to help the Warriors win this game in convincing fashion. Walker got a stellar performance once again from junior Jalen Cook who led all scorers with 29 points, 6 assists, & 3 steals. Cook did a hell of a job scoring & setting up teammates but the length of the Warriors was just too much in the for the Wildcats all game long. Sophomore Brian Thomas finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, & 3 blocks for the Wildcats. Sophie B. Wright improved to 24-3 & Walker fell to 19-9 on the season. You can throw out the records when these two programs face off. Both teams came into the game 3-1 in district & both coaches knew a game like this could determine playoff implications when it’s all said and done. Terrebonne junior Dejon Scott made a put back layup to tie the game at 51 with 12.7 seconds left, but H.L Bourgeois would play on & a get a clutch basket from senior Sean Warren putting them up 53-51 with 3.8 seconds remaining. Junior Damon Watkins did an excellent job getting the ball up the floor quick to find Warren for the easy basket. Junior Deondre Buggage would then hit a free throw to help his team prevail 54-51. Braves head coach Andrew Caillouet elected to not call timeout & it worked in his favor on Friday night in front of a packed house. Junior Ja’Khi Douglas had a hell of a game for the Tigers making some timely baskets down the stretch & he lead all scorers with 17 points. Senior T.J Ruffin finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds, & 2 blocks for the Tigers. Junior Deondre Buggage led the Braves with 15 points, 7 assists, & 3 steals. Buggage was face guarded once again much of the night, but the kid did a terrific job of setting up his teammates for key buckets throughout the game. Junior Trovonne Taylor finished with 9 points & 7 rebounds for the Braves. The Thibodaux Tigers is one of the hottest teams in the state regardless of class. The Tigers came into the game with a record of 18-2 & ranked #1 in 5A but, head coach Tony Clark seems to not be falling into all of the hype his team has been getting as they came away with an impressive 81-69 road win over arch rival Ellender. Junior wing J’Mari Carter ignited the Tigers in the first half with four three pointers & some big defensive plays giving his team a 45-34 lead at the half. Carter led all scorers in the game 21 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, & 2 blocks. The Tigers got contributions from eight different players that scored in the game with four of those players scoring in double figures. Rashod Robinson finished with 16 points & Marvin Robertson added 14 points on the night. Senior guard Kobi Johnson led the Tigers with 6 assists & scored 9 of his 11 points in the second half to help his team pull away down the stretch. Ellender 6-7 freshman Dionjahe Thomas led his team with 18 points & 11 rebounds. Thomas showed his ability to score from inside & outside which made him a mismatch all night for Thibodaux. This young Ellender team was impressive even in a loss & I think it’s safe to say this group will be something to behold in the coming years. Four of the Patriots leading scorers are freshman, which has to make head coach Cornell Scott very optimistic heading into district. The Patriots fell to 18-7 & will host Terrebonne Saturday night. Madison Prep was able to hold off the defending 5A champions in a nail biter 64-60. The Chargers trailed Walker 17-10 after the first quarter, but would find their groove in the second quarter taking the lead going into halftime 28-17. Elijah Tate & Jahein Spencer was terrific in the second half for Madison Prep coming up with some key defensive plays & timely buckets that ultimately was the difference in the game. Tate led the Chargers with 15 points & Spencer added 14 points for the game. Walker point guard Jalen Cook was big time leading all scorers with 26 points, 6 assists, & 3 steals. Teammate Brian Thomas was the only other player in double figures finishing the game with 22 points. Louisiana had five prospects that was selected to compete in this year’s Under Armour All-American game. It would have been six if Destrehan’s John Emery wouldn’t have pulled out because of an injury. This 2019 class for Louisiana is one of most talented in recent years. The #1 defensive tackle in country Ishmael Sopsher has been a topic all week in Orlando. Many of the coaches here have been raving about Sopsher’s ability & that he has a great chance to be a first round pick one day. The Amite prospect is a few weeks away from making his decision on where he’ll spend his next three to four years. It’s evident that one of Sopsher’s priority is to play college football with his older brother Rodney Sopsher who attends Southwest Junior College in Mississippi. LSU & Texas A&M are the only two schools that have offered the older brother Rodney Sopsher at the moment. LSU defensive line coach Dennis Johnson & coach Orgeron’s relationship with Sopsher is key here. They’ve done a good job building a relationship with Sopsher’s parents as well over the last year or so. I’d be a little surprised if LSU doesn’t land the 5-star prospect, but I wouldn’t all the way rule out Jimbo Fisher at A&M until he actually signs on the dotted line. Amite 4-star athlete Devonta Lee is another highly touted prospect that remains unsigned. Coach Orgeron has stated on many occasions that they were only taking two receivers in the 2019 class & Lee was a priority for this class. Kentwood’s Trey Palmer already signed his national letter of intent in December, which only leaves one spot left in this class. Lee took an official visit to Kentucky last month with his high school teammate Amani Gilmore who has already signed with Wildcats. The Kentucky visit went way better than expected & Lee is very intrigued with the direction of the program along with the possibility of catching passes from his high school quarterback in college. Playing both ways is another factor that could sway Lee as well. He has stated on a number of occasions that he wants to play receiver & safety on the next level. It’s no doubt in my mind that the 4-star athlete can be an elite player on either side of the ball. Jimbo Fisher & his staff have been doing everything in their power to get Lee to College Station the next three to four years. I’d like to think that Texas A&M has a better shot to land Lee than most people think. These next few weeks is pivotal for LSU to make sure Lee doesn’t get out of the state with his official visit coming in the next few weeks. John Ehret 4-star linebacker Donte’ Starks has looked terrific all week during the practices showing why he’s one of the best linebackers in the country. Starks signed his national letter of intent to LSU during the early signing period. Many of the LSU coaching staff believe Starks will be the next Devin White & when you watch this kid play you’ll see why. Bryton Constantin signed his national letter of intent to Clemson & he’s expressed how excited he is to go play under defensive coordinator Brent Venables. The talented prospect from University High has displayed his athletic ability & high football IQ throughout the practices all week. Constantin will be used a variety of different ways at Clemson, because of his versatility & athletic ability. Cornerback Jordan Clark (Son of former NFL Safety Ryan Clark) from University High rounds out the Louisiana kids participating this week for the Under Armour game. Clark is arguably the most technically sound cornerback in Orlando this week. The 4-star cornerback infectious personality & football mind has rubbed off on many of the players this week indeed. Clark will be competing in the PAC-12 at Arizona St. under head coach Herm Edwards. |
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