District 2-5A preview
The road to a repeat state championship for Natchitoches Central may have been made easier with the introduction of the select/non-select split in basketball for this season, but that doesn’t change the Chiefs’ tough district slate. Here’s a season preview…
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Continue ReadingThe road to a repeat state championship for Natchitoches Central may have been made easier with the introduction of the select/non-select split in basketball for this season, but that doesn’t change the Chiefs’ tough district slate. Here’s a season preview for the district that could be one of the best in 5A.
STATE CONTENDERS
Natchitoches Central: Losing two top 100 in-state prospects from the Class of 2016 – forward Austin Guy, now on the football team at Northwestern State, and guard Kendarius Aaron – may not slow the Chiefs down all that much. We last saw Brandon Rachal putting up a 24-point, 11-rebound double-double in winning last year’s state championship game; he’s since committed to LSU and is expected to be just as good this year. He’s got help from the backcourt in 2018 prospect Brian White.
Ouachita: The best thing about the Lions’ run to the 5A semifinals last year is that most of it was done on the backs of players that would return for this season. Senior forward Jay Head and junior swingman Kenderius Wallace are the only two ranked prospects, but point guard Rod Hall, deadly shooter Donald Williams and effective forward Willie Lapoole are three that broke out in last season’s run.
NEXT TIER
Ruston: This team lost two players to college basketball (Amari McCray to Howard and Tykeem Anderson to Trinidad State) plus its head coach, Bakari Beckwith, but this district is driven by stars and forward Malik Barnes could be the next one for the Bearcats. Terrance Dodson is returning as a 2nd-team All-District selection that should help Barnes get established early on.
West Monroe: The returning cast is certainly there for the Rebels with Jimmie Orange, Langston Powell and Dennis Collins all logging significant, productive minutes last season.
DISTRICT ANALYSIS
Natchitoches Central has to be the favorite on paper, but it’s far from prohibitive: the Chiefs are taking a few significant losses while last year’s best competition, Ouachita, loses almost nothing. Throw in the fact that Ouachita was very competitive through three quarters with Natchitoches Central on its home court last year and that upset isn’t out of the question. Both teams have their question marks, but Ruston and West Monroe have the looks of teams that could be in that third-place race. Alexandria and Pineville will both have to take a few steps forward just to be playoff teams this season.
Brandon RachalMVP RACE
This should come down to Brandon Rachal (Natchitoches Central) and Jay Head (Ouachita). Shockingly straightforward for a district that’s likely to have at least three, maybe four teams win at least one playoff game.
UP AND COMING
Rod Hall, PG, Ouachita – What he lacks in height, he more than makes up for in passing ability and unfiltered grit. He’s incredibly annoying for opposing ballhandlers in Ouachita’s defense-first approach and the pressure of a tightly contested fourth quarter doesn’t seem to bother him. All the Lions want of him is a little more consistency. (And maybe fewer turnovers, but isn’t that on the list for every point guard?)
Malik Barnes, F, Ruston – It’s easy to get overshadowed on a team with Amari McCray, Tykeem Anderson and even Terrance Dodson, but Barnes had to do something to get himself
Jimmie Orange, G, West Monroe – He was probably the best raw scorer on last year’s team that cracked the playoffs. He’ll have help around him, but the loss of a sharpshooter from outside in Jake Norris (now playing football at Louisiana Tech) might throw some more scoring responsibilities on his shoulders.
GAMES TO WATCH
The Natchitoches Central-Ouachita series: at Natchitoches Central on Jan. 27, at Ouachita on Feb. 14. If this season plays out the way its expected to, this series will decide the district championship just like last year.
The Ouachita-Ruston series: at Ruston on Jan. 17, at Ouachita on Feb. 3. Beside the fact that these two presented pretty entertaining games in both meetings last year, these teams were both in the top 11 in the 5 bracket. The potential for that to happen once more is there for the taking, making these two games automatic must-watch matchups.
Ouachita at West Monroe, Feb. 6: On the surface, this looks like a game that Ouachita should win most of the time, but West Monroe pulled off this homecourt upset last season and effectively dragged Ouachita out of the district title race with it.