ACHS boys’, girls’ basketball set for ’14-’15 campaign
The Ascension Catholic boys’ and girls’ basketball teams both bring back the cores of their successes from last year’s roster. However the boys’ team welcomes in a new head coach in Tyler Turner. Lady Bulldog’s head coach Shawancy Joseph enters her third year as the leader and expects her team to be primed for more success this year.
The Lady Bulldogs lost only two players to graduation and have only one senior this year in guard Jordynn Brown who has led the team for much of her high school career.
The team also brings back more experience in key players Megan Brooks, Rae’Shaun Melancon, and Deja Harvey who all will step up to the leaders the Lady Bulldogs need to be successful.
Joseph said the team put in some hard work during the summer.
“I think it’s going to flow over to the regular season fairly well,” Joseph said. “I’m very excited and the kids’ attitude is very positive and we all have the same goals this year, win district and hopefully be the last team standing in the Class A championship.”
Joseph said Brown is being the leader the team needs, “that vocal person in the locker room and on the floor.”
“She’s the first one to finish everything and is pushing everybody,” Joseph said. “That’s what we’re looking for. We’ll try to get our offense running through her if we can. We have others that can step up and help her out.”
Brown said she always tells her teammates to just to work hard “so we can get further than last year.”
Last season, the Lady Bulldogs advanced to the Regional round of the playoffs before being booted by Vermillion Catholic.
“I think we’re looking pretty good right now but we have some improving to do as the season goes along,” Brown said.
On the boys’ side, Turner takes over a team that went 14-16, 6-4 in district. Turner comes from a winning program though at East Ascension under then-head coach Kenny Almond.
“With him being a Hall of Fame coach and winning multiple state titles I was able to learn a lot from him,” Turner said. “I have a wealth of knowledge from different points of view in basketball and I just want to mesh all that together with my philosophy to have a good team to put on the floor here.”
Turner said he’s looking to bring a defensive mindset to the team, pushing it to get down and dirty with somebody, “be aggressive but play clean.”
“I want them to be able to guard full-court man-to-man and get after it. We’re going to break it back down to the fundamentals of everything, defensively and offensively,” Turner said.
Junior all-state guard Kaleb Winchester returns to lead the team, with senior forwards Cleveland Fefie and Delmond Landry being right there with him.
Turner expects to also bring discipline to the Bulldogs’ locker room, something he feels is very important in his first year.
“It’s is a big thing as a new coach because you have to earn the kids’ respect,” Turner said.
