Tourney aspirations
Scotlandville, White Castle try to get back to Top 28 Tournament
They always say you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
But what about perceptions and that final impression? The approach to the next playoff contest can depend on whether your team won its last championship game.
Two of the Baton Rouge area’s top boys basketball teams enter the Louisiana High School Athletic Association’s playoffs next week with different title-game viewpoints.
At 30-2, Class 5A Scotlandville is considered to be the area’s top team. But the Hornets of coach Carlos Sample are seeking an elusive state title. Scotlandville finished as the Class 5A runner-up the past two seasons, losing to Brother Martin in 2010 and to St. Augustine last spring.
“I know a lot of people see that we’ve lost in the finals the last two years as a negative,” Sample said. “What we try to do is turn that into a positive. “We look at the experience we gained by playing in the finals two years in a row and we try to build on it.”
To date, the Hornets have used those experiences well. Scotlandville has been the top-ranked team in 5A all year and has only lost one game to an in-state foe, Class 2A power Riverside Academy.
While the Hornets returned four starters from a season ago, it’s been a different process for White Castle (22-7). The Bulldogs of coach Ronald Johnson graduated six seniors a year ago, including title-game MVP Ronald Martin.
Martin went on to earn some playing time on the LSU football team as a defensive back last fall and is now part of the Tigers basketball team.
Despite sweeping changes, White Castle has moved on. The third-ranked Bulldogs’ mix of seven seniors and youngsters wrapped up the District 9-1A title with a 10-0 record on Friday, marking the first unbeaten district season for WCHS since 2004.
“I have to give these guys a lot of credit,” Johnson said. “Some of them have waited their turn for playing time. Over the summer, they put in the time in the gym together that we needed. One thing I really like is their chemistry. They work well together, and they’re proud to be part of the program.”
White Castle edged another local team, Southern Lab, 66-65, to win its first state title in boys basketball since 2002 last March.
Sample said he is just as comfortable with his group as last season’s. Cleveland Thomas, a 6-foot-4 University of Louisiana at Lafayette signee, leads the Hornets with a 15.0 scoring average. DeShawn Washington and Trelun Banks average around 12 points per game. Thaddeus Fortune is at 11.0.
Banks, the son of Southern coach Roman Banks, is the newcomer. He transferred from Hammond’s St. Thomas Aquinas when his family moved to Baton Rouge. The Hornets also have size with a trio of players between 6-7 and 6-8 in Damien Jones, Jared Sam and Zarif Basil.
White Castle has a core group of players who stand between 6-2 and 6-4. Plaquemine transfer Jerrain Jenkins (6-4) leads the team with a 20.0 scoring average. Point guard Isaac O’Bear and Randy Foster are among the key holdovers from a year ago.
O’Bear and Terrance Fair also average in double figures for the Bulldogs.
Sample said he does not believe there is more pressure on his team this season, despite the title-game losses.
“I think I feel more pressure as a coach,” Sample said. “My guys take a family-like approach to it. They cheer for each other and pull each other through.
“They don’t get caught up in wins or wins streaks. I think they understand you have to take it one game at a time, especially in the playoffs.”
Johnson agrees, noting several local teams, including Southern Lab, Christian Life and Pointe Coupee Central may all have something to say about who wins the 1A title in Ruston next month.
The title-game appearance was a coming out party of sorts for Southern Lab — it was the Kittens’ first title-game appearance since 2006. Coach Lonnie Machen’s fourth-ranked squad graduated one starter. SLHS is 20-10.
After a brief hiatus from tournament play, top-ranked Christian Life (20-6) is also back in the picture. The Crusaders lost to Southern Lab on Tuesday. PCC (22-7) is rated fifth and lost to 6-1A rival North Central on Friday.
“You’ve got to be ready every night in 1A … especially around Baton Rouge,” Johnson said.