14 Days - 8 Takeaways

The past two weeks have been a blur. I have been in and out of different gyms in north Louisiana live tweeting about various contest. What I have seen reiterated the fact that Louisiana has an abudance of talent at every level. From the past fourteen days, I will review eight takeaways from the action off of east and west I-20. 2020 might be the year of the point guard The 2020 class of point guards was already point guard rich with Reece Beekman (6'3", Scotlandville), Jalen Cook (6'0", Walker), Chanse Robinson (6'0", Lincole Prep), and LaDamien Bradford (6'5", Jonesboro-Hodge) at the top of the rankings. However, the play of Herman Key (5'9", BTW-Shreveport), Tyler Lewis (5'10", Magnolia School of Excellence), and Nate Braden (5'10", Lakeview) showed that even the unranked players are high quality performers. Key had a Tuesday night, district duel with Tramichael Moton (6'2", 2019) where he showed his ability to facilitate as well as score the rock. Lewis, in a loss to class B, top 5 team Weston, displayed an Allen Iverson-like ability to keep attacking the defense. His team was greatly undermanned but he kept pushing to get them shots and to score. Nate Braden is part of Lakeview's guard heavy rotation. He can get to the rack in a hiccup or bomb from deep. With the abilties of all the guards mentioned and others in their class, colleges will not have a problem finding a point guard for their 2020-21 season. Even on a bad night, Bossier.... If I told someone that a team was without their two best defenders, a key sub went 1-13 and their best two way player was scoreless at the half, one would think this team was losing big at the half. Well, during the MLK holiday, that team was Bossier High. In their district rematch against Woodlawn-Shreveport, that is exactly what happened. However, this Bossier team is deeper than one's of the past. Junior guard Tim King (5'11, 2020) and all state guard Jacoby Decker (5'9, 2019) picked up the scoring slack with 51 points. Coach Bohanon used half court traps to force "T-Mike" Moton to move the ball to other playmakers. On this night, the Knights other players did not make plays. Woodlawn came within nine this time playing a better game. In the end, even on a bad night, Bossier is still better than most other teams in the state. Woodlawn's other guards Over the past fourteen days, I have seen the good and the ugly of the Woodlawn Knights. During the Willis Reed Classic and the rematch with Bossier, when senior guards Demarcus Eiland (5'11", 2019) and Ahmad Green (6'0", 2019) make shots, the Knights play well. When they do not, the Knights offense stalls. Against Lincoln Prep, Green and Eiland hit timely jumpers along with Delatrion Moton (6'4, 2021). In their eventual loss at Bossier, Eiland and Green did not make a three pointer between the two of them. Coach Sykes does place heavy responsibility on Tramichael Moton to get shots for himself and others. Consequently, the other players have to make them. Woodlawn will only advance as far as their shooters will take them. For the Knights' sake, they better hope that they are. Elite players step up Elite players often step up in big games. There were no better examples of this than Reece Beekman, Mylik Wilson (6'3", ULL signee), and Jacoby Decker. Beekman made a definite case for player of the year with his game against Rayville. He scored 28 points and dished out numerous assist on Scotlandville's way to victory. Decker scored 30 points against Woodlawn on MLK to give Bossier the district championship (unless something crazy happens). During one stretch, Decker scored 14 straight points to give Bossier the lead during the contest. Wilson pulled off two elite performances in 48 hours. He had 31 (points) and 10 (reb) in the loss to Scotlandville and then had a 12-7-6-5 stat line against Madison Prep in a home court win. In three high profile games, these three showed why Division 1 schools why they are some of the most highly recruited players today. District 1-5A race District 1-5 has become a three team race in the last fourteen days. Captain Shreve, Airline, and Southwood are in a three way tie for first due to everyone having one loss. Shreve beat Airline at home and then suffered a 37 point loss to the Cowboys. Airline bounced back from the Shreve loss with a one point win over Southwood last week. Southwood was in the best position to take sole possession of first after their trouncing of Captain Shreve when they visited Airline. They even had the lead late until a three pointer by Airline with 14 seconds left. So, if things follow the script from the first half of district, the district title and playoff positioning will be decided when Soutwood visits the Gators and when Southwood hosts the Vikings to end the regular season. This race should have a wild ending. Madison Prep point guard woes Needless to say the Madison Prep Chargers have been one of the elite programs in Louisiana regardless of classification. In the past two weeks they have held a home-and-home series with Rayville. While they best Rayville by 10 at home, the contest on the road was very concerning. The Chargers do not have a true point guard and they depend on an assortment of people to bring the ball up. While this shows the diversity of their players, in crunch situations it causes an issue. No one consistently gets them into their offense which bred inconsistency within it. Each guard had several turnovers in the game and was their ultimate undoing in the loss. Jordan Randall (6'0", 2019) needs to fill the role from now until the end of the season at more than serviceable level. If he can not, Prep's hopes for another state title will fall by the wayside. Two most complete teams In the last fourteen days, I have become certain that Scotlandville and Bossier are the two most complete teams in Louisiana. They both have excellent guard play at the point, a post player who erased mistakes at the rim, and plenty of scoring to go around. They can also turn it up defensively and hold the other team scoreless for stretches. Against Rayville, Scotlandville had a 3 minute stretch at the beginning of the 4th were Carvell Teasett (6'1", 2020) and Tai'reon Joseph (6'2", 2020) buried three pointers to push their lead to double digits. Against Woodlawn, D'ante Bell (6'7, 2020) and Xavien Beasley (6'2, 2019) combined on two alley-oops that broke the game wide open. Both teams made runs while holding their opponents scoreless. That is definitely the mark of an elite team. Red River has more than a dynamic duo The Red River Bulldogs have two players who defenses have to account for in E'maryeon McDonald (6'1", 2021) and Jessie Davis (6'7, 2019). In their district home game Friday night against Lakeview, they had plenty of help in securing the win. While those two score 28 of the teams 68 points, it was two other players who helped secure the win with their offensive and defensive activity. Wing TJ Williams (6'1") and forward Gakereon McDonald (6'3", 2019) scored 24 points to balance out the scoring. McDonald was a terror on the offensive boards and running the floor scoring all of his points in the 2nd half. Williams did most of his damage in the first, but switched out and played defense on all of Lakeview's primary scorers at some point. If the Bulldogs get this type of production for the rest of the season, Marsh Madness will be where they end their season. As the season moves toward the postseason, watch for the above players and teams to separate themselves from the pack. If they perform as they did the last fourteen days, each team mentioned might have good fortune when Marsh Madness rolls around.