Louisiana 5A Top 5 UPDATED
New Rank | Prev Rank | Team | Record |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Landry-Walker | 12-5 | |
2 | Thibodaux | 18-2 | |
3 | Bonnabel | 15-4 | |
4 | Walker | 17-8 | |
5 | Dutchtown | 14-4 | |
Watchlist | Ponchatoula | 16-4 | |
Watchlist | Live Oak | 15-6 | |
Watchlist | Ouachita Parish | 19-5 |
1) Walker (0-0)
Walker has yet to play a game this season, but they are the defending champs, so they are going to sit at the top of the rankings until someone is able to knock them off. They haven’t played a game yet because their two best players (Jalen Cook 2020 and Brian Thomas 2021) both hold high major offers for both football and basketball, so they were waiting for the football season to end before they start rolling. Now even though they return both Cook and Thomas, they are still losing a lot from last year’s state title winning game, but so is the rest of 5A. So until further notice, Walker still holds the 5A crown.
2) Landry-Walker (4-0)
If the state title game last season ends 2 minutes ealier, Landry-Walker runs away with the state title, but instead Walker made a miraculous comeback. For Landry-Walker, that is the type of loss that has the potential to haunt you for a long time. When you experience a loss like that, you’re really left with two options; either crawl under your bed and mope about it, or use it as motivation and play the next season with a championship ring sized chip on your shoulder. It looks like the Chargin’ Bucs are doing the latter. They are 4-0 on the year, with three of their four wins coming by 18+ points, including a 19 point win over East Ascension. They are playing this weekend in Hamilton Christian’s Showdown, and in order to win the tournament title, they would have to go through Walker. If they can come away with the title, they have a great shot at being the top team, not just in 5A, but in the state.
3) Thibodaux (2-0)
Thibodaux is coming off a season in which they lost in the 2nd round, but they were still a top 10 seed in the playoffs. They are returning a lot of the key pieces from last season’s squad, especially 6’3 2020 G Kyren Lacy. So far this season, they have definitely picked up where they left off, going 2-0 with both wins coming by 25+ points over quality 4A and 5A schools. It seems like every year there is a team from the tri-city area that is able to make some noise in basketball, and so far it looks like Thibodaux is going to be that team this season.
4) Bonnabel (4-1)
For the first time in 5 years, Bonnabel doesn’t have one of either Joe Thompson or TJ Collins to rely on, but it looks like they are doing just fine without them. They are 4-1 so far this year, with their only loss coming by 8 points against powerhouse Scotlandville. I’ll be honest, I was expecting a little more of a drop off after losing TJ Collins from last year’s squad, but I will gladly give credit to Rodney Munson and transfer Donte Mitchell. They have both stepped up big, and are able to combine for nearly 40 points per game so far this year. That is a tough backcourt matchup, and that’s without adding in any of their impressive younger talent. It looks like Bonnabel is just going to be a school that doesn’t rebuild, just reloads.
5) East Ascension (1-1)
In my mind, as of right now in 5A there is a clear cut top 4, and then a bit of a drop off before the next teams. It was tough between East Ascension and Live Oak for the final spot in the top 5, but despite the loss to Landry-Walker, at least East Ascension has the tougher schedule. I think if East Ascension had the Live Oak schedule up the this point, they would have the same record, and if Live Oak would have had to play Landry-Walker they would have lost just as bad, if not worse. I’d rather put my money on the program that has had more recent success, and that is undoubtedly East Ascension.
Watchlist:
Live Oak
Dutchtown
West Jefferson
Ouachita Parish