High Five: Brewing storylines throughout the state
Meet Sicily Island, 1A’s hottest team These dudes have only lost once since Christmas – and that loss came on December 26 – but look at the team they have beaten in this stretch: Tensas twice, Delhi, Delhi Charter, all…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingMeet Sicily Island, 1A’s hottest team
These dudes have only lost once since Christmas – and that loss came on December 26 – but look at the team they have beaten in this stretch: Tensas twice, Delhi, Delhi Charter, all of whom are in the top 10 in 1A, plus on the road at an Oak Grove team with arguably the best young player in the district. This team will be especially tough to keep up with if it keeps scoring at this pace, having put up at least 70 in three of its last five games.
Ruston rises to challenge
Staying in the fringe of the top 10 in 5A was no easy task for Ruston, given the two best teams in the district – Ouachita and Natchitoches Central – were on the schedule for the first week of district play. Ruston fell to Ouachita on a game-winning 3 at the buzzer and pulled the upset of Natchitoches, 45-43, to survive what can only be described as a brutal opening week. Provided the bearcats continue playing at this level when they repeat this week in February and then through the playoffs, there’s some serious quarterfinals potential in this squad depending on the draw.
Hall of Fame Classic…amazing
Over the weekend in Baton Rouge we got Carroll, East Ascension, Jehovah-Jireh, Riverside, Madison Prep and Scotlandville all in the same gym, all of them in the top five of their respective classes. Robin Fambrough of The Advocate even wrote this column on the atmosphere in the building. We get events kind of like this in the non-district all the time, but to get one at this point in the season when our neighbors aren’t distracted by football season was a nice touch, and I hope we can get more like them in the future.
Am I sleeping on St. Thomas More?
I’ve strolled through this season with UHigh as my prohibitive favorite to win it all in Division III, and I’m not saying they still aren’t, but I find myself with some doubt having reviewed St. Thomas More’s season to date. Catholic (B.R.), John Curtis, Lincoln Prep and De La Salle are among the group of victims that impress me the most – De La Salle in particular, given that’s another legitimate contender in Division III. I’m still not going to pick St. Thomas More over UHigh, but I won’t be shocked anymore if those two meet and STM wins.
Episcopal’s (BR) time is now
If you pull up the power points rankings for Division III, you’re going to find something pretty fascinating: a team listed at 22-2 ranked No. 4, behind three teams that all have both fewer wins and more losses than that 22-2 Episcopal team. How does this happen? Strength of schedule.
Look at some of these wins: Eleanor McMain, Church Point and Broadmoor are among teams on their resume that likely won’t come close to playoff berths this season. But all that is about to change: in the next three weeks, Episcopal gets the No. 1 in Division III, Dunham, twice, plus a meeting with the Division V favorite Jehovah-Jireh. Episcopal could prove itself as a Top 28 contender; it could open that spot for someone like Thibodaux, Hannan or Menard. We find out soon.