07 season binder - Karr High School

Cougars headline CYO Tournament
Gfoot-6senior center
H~gansleading hhrr
By Pierce W. Huff
Staff writer
@embers of the Karr boys
basketball team carried a businesslike demeanor after the
'Ct,t~garsdefeated Salmen 6656
to win the Jesuit Invitational
Tournament last week. The
Xdfr contingent shook hands
with Salmen, got the trophy and
kk the Jesuit gym.
?
,,<.,',
It was a quiet celebration, and
that says volumes about where
the Cougars are as a t e a m s
season.
Karr's mind-set is one expecting to win games and rounding
into championship form.
The Cougars head the list of
teams playing in this week's
five-day CYO Tournament,
which starts today.
The tournament consists of
games played in four gyms,
those of Shaw, Jesuit, Brother
Martin and Rummel. The sernifinals a r e s e t for Friday a t
Brother Martin. The champi-
onship game will be played on
Saturday at Jesuit.
The last Top 28 appearance
for Karr (5-1) was in 1996, but
t h e Cougars could end that
tournament drought this season.
"Karr has a really good
team," said Jesuit Coach Chris
Jennings, whose team lost to
Karr in the semifinals of the Jesuit Invitational. "They have a
little bit of everything - guys
who can shoot the ball and a big
guy who is active. I thhk this is
one of the better teams Karr
has had."
For Karr, everything revolves
around the play of 6-foot-6 se- said Hogans has improved a lot
nior center Kedrick Hogans, during the past few years.
"He's become a legitimate
who was selected the Most Valuable Player of the Jesuit Invita- post threat," Robinson said.
tional. He scored 17 points in "He's played on the same AAU
the Cougars' victory against team with Greg Monroe of HeSalmen in the championship len Cox the past two or three
summers, and I think that expegame.
rience has really helped him."
"I saw the big guy against
Robinson said the coaches
Salmen, and even when he from local colleges and universiplayed against us the day be- ties have really started to notice
fore, neither team could do any- Hogans this year.
thing with him," Jennings said.
Right now Karr is focused on
"Granted, neither team has any trying to win the CYO Tournabig players inside, but (Hogans) ment. The Cougars will play
is SO active."
games against Covington, Jesuit
Karr Coach Bill Robinson and St. Augustine in pool play.
Robinson won't place any
high expectations on Karr this
season, and he won't say if this
year's team has a chance to return to the Top 28 tournament.
"It's hard to say (about the
Top 28 tournament) right now,
because I don't know what to
expect from the r e s t of the
teams in Class 3A," Robinson
said. "I just want us to focus on
doing well in district and playing well game by game."
Pierce W. Huff can be reached at
phuff@timespicayune.com or
(504) 826-3809.
Cougars prove clutch in victory against Jesuit
~ZZzinms'[ateshot
B the game-mhw
By John Glambelluca
Staff writer
Darnell Williams' &point basket with 35.2 seconds remaining
gave K a r r a 51-49 victory
against Jesuit in the CYO Classic on Thursday night at Jesuit.
Karr, which advanced to the
semifinal round, trailed the Blue
Jays (4-4) throughout the fourth
quarter until Ricky Clark's bas-
ket with 1:41 remaining gave
the Cougars a 48-47 lead.
But on the ensuing possession
Jesuit regained the lead on a
layup by Scott Lavie.
Seconds later, Jesuit had a
chance to increase its lead, but
Karr's Kedrick Hogans blocked
Josh Owens' layup.
Karr took a 51-49 lead on Wdliams' &pointer. The Blpe Jays
ran the clock down to 11.2 seconds, but John Love's 3-point
attempt went off the front of the
rim.
Jesuit took away the Cougars'
inside game by collapsing, fronb
ing, and giving weakside help to
stop Hogans.
The strategy was successful
because the Cougars did not
shoot very well from the perimeter.
Karr Coach Bill Robinson
said he knew playing the Blue
Jays a second time within a
week would be a tough assignment.
"We expected a difficult
game," said Robinson. "I expected Jesuit Coach Chris Jennings to find flaws and weaknesses from our first game."
The Cougars played its best
defense and held its poise late in
the game. Hogans led the Cougars with 21 points and Williams
scored 13 points.
"Jesuit played an excellent,
sagging defense," Hogans said.
"Their defense was active. I did
not get as many touches on the
inside as I would have liked, but
I was fortunate to get many second-chance scoring opportunities."
The Blue Jays ran several
plays that culminated in layups,
but Jesuit had trouble finishing
shots.
'We missed some easy shots
tonight, but the game could
have gone either way," Jennings
said. "I was proud off our effort.
Karr is a very good basketball
team."
Love led J e s u i t with 25
points, including five &pointers.
Garrett Gremillion had 17 rebounds for the Blue Jays.
The Cougars forced 13 Jesuit
turnovers. Karr had 12.
Jesuit led 10-6 after the first
quarter. Karr outscored the
Blue Jays by five points in the
second quarter to take a onepoint lead at halftime.
The game was tied at 34 with
1:04 remaining in the third
quarter, but Love's three-point
play with 49 seconds remaining
in the quarter gave Jesuit a
3734 lead after three quarters
of play.
Cajuns,
Cougars
to meet ;
for title
Pierce W. Huff
Staff writer
The CYO Tournament giant
killers struck again, and Karr
pached the finals of another 1+
cal tournament Friday in the
two tournament semifinal
games played at Brother Mar-
tin.
Class 1A Country Day won
its fourth consecutive game
against a higher classification
team with a 58-39 victory over
defending Class 5A champion
E h r e t in the first semifinal
game.
Karr rallied from an 11-point,
second-half deficit to beat
Brother Martin 61-54 in the second semihd.
Karr (%I),which won the Jesuit tournament last week, plays
Country Day (5-2) in the CYO
tournament championship game
at 7 tonight at Jesuit.
Brother Martin began its
game with a 9-4 run, which
ended on a 3-pointer by Deuce
Martin. The Crusaders increased their lead to 15-9 at the
end of the quarte~:
Karr came back with a 10-5
run to cut Brother Martin's lead
to 2@19 with 2:39 remaining in
the half.
Brother Martin, however, finished the half with a 9-0 run to
lead 28-19 at halftime. The Crusaders increased their lead to
3@19when Ed McPherson hit a
jump shot for the h t points of
the third quarter.
Then Karr used full-court
press to go on a 13-2 run to take
a 32-30 lead. The Cougars led
43-41 at the end of the quarter.
Brother Martin tied the score
at 47 and 50 in the fourth quar-
ter.
But Karr finished the game
with an 114run.
'We had to speed up the pace
of the game in the second h w '
Karr Coach Bill Robinson said.
Meanwhile, Country Day has
victories against Class 5A
schools Ehret, St. Paul's and
Rummel and Class 3A school De
La Salle.
Country Day had three players score in double figures. Jon
Anderson. a senior center who
Cajuns shock (30 field
stone sold as
Country Day
By John Glambelluca
Staff writer
Matt Stone scored 20 points
to lead Country Day to a 58-50
vidory against Karr to help the
Cajuns claim the 53rd annual
CYO Basketball Classic on Saturday night at Jesuit.
Country Day (6-2), a Class 1A
school, was participating in the
classic for the first time and defeated five teams that play in
higher elassifkations to win the
ehhpionship.
Stone's 3-pointer gave the Cajuns a 44-31 lead early in the
fourth quarter, but the Cougars
(9-2) chipped away at the lead.
Ian Charles' basket trimmed
the Cajuns' lead to six points
with $19 ~ m gJon. Anderson's basket gave Country Day
a 51-42 lead with 2:5g l&. HOWever, Darnell W i 3-poinkr
and a basket by Jared Berry cut
the Cajuns' lead to 5147 with
129 remaining.
On the ensuing possession,
Eddie Ludwig rebounded his
own shot to score and extend
the Country Day lead to 53-47.
The Cajuns outscored Karr
5-3 in the final minute to secure
the vidory.
STAR PHOTO BY MICHAEL DeMOCKER
Country Day's Eddie Ludwig and Karr's Kedrick Hogans battle for a loose ball during the CYO title
game Saturday night. The Cqjuns defeated fwe teams that play in higher classifications to win the
championshipThe Cajuns did an excellent
'Xarr picked up its intensity
in the final quarter," Country job of defending Cougars leadDay Coach Mike bkGuire said. ing scorer Kedrick Hogans.
had three
'We could not get the ball to
that let Karr back into the Hogans,9, said Karr coach Bill
game, but we made our free
Imey did a good job
late in the game!,
of
defending
him. Their past deCharles, steal and layup gave
fense
was
excellent."
the cougars
a 9-4 lead midway
Stone had four 3-pointers and
through the first quarter, but
11 assists to lead a balanced
the Cajuns went on an 8-0 -,
including a 3-pointer by Ludwig, scoring attack Ludwig and Anto take a 12-9 lead.
derson scored 14 points apiece.
IWe
Parham Motaghedi scored 10
points for Country Day
Anderson was selected the
tournament's most valuable
'We played hard to the end,"
Stone said. We pmved we can
play with the big schools, but we
are not where we should be as a
team. We have to decrease uur
turnovers and do a better job of
blocking out."
'He's the best laver to come
out of here since Raidy Livingston:
league games. At high school
games, fans point a t him in
warmups, snap photos of him
with camera phones and implore
him t o perform 360-degree
dunks after Cox establishes its
inevitable doubledigit lead.
New Orleans hasn't produced
a basketball talent of this type
since Randy Livingston earned
Gatorade National Player of the
Year honors at Isidore Newman
School in 1993. One of just a
handful players t o win The
Times-Picayune's All-Metro
Prep Player of the Year as a
sophomore, Monroe is being
touted as potentidy the greab
est prospect ever produced in
the Crescent City.
Monroe is ranked by several
national recruiting services as
the No. 1 player in the Class of
2008, and he already has graced
the cover of two national magazines.
"He's the best player to come
out of here since Randy Livingston," said Roch Weilbaecher,
the athletic director and assistant boys basketball coach a t
Karr who also serves a s the
chairman of the AAU's Southem Distrim. "He's the only guy
from here that comes close to
Randy in terms of hype and possibilities."
The metro area owns a rich
Hoop Scoop, a Louisville, Ky.,
based recruiting service, rated
Monroe among the top eighthgraders in the nation. A year
later, he earned an invitation to
the Nike All-American Camp,
one of the most prestigious allstar competitions in the nation.
'When he got invited to the
Nike camp, that's when I knew
he was special," Norma said.
'That was big-time."
After that, Monroe consistently was ranked among the
top-10 prospects in his class. He
gained the top ranking last summer when he outplayed 6-5
g u a r d Tyreke E v a n s from
Pennsylvania, and Brandon Jennings, a 6-1 guard £rom Virginia,
his primary competition for the
designation.
"After last summer, I was 100
percent convinced he was the
best prospect in t h e junior
class," Rob Harrington, a recruiting analyst for PrepStars.com, said. "I always - mentally at least -have a hierarchy
of players (to rank) for college
and for the NBA. He's No. 1for
both. Now he has to back that
up. But he should be the best
player in his class."
Monroe owns rare skills and
versatility for a player of his
size. He's compared most often
to Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, Lamar Odom of
the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin
h i ~ t o r vof nrodurin~talented
Carnott nf t.ho Minn~sntaTim-
CLASS OF 2008 TOP 10 RANKINGS
A look at the player rankings for the Class of 2008
from the leading national recruiting services:
Player
Pes. Ht.
Soebol
Brandon Jennings
Tyreke Evans
Mouth of Wilson (Va.)Oak Hill
Aston (Pa.)American Christian
Greg Monroe
Helen Cox
Delvon Roe
Luke Babbitt
Harotd Thompkins
J'covan Brown
Drew Gordon
Willie Warren
Devin Ebanks
Lakewood (Ohio)St. Edward
Reno (Nev.)Galena
Mouth of Wilson (Va.)Oak Hill
Port Arthur (Texas)Memorial
San Jose (Calif.)Archbishop Mitty
Fort Worth (Texas)North Crowley
Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More
Greg Monroe
Helen COX
Delvon Roe
Tyreke Evans
Brandon Jennings
Jrue Holiday
B.J. Mullens
Drew Gordon
Travis Reteford
Troy Gillenwater
Al-Farwq Aminu
lakewood (Ohio)St. Edward
Aston (Pa.)American Christian
Mouth of Wilson (Va.) oak Hill
North Hollywood (Calk)Campbell Hall
Canal Winchester (Ohio)High
San Jose (Calif.)Archbishop Mitty
Shawnee Mission (Kan.)Bishop Miege
Tierra Rfjada (Calif.)Stoneridge
Norcross (Ga.)High
Greg Monroe
Jrue Holiday
B.J. Mullens
Tyreke Evans
Delvon Roe
Samardo Samuels
ha. nt.
W 8-10
khl
SG
North Hollywood (Calif.) Campbell Hall
Canal Winchester (Ohio)High
Aston (Pa.)American Christian
Lakewood (Ohio)St. Edward
Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict Prep
6-3
C
7-0
SG 6-5
PF 6-7
PF
6-8
Helen Cox
Monroe, Cox hang on to top I k
Cox held off a furious fourthquarter rally by Karr in a 56-52
victory in a non-district game.
"(Karr) came out and played
hard and with a lot of intensity,"
said Monroe, a 6-foot-9 junior
who is considered by many media outlets to be the nation's top
By Pierce W. Huff
prospect in the Class of 2008.
Staff writer
Monroe said he was glad that
Calhoun took the time to see
The Greg Monroe Show at him play against Kam
Helen Cox had a surprise visitor
"(Coach Calhoun) is one of
Friday University of Connecti- the best coaches in college bascut men's basketball coach Jim ketball."
Calhoun was among the many
And Monroe showed his
spectators in the standing-room- mettle by coming up with key
only crowd watching Cox's plays down the stretch to lead
game against Karr.
Cox (22-3) to its second victory
But in the end, Karr almost of the season against the Coustole the spotlight and the game gars.
away from Monroe and Cox in a
Trailing 47-33, Karr (14-9) benon-district game.
gan the fourth quarter with a
Melvin Lambert scored 20 17-4 run, capped by a layup by
points and Monroe added 19, as Kedrick Hogans, who scored 15
UCmn coach m a k ~
vr;Fittb toke look
at 6-9fomoard
Cox increased its lead t o
points, to cut Cox's lead to 51-50
34-21 when Lambert finished
with 2:07 remaining.
After a Monroe dunk, Karr's t h e first-half scoring with a
Mike Butler, who scored 1 5 3-pointer with 32 seconds repoints, hit a hook shot to again maining in the second quarter.
cut the Cox lead to one with 1:28
"He hit some big shots, and
remaining.
his outside shooting was crucial
B u t Monroe hit two f r e e for them," Karr Coach Bill Robthrows with 47 seconds remain- inson said.
ing, and Jarron Thompson finCox took a 40-24 lead in the
ished the game's scoring when
he hit a free-throw with 16.2 third quarter, and a backwards
seconds left to secure the win dunk by Monroe with one secfor Cox.
ond remaining in the quarter
"We made the plays a t the gave the Cougars a 47-33 lead.
end, and we made our free
"Greg's passing is one of his
throws," Monroe said.
biggest assets," Robinson said.
Cox Coach Tyron Mouzon "He gets the ball to the open
said Karr "outhustled" his team. people, and he's not that big a
"It's a rivalry game. (Karr) scorer, but his presence was alwanted it real bad."
ways there."
But Cox had little resistance
from Karr in the first three
quarters. It finished the first Pierce W. Huff can be reached at
quarter with a 12-5 run to take phuff@tirnespicayune.com o r
(504)826-3809.
an lsll lead.
.
Karr continues its mastery of St. Augustine
CouganJnlac,off
KnigtY in s d h a 3 f
By Pierce W. Huff
Staff writer
Fop the second time in less
than three weeks, Karr's pressure defense was kryptonite to
St. Augustine's offense.
k outscored St. Augustine
24-14 in the second half for a
48-39 victory at Karr on Tuesday.
The victory was Karr's sec-
ond against St. Augustine in less
than three weeks. Kabr defeated St. Augustine 60-47 in the
CYO tournament.
Karr center Kedrick Hogans,
a &foot4 senior, scored a gamehigh 20 pointson Tuesday He
led Karr with 16 points in the
game against St. Augustine earlier this season.
'We knew they were going to
try to sag their defense on me,"
Hogans said.
The plan worked early as St.
Augustine (5-5) stayed close to
Karr (12-5) most of the game.
k led 12-10 at the end of the
-
first quarter and 23-20 at halftime. St. Augustine then began
the third quarter with a 51
to take a 25-24 lead.
66~eyplayeda23mneand
packed i t in to stop our big
35-25 lead at the end of the
quarter. Karr increased its lead
to 43-26 when Hogans had a follow-up dunk with 3:52 left.
"I'mveryactiveonthe
boards, and I was able to score
some easy points and
get
mah"
Coach Bill
my teammates some points,"
said. "Our perimeter game was Hogans said.
struggling early on!'
Hogans also said that St. AuSo k txrned to its d ~ f m ~ e gustine's
guards were shaky
The Cougars used a 22-1 pres- during K&s finad push.
sure defense and a an-^^
'Their guards are decent,bu;
scheme, and the result forced we were able to contain them,
St. Augustine into turnovers he said. 'They really only had
and ragged offensive execution. one man (senior Curtis Lawkfinished the third quar- rence) dribbling for them."
ter with an 11-0 run to take a
B
Robinson said it was important that Karr play well defen-.
sively, and it did.
"We knew we had to extend
ourdefense,"hesaid.
.......
Pierce Hfl can be rnahed at
phmImeapunamm
or
(504) 826-3809.
Cougars use balanced attack to advance
By Mike Strorn
Staff writer
F r a n k l i n Coach D a r i a n
Breaux didn't have to look at a
scorebook to pinpoint the cause
of his team's 60-46 demise
against Karr.
As Breaux simply put it,
Karr had the desire and intensity it needed and rode a balanced attack to earn its first
Top 28 Tournament appearance
in a decade.
One of the centerpieces for
Karr was Kedrick Hogans, who
finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots.
"They just wanted it more
than my kids," said Breaux.
"We just didn't match their intensity. But they did an excellent job. They caused that.
K a r r did a g r e a t job. They
came out and played four full
quarters."
Karr (31-10) advances to its
first Top 28 Tournament since
1997 and the school's fifth overall. The Cougars had made
three unsuccessful advances to
the quarterfinals in 2000, 2001
and last season.
The Cougars, state champions in 1994 and 1996 and runners-up in 1993 and 1997, will
face Richwood, a 71-53 winner
Friday night against topranked St. Louis. The day and
time of the game, scheduled for
the Cajundome in Lafayette, is
still to be determined.
Franklin (20-13) ended its
season for the second consecutive time against Karr. The
Cougars won a regional game
last season 50-48.
"Our kids played well," said
K a r r Coach Bill Robinson.
"Everybody fulfilled their role.
The big bangers did their job.
We had balanced scoring inside
and outside. We were able to
keep them off of the boards.
Our guard play was good. I was
j u s t p l e a s e d w i t h how we
played. We came t o play tonight."
Karr, t h e District 10-3A
champion, led wire t o wire
after a 6-0 start that grew to a
14-10 lead by the end of the
first quarter, 30-19 at halftime
and 42-33 a t the end of t h e
third. The visiting Hornets
didn't g e t closer than eight
after halftime, and faced with
the unrelenting pressure of
Karr's 10-man rotation.
Hogans was K a r r ' s lone
player to reach double figures,
but the 6-foot-6 senior center
got ample support from forwards Darnel1 Williams and
Korey Williams and guards Alvin Bailey and Ian Charles.
Darnel1 Williams and Davis
scored nine points each, and
Davis nade three 3-pointers in
Karr's first-half surge. Williams also held Franklin's top
shooter, Bryan Tardy, in check.
Tardy was one of three Hornets to score 10 points, but he
had no field goals and two free
throws in the second half.
Korey Williams and Charles,
the point guard, contributed
seven points each, and Williams
pulled down seven rebounds to
help the Cougars to a 36-27 advantage on the boards.
"This feels great," said Hogans. "We had a n excellent
practice (Thursday), and we
had a wonderful game plan. We
established ourselves early defensively. I blocked a few shots.
We established ourselves inside, and once we did that it
opened up the outside, and our
guards played well."
Mike Strorn can be reached at
mstrorn@timespicayune.com or
(504) 826-3787.
Chargers,
Cougars
are one
step away
By Mike Strom
Staff writer
0. Perry Walker's and Karr's
affiliations may have changed.
Their basketball destinations
have not.
As former members of the
Hurricane Katrina-ravaged
New Orleans Public Schools
system, 0.E Walker and Karr
now serve as flagship institutions of the fledgling Algiers
Charter School Association.
The Chargers and Cougars
also have experienced a basketball rebirth of sorts as well this
season, with each program advancing within one victory of
making its first appearance in
the Top 28 Tournament in a t
least a decade.
0.E Walker (25-9) has defeated Douglass 63-62 and East
Ascension 67-64 to earn the
right to host defending state
champion Northside (304) in a
Class 4A state quarterfinal
game tonight. It is a rematch of
a Dec. 29 meeting in the St.
Martinville Tournament in
which Northside defeated the
Chargers 5034.
Meanwhile, Karr (30-10) has
defeated Patterson 69-62 in double overtime and Albany 68-55
to advance to the Class 3A quarterfinal round, where it will host
Fkanklin (20-12) tonight. Tipoff
for both games is at 7 p.m.
0.E Walker is vying for the
second Top 28 appearance in
school history and first since
1992.
"Personally, for me, it's all
about the kids," said 0.E Walker
Coach Brian Gibson, who is in
his second year of serving as assistant principal and head coach
of the Chargers after 16 successful seasons a t Kennedy.
"This particular team will not be
together again. (This achievement) represents the culmination of all of the hard work that
we've put in. I t would be very
gratifying to me (to win) to show
them that hard work does pay
off. But I want to make it clear
that win, lose or draw that I'm
proud of (the players) and what
they've accomplished."
Helping lead the Chargers
U I I ~ ~ ~ - KOCIIVVI
Imsvclauvn.
The Chargers and Cougars
also have experienced a basketball rebirth of sorts as well this
season, with each program advancing within one victory of
making its first appearance in
the Top 28 Tournament in a t
least a decade.
0.P Walker (25-9) has defeated Douglass 63-62 and East
Ascension 67-64 to earn the
right to host defending state
champion Northside (30-4) in a
Class 4A state quarterfinal
game tonight. It is a rematch of
a Dec. 29 meeting in the St.
Martinville Tournament in
which Northside defeated the
Chargers 50-34.
Meanwhile, Karr (30-10) has
defeated Patterson 69-62 in double overtime and Albany 68-55
to advance to the Class 3A quarterfinal round, where it will host
F'ranklin (20-12) tonight. Tipoff
for both games is at 7 p.m.
0.P Walker is vying for the
second Top 28 appearance in
school history and first since
1992.
"Personally, for me, it's all
about the kids," said 0.P Walker
Coach Brian Gibson, who is in
his second year of serving as assistant principal and head coach
of the Chargers after 16 successful seasons a t Kennedy.
"This particular team will not be
together again. (This achievement) represents the culmination of all of the hard work that
we've put in. It would be very
gratifying to me (to win)to show
them that hard work does pay
off But I want to make it clear
that win, lose or draw that I'm
proud of (the players) and what
they've accomplished."
Helping lead the Chargers
are sophomore guards Charles
Hammork and Wanto Joseph,
who have scoring averages of
16.7 and 15.0 points respectively
District 10-3A champion Karr
is shooting for its fifth Top 28
appearance in 15 years of existence as a senior high school.
The Cougars' most-recent appearance was in 1997.
The Cougars have two state
championships - 1994 and 1996
- along with a runner-up finish
in 1993, all coming under Coach
Bill Robinson.
"(The players) are very excited," Robinson said. "They
know they lost in the quarterfinals (to Rayne 45-41) last year,
and they would like to redeem
themselves. Our biggest concern is to keep them focused because some of them have a tendency to drift. We have some
free spirits, so we've got to
watch them."
Hogans
gets back
in time
for 1Crampshi& him,
but bib winning shot
By Pierce W. Huff
Staff writer
It was hardly the sight Karr
fans wanted to see.
With 2:18 remaining in a
game against Algiers rival 0.
Perry Walker, Cougars center
Kedrick Hogans sat in front of
the Cougars bench with his legs
stretched out, as he grimaced in
pain from leg cramps. But it all
worked out.
A Karr assistant coach helped
him stretch out the cramping
muscles, Hogans rose to his feet
and sunk t h e hopes of t h e
Chargers.
Hogans, a 6-foot-6 senior, had
18 points, nine rebounds and six
blocked shots, and he scored the
winning layup with 58 seconds
remaining to give the Cougars a
56-55 victory on Wday in a nondistrict game at the Karr gym.
"I had a charley horse and my
leg was still cramping a t the
end, but I knew my teammates
needed me and I had to suck it
'up," Hogans said.
H i s l a s t - m i n u t e heroics
capped a frantic fourth quarter
by both teams.
With the score tied at 43, 0.
Perry Walker (17-6) began the
fourth quarter on an 8-6 run,
the final Chargers points coming on a John Ray dunk off a lob
pass from Charles Hammock
with 4:10 remaining.
But Karr (15-9) tied the score
a t 51 on a reverse layup by
Howard Trice with 2:49 left.
Thirty-one seconds later, Hogans had the leg cramps, and
Demond Dedeaux hit a jump
shot to give the Chargers a
55-54 lead with 1:44 remaining.
Less than a minute later, Hogans returned and hit the winning layup.
"It is a rivalry, and the game
is for bragging rights," he said.
"We're 1-1 against them, and
this is our last game against
them this year."
The Chargers had a chance to
win the game, but missed two
shots and committed two turnovers at the end of the game.
' W a Lnaxrr
it
xxrtlo rrninrr fn h a o
Led by ~ r z ' c kHogans,
t
the Ahrr Cougars are onpace to make a runfor the C h s 2 title
By Mike Strorn
Staff writer
Asked what the future may hold for
his basketball team, Karr Coach Bill
Robinson immediately thought of the
past -s@call3: a conversation he had
three years ago with many of the eight
seniors on the current Cougars' roster.
"I can remember tallring with them
and this bunch had visions of winning a
state championship when they were
freshmen. which I found to be verv interestini" said Robinson, a two-iime
state championshipwinner and the only
cougm
boys basketball coach in Karr history.
"Ithought they were being a little
ovemealous at the time."
To which, Robinson recalls needling
back at his youngsters by saying, "Do
we have to wait that long? That's four
years from now"
Karr's last trip to a championship
was 11 years ago when the 1995-96
team earned a 74-59 overtime victory
against Parkview Baptist in the Class
3A state finals. 'The Algiers school's
Grst state basketball title had come two
seasons earlier with a 68-60 victory
See KARR, D-7
winning the District 10-3A
championship and could beKarr team to adcome the
vance to the Top 28 Tournament
Hogans is the team's leading
scorer at 14.5 points per game
and its best defender in and
KARR, fjmn D-1
around the lane. His long, lanky
arms make him an outstanding
against McCall in the Class 3A shot-blocker, and his lateral
finals.
quickness and ability to face
The Cougars, who improved the basket make him a force ofto 22-10 following a 81-26 Dis- fensively. Like the rest of his
trict 103A victory against Ra- teammates, Hogans is conbouin on Wednesday, appear to cerned only with winning.
be more than capable of adding
"The coaches tell me to look
some hardware to the Karr tm- to score more often," Hogans
phy case. Blessed with a said. "If we really need to
10-player rotation and a prime score, then I'll put it on my
time performer in 6-foot-6 se- back. But I'm OK with us being
nior center Kedrick Hogans, balanced. My favorite thing is
the Cougars are on their way to to play defense. I feel like any-
brace for
tide run
body can score. But it takes
somebody special to play good
defense."
'The man on this t e k is ~e
drick," said senior forward Korey Williams, a 6-2, 240-pound
forward. 'We can go as far as
Kedrick takes us. If Kedrick'
keeps playing the way he is,
then we can go as far as we
want. We haven't reached our
peak yet."
Hogans and junior point
guard Ian Charles are the lone
returning starters from last
season's that advanced to the
state quarterfinals, despite
playing only half a season due
to Hurricane Katrina
Senior forward Darnell Williams is the team's second-leading scorer at 10.3 points and
one of its top shooters along
with junior guard Michael But-
STAR PHOTO BY B
R
mDUKE
ler and reserve guards Alvin
Bailey, Alvin Davis and Darius
Alexander. Korey Wfiams and
two other players best known
for their football exploits, for.wards Howard Trice and Jered
Berry, have shared the fifth
starting position. All three excel at reboundipg and defense.
"Most teams are like friends,
but we really are like a family,"
said Hogans. "On and off the
court we have each other's
backs."
The Cougars are ecstatic to
be back in their refurbished
gym after playing all of last
season's games on the road.
They even practiced outside at
times. 'We were like gypsies,"
Robiion said.
The Cougars also appear to
be finding their stride at the
right time. They have won
Kedrick
Hogans, right,
has been a
dominant force
on Karr's team
this season.
Teammate
Korey Williams
says of
Hogans: 'We
can go as far
as Kedrick
takes us. If
Kedrick keeps
playing the way
he is, then we
can go as far
as we want.'
eight of their past nine, with
the lone defeat a 55-51 decision
to Country Day, the metro
area's topranked small schools
team and the No. 8 ranked
squad in Class 1A The 22 victor i e s have come against a
rugged schedule that includes
12 games against Cox, 0. Perry
Walker, E a s t St. John,
McMain, Salmen, East Jefferson, Country Day and Northshore.
"I don't like to make predictions. But we do have the o p
portunity to advance," Robinson said. "We're crossing our
fingers that we're playing at
the top of our game when the
playoffs start. We have been
doing a good job of moving forward all season. I think our
best ball could be in front of
us."
E.D. White upsets Wossman
"It's indicative of what this
team is all about," Keife said.
"These guys never give up.
They just focus on the next
play."
The Cardinals (28-7) had
plenty of opportunities to give
up, with the Wildcats (22-14)
Dan McDonald
appearing to break open a
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
close game early in the fourth
quarter. Martez Sellers' drivE.D. White coach Jonathan ing layup 11 seconds into the
Keife said that Thursday's final period and a three-point
Class 3A semifinal was a play on Tremel Daniel's offenmicrocosm of his team's sea- sive rebound less than a
son.
minute later had given
If it was, his team's had a Wossman a 48-37 advantage, its
heck of a year.
largest of the game.
The Cardinals rallied from
"We cautioned our guys all
an 11-point deficit in the final year long, don't relax," said
quarter, getting a key three- Wossman
coach
Dale
point play from scorer Ben Zimmerman. "E. D. White
Martin with 21 seconds left didn't quit, that's the bottom
and a clutch free
line. They wanted it more."
throw from Brian
Martin, who finished with
Fakier to post an
32 points including 12 in the
upset 58-57 win over
fourth quarter, began a 9-0 run
Wossman in the
with a driving layup. Later, he
Top 28 Tournament semifinals. hit three straight baskets in a
Fakier's free throw snapped period of just over a minute,
a 57-all tie with 4.2 seconds left the last one on a steal and
and put the Cardinals into layup with 3:58 left that sliced
their first state title game. In the difference to 48-46.
fact, the Cardinals had never
But Wossman held onto its
stifling
the
even made it to the semifinal advantage,
Cardinals on two late possesround.
Cardinals rally
from 11 point
deficit, win 58-57
Class
3A
sions and getting a key inside
basket from Tremel Daniel
with 2:09 left that provided a
54-49lead.
"It got frustrating," Martin
said of his team never managing to edge in front. "Our plan
was to take it to them, try to
get to the free throw line and
get back in it."
It didn't help that Martin
picked up his fourth foul with
5:09 left with his team still
down by eight points. But he
never left the game, and Keife
said he never considered
pulling him.
"I trusted him with four
fouls," Keife said. "He's a
smart player. He's been playing long enough to know when
to gamble. I wasn't pulling him
out of the game."
Fakier's baseline jumper
after Daniel's bucket made it a
three-point game, and three
free throws by Bryson Triggs
sandwiched around two misses by Wossman's Wilbert
Williams tied the game at 54
with 50.9 seconds left.
Lazzare Robinson hit a
layup in transition to give the
Wildcats the lead again, and
after a turnovers Wossman
had a chance to put it away but
mishandled a pass under the
basket.
"We probably should have
pulled it out rather than try for
one
more
basket,"
Zimmerman said. "We gave it
to them at the end when we
couldn't finish free throws and
threw it away."
Martin came up with a
loose ball and drove the baseline for his three-point play,
and Robinson hit one of two
free throws with 7.6 seconds
left to tie the game. He missed
the second, and Wossman was
hit with a traveling violation
on the rebound to give the
Cardinals their last chance.
Fakier was fouled by Sellers
trying to head upcourt, and he
hit the first free throw for the
game-winner. He missed the
second, but all Wossman could
manage was a half-court heave
from Daniel at the horn.
"It's not our style to go up
and down the court like that,"
Keife said. "We're a patient
team, but we had to try to drive
the ball to the goal the first
chance we got on every possession since we were behind.
That's our comeback offense,
and it's worked for us a couple
of times this year."
Top 28 Boxscores
C k c selifiub
Rmwe Chriatii 74, bsbiar GLrirti 68.
RESERVE CHRISTIAN (31.19)
Damond Peters 2-2 3-4 7, Justm Bernard 1-3 1-2 4,
Cedrlc Jenkins 13-21 2-6 32, Eddren McCain 6-14 3-4 17,
Kyle McClue 0.3 0-0 0, Chadd Simmons 4-6 0-1 9. Aaron
Brinkman 0-1 0-0 0, Cali 2-3 1.4 5.Totals 28-53 10-21 74.
EXCELSIOR CHRISTIAN (M)
Lemontre Woods 4-9 0-0 8, Lace Dar~usDunn 2-12 5-8
10, Ladarrian Willlams 3-5 2-3 8, Davar~usDunn 8-16 1-4
19. Jarrell Scon 3-5 5-6 11, Lamarcus Lang 0-0 0-0 0,
Zeika Rush 1-3 0-0 2, Marquez Rush 4-9 0-0 1O.Totals2559 13-21 68.
Reserve Christ~an
22 11 18 23
- 74
ExcelsiorChrislian
14 14 11 29
- 68
3.point goals-Reserve Chrlstian 8.22 (Bernard 1-2,
Jenk~ns 4.9. McCa~n 2-7, McClue 0-2, S~mmons 1-2).
Excelsior Christian 5-19 (Woods 0-1, L.Dunn 1-8, D.Dunn
2-4, M.Rush 2-6). Fouled out-M.Rush. ReboundsReserve Christian 35 (McCain 15), Excelslor Chr~stian33
(L.Dunn 12). Assists-Reserve Christian 13 (McCain 6).
Excelsior Chr~stian 5 (DDunn 2). Total fouls-Reserve
Christian 22, Excelsior Christian 21. Technicals-Reserve
Christian bench. Anendance--TEA.
tku 3A Somilid
E
bk 61, Riihd54
EDNA KARR (32-10)
Butler 4.1 2.4 ,,, Korey
Charles
O.O
williamS 0.4 0.0 0,
williams 6-11 2.2 16, @drick
Hogans 8-11 5-6 21, Justin Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Darius
Alexander 0-0 0-0 0, Alvin Davis 0.0 0.0 0, Alvin Bailey 2-5
0.0 5, Howard Trice 3-3 0-1 6. Totals 24-50 9-13 61.
RICHWOOD (30-9)
Darheli
Raschard Boatner 3-12 1.4 8, Rydell hams 4-1 1 0-0 10,
Keldr~cMartin 2-5 0-0 5. Storm Warren 4-7 4-4 12. Leslle
Dav~s 3-10 1-2 7 Desmond Ellis 6-10 0-0 12, Greg
Johnson 0-4 0.0 0.Totals 22-59 6-10 54.
Edna Karr
13 10 18 20
- 61
13 20
6 15
54
Richwood
3-po~ntgoals-Edna Karr4-12 (Butler 1-3. D.W~lihams25, Ba~ley1-4), Rlchwood 4-21 (Boatner 1-9, Harris 2-6.
Mart~n1:4. Johnson 0-2). Fouled out-Elils. ReboundsEdna Karr 34 (Hogans 9).Richwood34 (Davis 9). AssistsEdna Karr 11 (D.Williams, Hogans 3), Richwood 4
(Boatner, Harris. Warren, Ellis 11 Total fouls-Edna Harr
11. Richwood 18 Technlcal*none.Afiendance-TBA
E.0. Whit 58, W0~laaII57
E.D.WHITE (28-7)
Brian Fak~er1.1 5-6 7, Ben Martin 13-25 5-6 32, Bryson
Triggs 2-3 4-6 10, Cory Adamsl-2 0-0 2, Brett Lede12-5 24 6, Ryan BlossO-3 1-2 1, Man Hymel 0-0 0-0 0, Trey
Lamse 0-0 0-0 0 Totals 19-39 17-24 58.
WOSSMAN (57)
Martez Seilers 8-13 2-2 18, Jarrell Carl 3-9 3-5 9, Tremel
Daniel 4-10 1-1 9, Lazzare Robinson 4-7 5.8 13, Wilber1
W~ll~ams1-1 0-2 2, Rontarrius Bradley 1-1 0-0 2,
Dominique Halckr 2-2 0-0 4, Tedric Wesley 0-0 0-0 0.
Totals 23.43 11-18 57.
12 17
7 22
- 58
White
16 14 13 14
- 57
Wossman
3.polnters - EDW 3-10 (Martin 1-6, Triggs 2.3, ~ ~ o O-s s
I), Woss 0-5 (Sellers 0-2, Carr 0-1, Dan~el0-2). Rebounds
- EDW 23 (Ledet 8). Woss 24 (Robinson, Carr 7). Assists EDW 10 (Fak~er3). Woss 3 (Wesley, Sellers, Robinson).
Total Fouls: EDW 15, Woss 20. Technicals - None.
Anendance- 4,023.
By Mike Strorn
Staff writer
LAFAYETTE - Karr's official
mascot is the Cougar. But in the
semifinals of the Top 28 boys
basketball tournament, school
officials may want to consider a
new name.
How about Terminators?
For the fifth time in their
15-year existence, the Terminators, make that the Cougars,
have advanced to the state semifinals, with all five excursions
producing a trip to the championship round.
In appearance No. 5 Thursday night, the Cougars rode the
scoring of Kedrick Hogans, Darnell Williams and Michael Butler, plus the depth of a 10-player
rotation, to overcome a 12-point
deficit in the third quarter for a
61-54 victory against Richwood
in the first of two Class 3A semifinal games played at the Cajundome.
"I didn't tell them about
that," Karr Coach Bill Robinson
noted with a wry grin about not
reminding his players about the
program's perfect mark in the
semifinals that produced state
titles in 1994 and 1996. "I didn't
want to say anything about
that."
That cat was let out of the
bag following a second-half
surge in which the Cougars outscored the Rams 18-6 in the
third quarter and then 20-15 in
the final eight minutes to earn a
shot at the school's third state
crown.
Karr (32-10) will face E.D.
White in the 3A championship
game March 16 or 17. The day
and time will be determined.
E.D Wnite (28-7) defeated Wossman 58-57 in Thursday's second semifinals.
District 2 champion Rich-
txcelslor cnrtsrlan bu
b Class 3A: Karr 61, Richwood 54
b Class 3A: E.D. White 58,
Wossman 57
TODAY'S GAMES
b Class C: Athens vs. Family
Christian, 3:30 p.m.
b Class 1A: Plain Dealingvs.
Christian Life, 5 p.m.
b Class 1A: Grambling vs.
Country Day, 6:30 p.m.
b Class 4A:Washington-Marion
vs. St. Thomas More, 8 D.m.
wood, which entered a s t h e
highest-ranked team remaining
in the 3A field at No. 3, finished
30-9.
Wossman, the third-place
team in Richwood's district, finished 23-13.
Karr trailed 35-23 following a
short jump shot by Richwood's
6-foot-8 junior center, Storm
Warren, in the f r s t 13 seconds
of the third quarter. From there,
the Cougars, champions of District 10-3A, mounted t h e i r
charge, which included three
baskets by &foot-6 Hogans, two
by Williams and two by Butler,
plus a 3-pointer by Alvin Bailey
with two seconds remaining.
That gave Karr a 4139 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Cougars, the only other
ranked 3A team to advance to
the semifinals at No. 9, were
threatened, but did not trail
thereafter. Richwood committed
six of its 19 turnovers in the final quarter. Karr's &tory was
secured when Howard Trice
scored the last of his three key
baskets for a 56-51 lead with
125 remaining, and Butler and
Williams followed with three
free throws during the next
minute.
'We were fortunate," Robinson said. "I'm very proud of our
guys. Things looked bleak a t
times. But we tried to make
some corrections, and our guys
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Richwood's Leslie Davis, on floor, loses the ball under heavy pressure from the Karr Cougars in
Thursday's Class 3A quarterfinals at the Cajundome.
pulled up their trunks. We knew
we had to pick it up a notch."
Hogans had 21 points, nine
rebounds and five blocked shots,
all game highs, while making
eight of 11 shots and five of six
free throws. Williams scored 16
points on 6-of-11 shooting, and
Butler scored 11.
Williams, one of seven Karr
seniors, played another key role
in his defense against Richwood
g u a r d R a s c h a r d Boatner.
Boatner was limited to eight
points, 19 below his average, on
3-of-12 shooting. Instead, Warren, Desmond Ellis and Rydell
Harris led the Rams with 12,12
and 10 points.
"They kept a hand in my face
the whole game," Boatner said.
"I just never got in rh.ythm."
Williams said Karr's depth
was the key
"I feel the difference was that
they were more star-oriented
with three s t a r players (in
Boatner, Warren and 6-foot-7
forward Leslie Davis), and
we're just a team," he said.
"We're team-oriented with no
star players."
Karr forward Korey Williams
didn't score but had seven rebounds.
"Coach told us that what we
can't do by ourselves that we
can do collectively as a team,"
he said. "We took that (message) and worked on it. We
wanted it. We got together in
the locker room at halRime, and
I could see it in the eyes of our
guys that we wanted it."
Said Hogans: "I had faith in
my teammates. We just had to
slow down (from the first half).
We kept playing and were able
to get the lead. And that was
that."
Mike Strorn can be reached at
rnstrorn@tirnespicayune.corn or
(504) 826-3787.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Cougars wear
down Rams
&rr s t m back
to beat Richwood
reach 3sem$nUk
By Mike Strom
Staff writer
Karr's official
mascot is the Cougar. But in the
semifinals of the Top 28 boys
basketball tournament, school
officials may want to consider a
new name.
How about Terminators?
For the fifth time in their
15-year existence, the Terminators, make that the Cougars,
have advanced to the state semifinals, with all five excursions
producing a trip to the championship round.
In appearance No. 5 Thursday night, the Cougars rode the
scoring of Kedrick Hogans, Darnell Williams and Michael Butler, plus the depth of a 10-player
rotation, to overcome a 12-point
deficit in the third quarter for a
61-54 victory against Richwood
in the first of two Class 3A semifinal games played at the Cajundome.
"I didn't tell them about
that," Karr Coach Bill Robinson
noted with a wry grin about not
reminding his players about the
program's perfect mark in the
semifinals that produced state
titles in 1994 and 1.9-96
.."I didn't
- .
LAFAYETTE
-
BOYS TOP 28
Semifinal round at the
Cqjundome in Lafayette
THURSDAYS
' RESULTS
b Class C: Reserve Christian 74,
Excelsior Christian 68
b Class 3A: Karr 61, Richwood 54
b Class 3A: E.D. White 58,
Wossman 57
TODAYS' GAMES
b Class C: Athens vs. Family
Christian, 3:30 p.m.
b Class 1A: Plain Dealing vs.
Christian Life, 5 p.m.
b Class 1A: Grambling vs.
Country Day, 6:30 p.m.
b Class 4A: Washington-Marion
vs. St. Thomas More, 8 p.m.
wood, which entered a s the
highesbranked team remaining
in the 3A field at No. 3, finished
30-9.
Wossman, the third-place
team in Richwood's district, finished 23-13.
Karr trailed 35-23 following a
short jump shot by Richwood's
6-foot-8 junior center, Storm
Warren, in the first 13 seconds
of the third quarter. &om there,
the Cougars, champions of Dist r i c t 10-3A, mounted their
charge, which included three
baskets by Gfoob6 Hogans, two
by Williams and two by Butler,
plus a 3-pointer by Alvin Bailey
with two seconds remaining.
That gave Karr a 4139 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Cougars, the only other
2 n*
A_--
A-
-2
A-
2
Friday, March 9, 2007
The Advertiser
Mistakes doom Richwood: Karr wins
Patrick Johnson
Gannett News Service
It was a tale of two halves and Richwood drew the short
end of the straw.
As the Rams
jogged off the court
at halftime with a
10-point lead, having
dominated
every phase of the Class 3A
state semifinal contest with
Edna Karr, it would have been
hard to envision a way for Karr
to work its way back into the
game.
But it only took a quarter
for the momentum of the game
to drastically shift, as Karr
outscored Richwood 18-6 in the
third quarter to take a 41-39
lead, and the Cougars never
looked back, en route to a 61-54
victory,
"Karr is a very good team,
and they're very aggressive
inside," said Richwood coach
Terry Martin. "We played hard
too, but we made too many
mental
mistakes,
like
turnovers. It was the mental
mistakes that cost us the
game."
Richwood turned the ball
over 19 times, 12 of which came
in the second half alone, which
Class
3A
Brad Kernp/bkemp@theadvertiser.com
Richwood's Desmond Ellis, center, is fouled by Edna Karr's Kedrick Hogans in
the Class 3A semifinals at the LHSAA Top 28 boys basketball tournament in
the Cajundome.
gave Karr several breakaways
down the stretch.
The normally potent shooting of Raschard Boatner also
was largely ineffective, as he
scored eight points in the
game, compared to his season
average of 27.
"We payed a lot of attention
to (Boatner)," said Karr coach
William Robinson. "We had
(Darnell) Williams on him
most of the night, and we
knew we had to what we call
'100' him. '100' is basically an
in-your face style of defense."
Without Boatner's average
of 27 points per game,
Richwood was forced to rely on
big men Storm Warren and
Leslie Davis, who are more
accustomed to cleaning up
Boatner's missed shots.
Karr was, however, able to
equal Richwood's leaping ability, which limited any one
Ram player to less than
12 points.
"They were right up in my
face for the whole game,"
Boatner said. "I couldn't get in
any rhythm."
Richwood's largest lead of
the game came early in the
third quarter, as Warren
knocked down a jumper to give
the Rams a 12-point lead at 3523.
From there, however, Karr
went on a 20-4 run that took the
game into the fourth quarter.
Karr will advance to play
the winner of Wossman and
E.D. White in the 3A championship game next week, while
Richwood wdl have to wait a
little longer for a repeat of its
2005 performance.
ill ~obimonand Roch Weilaecherhave led a 15-year
f@rrHigh bmketball d m &with nary a dhwuraging word
CONTENT TO DOMINATE
.
By Mike Strom
Staff writer
Credit the junior partner in the
firm of Robinson, Weilbaecher
and Howard for providing a succinct explanation of the mix of
humble personalities on the
coaching staff of Karr basketball.
"I've never seen them disagree, even going back to when
\
I was playing," said Taurus
Howard of head coach Bill
Robinson and assistant Roch
Weilbaecher. Howard was a
member of Karr's first varsity
teams in the early 1990s, who
now is into his ninth season as
the Cougars' No. 2 assistant.
"They have always been on the
same page."
See. KARR,
.
C-8
Bill Robinson
Roch W h e t h
Taurus Howard
Head coach
speaks softly,
but words have
clout
Became close
with Robinson
in AAU two
decades ago
Played on
Karr's first
basketball state
title team
,,
Playing in the
same system
of Karr teams
of the past 15
years, this
year's
Cougars are
makingthe
program's
sixth appearance in a
state championship game
and trying to
win their third
basketball
title.
I k tnurnvirate leads way
KARR, fim c-1
................................................................
Robinson and Weilbaecher
have worked side-by-side for
the better part of two decades,
directing Karr to five Class 3A
championship games, without
ever directing a disparaging
word at the other. Close friends
and confidants, Robinson and
Weilbaecher seemingly are two
peas from the same pod, a pair
of perfectly matched, evenkeeled individuals who possess
the ever-vanishing ability to
check their egos a t the door
when they come to work.
Always inclined to deflect
credit, Robinson and Weilbaecher are the pillars of the
program, a 15-year body of
work that has produced two
state championships, two state
runner-up finishes, eight district
championships and 13 playoff
appearances.
Karr (32-10) goes for its third
state championship Friday at 7
p.m. against E.D. White (28-7)
in the 3A championship game at
the Cajundome in Lafayette.
Robinson, 58, and Weilbaecher, 41, are in their 21st
year of coaching together. They
struck their kinship as AAU
coaches in the late 1980s by
spearheading one of the state's
most successful programs, the
Louisiana Spartans.
Robinson also had coached
extensively in NORD and had
served as an assistant under
Coach A1 Ott at Karr when the
school was one of New Orleans'
premier junior high programs.
Weilbaecher was completing a
five-year run as a Rummel assistant when his friend Robinson called to ask if he was interested in joining him in establishing a varsity program a t Karr.
They modeled the Cougars
after two of the area's most legendary programs - Jim Robarts' team a t Rummel and
Billy Fitzgerald's at Newman.
Robinson and Weilbaecher
fine-tuned that foundation by
adopting instructional methods
recommended by former Karr
Athletic Director Ron Gearing,
who had been an assistant basketball coach under Curtis
Moore at McDonogh. Players
earn points during practice and
drills. Should they fail to earn
enough points, they run,with a
goal of inspiring them tg achieve
on a daily basis.
The program revolves around
three basic tenets. Karr players
are expected to work at being
quality citizens and apply themselves academically. On the
STAR PHOTO BY SUSAN POA
Under Bill Robinson, who has won 305 games as Karr's coach, players are expected to be good citizens, apply themselves academically, commit to defense and play unselfishly on offense.
THROUGH THE YEARS Karr bo
Season
1992-93
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
Record .
24-10'
3A state runners-up
4 . 1 3 ~state champions
35-4' ?
26-11'
3A quarterfinals
30-12' .y.+ CL%3Astate champions
32-9'
3A state runners-up
no 4A playoffs
16-16
9-18
no 4A playoffs
19-15;
3A quarterfinals
'
watch practice today and you
saw one from 17 years ago, you
wouldn't be able to tell the difference."
"Luckily, we're all on the
same page," Robinson said of
the staff, which this year added
another former Cougars player,
Desmond Moore, as a freshman
coach. "I say luckily because
very seldom do we disagree on
anything. One official one time
said that we coach by committee,and I guess there's a lot of
truth in that."
Said Weilbaecher: "Our biggest thing from the get-go has
been that we do everything together. It's an easy job. It's a
fun job. It's enjoyable. I t has
never mattered to us who did
this or who did that. You just
concentrate on doing your job
and helping the children."
So intertwined is the staff
that those unfamiliar with the
program sometimes have difficulty identifying the head coach.
Robinson, an imposing 6 feet 3,
260 pounds, normally remains
seated for much if not all of the
*hm!l history
.
Reovtts
3A regionals
4A regionals
4A bi-district
4A bidistrict
4A bi-district
3A quarterfinals
3A state finals
2 state.titles
focus of attention."
Howard. "But there's no pres"I tell people now that we're sure from me in that regard. I'm
like Don Corleone," Weibaecher happy doing what I'm doing.
said. 'We're in semi-retirement, Coach Rob and Roch tell me
and Michael is taking over the what they want the kids to do,
family business. So we're in a and I relay i t to them. It's a
state of transition."
pleasure for me to coach with
But make no mistake about them. I'm content to be an assiswho is in charge, Weilbaecher tant coach as long as Coach Rob
said.
is here."
"The big fellow comes from
Country Day Coach Mike
the Teddy Roosevelt mode,"
Weilbaecher said. "He doesn't McGuire says Karr has a domi2
speak that often, but when he nant program because i t has
does, he carries a big stick. quality people as coaches.
"They do check their egos at
When he speaks, it's like the
words a r e coming from the the door," McGuire said. 'They
work with their kids. They get
burning bush with Moses."
Howard was a shooting guard their kids to play year-round,
on Karr's first two varsity teims and you have to do that to be
who teamed wit9 point guard successful. So when they're
Patrick Surtain to help lead the good, they're really goo
Cougars to a state runners-up when they're not as;
finish in the program's first var- they're still good b&se of the
sity season, 1992-93. The Cou- way they work with those guys.
gars won their first state title They've got a complete proone season later, in Howard and gram. They do as good of a job
Surtain's senior years. Howard as anybody. That's why they're
went on to play at Nicholls State playing for a state champion two Colonels teams that onship."
reached the NCAA Tournament. Surtain became an NFL
&
:
PLANNED APPROACH
&rrS senims hada notion t h y could lead the Cougars to a state titk
By Mike Strom
Staff writer
Four years ago, a wet-behindthe-ears group of ninth-graders,
fresh from winning an eighth-grade
city championship the year before,
vowed to bring a state basketball
championship to Karr High School.
These one-time seemingly knowno-better freshmen now stand one
victory away from fulfilling that
lofty prediction.
Their chance comes tonight at 7,
when Karr (32-10) plays E.D.
White (28-7) for the Class 3A state
championship in the Top 28 Tournament at the Cajundome in Lafayette.
"To win it all has been a lifelong
dream," said Karr guard Alvin Davis, one of five seniors who played
on the school's eighth-grade city
championship team. "To be in this
position now, it's like realizing a
dream. We know what it takes to
get the job done. It's not going to
be easy. We know it's not something easy to do because, if it was,
then a lot of other teams would be
here. We feel like we're privileged
to be here."
Karr is making its fifth Top 28
appearance under Coach Bill Robinson, but first since 1997, when the
Cougars finished as state runnersup to Parkview Baptist. The Cougars have advanced to the state finals in all five of their appearances,
and won state championships in
1994 and 1996. Karr's other runner-up finish was in 1993, in its first
season of LHSAA varsity competition.
In their march through the playoffs to this championship game, the
District 10-3A champion Cougars
have defeated Patterson 69-62 in
double overtime, Albany 68-55,
F'ranklin 60-46 and Richwood 61-54.
Karr rallied from 12 points down
early in the third quarter to defeat
Richwood.
E.D. White is the District 7-3A
champion and in search of its first
state title in its first Top 28 appearance. The Cardinals defeated
North Vermilion 62-51, Lutcher
58-55, Independence 73-59 and
Wossman 58-57 in the playoffs.
E.D. White also is the third District 7-3A opponent the Cougars
will face in the playoffs. Franklin
and Patterson were the second-
I
I
STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Karr senior center Kedrick Hogans, middle, is one victory away from fulf~llinga vow he and his fellow seniors made when they were freshmen,
that they would power the Cougars to a state championship.
and third-place teams behind
White in 7-3A.
But having watched E.D. White
rally from a 4837 deficit in the final
seven minutes to defeat Wossman
58-57 in the state semifinals, the
Cougars are mindful of the hurdle
facing them. Brian Fakier's free
throw with 4.2 seconds remaining
lifted the Cardinals past Wossman.
Senior guard Ben Martin is E.D.
White's lone double-figure scorer
at 17.0 points per game.
"They're going to be a handful
because of their style of play," Robinson said. "In some ways you
might be better off playing a more
free-spirited bunch that might do
things at certain times to beat
themselves. E.D. White is not that
way. They are very disciplined.
They are very structured."
The Cougars also feature a disciplined, structured style that revolves around senior center Ke-
drick Hogans. Plus, the Cougars
a r e determined to fulfill their
prophecy.
"Ever since eighth grade when
we won the city championship, we
felt that we would win a state
championship," said senior forward
Korey Williams. "There's still a lot
of people who don't think we should
have advanced this far. We want to
prove people wrong."
"As long as we keep playing the
way we've been playing, nobody's
going to beat us," said Hogans, who
earned a spot in the basketball program as a ninth-grader. "As freshmen we always talked about winning a state championship. So we
always thought that we had it in us.
Now we want to get it before we
leave."
Mike Strom can be reached at
mstrom@imespicayune.com o r (504)
826-3787.
Another
comeback?
In advancing to tonight's Class
3A state championship game in
Lafayette, Karr has joined Ehret
as another comeback story
after Hurricane Katrina. The
Cougars played less than half of
a season a year ago because
of Katrina, and finished with a
6-8 record and advanced to the
state quarterfinals. But Karr
did not re-open full time for
classes until January 2006, and
only two pre-Katrina starters
returned to play on the 2006
team. Center Kedrick Hogans and
forward Korey Williams were
joined by three other holdovers, reserves Jered Berry, Howard Trice and Darius Alexander. All
five are seniors on this year's
squad. Ehret was Class 5A
state champion last season, but
with a team that featured players from five different prestorm programs. Karr's team is
nearly all home grown. "These
children are a trip," said Karr
assistant coach Roch Weilbaecher. "They were telling us,
'Darn, Coach, if we could have
done this a year ago, we could
have gotten the Ehret story and
been on ESPN.' I told them
don't worry about it. You can
still get the ring."
Center Kdrick HogansJr: l;c drivingforce behind iG$rr'squct
By Mike Strom
Staff writer
Karr Coach Bill Robinson finds it interesting, if not ironic, that the catalyst
for his team, center Kedrick Hogans Jc,
is the last big man standing among the
metro area's most prominent players.
With Helen Cox 6-foot-10 junior Gregory Monroe exiting in the second round
of the Class 4A state playoffs and Holy
Cross 6-7 senior Brandon Moore departing one round later in the Class 5A quarterfinals, it is left to 6-6 Hogans to carry
the torch for the area's big men.
"Kedrick has always played in the
shadows of Greg (Monroe) and Brandon
(Moore)," Robinson said. "They all
played on the same AAU team together
(the New Orleans Panthers) and (Monroe and Moore) would get more of the attention because they were more experienced. Kedrick has proven to be a late
bloomer."
Hogans was not considered good
enough to earn a roster spot on Karr's
eighth-grade team. He had begun playing organized basketball only two years
earlier at age 11, and his successful bid
in making the freshman team was more
a function of his size than his talent.
"He was bad," Karr freshman coach
Jabbar Juluke recalled this week. Dulling
no punches. "He needed w o r k . ' ~ u thz
was 6-6, and we knew this day would be
coming."
"I tell everybody that Kedrick has
come a very, very long ways," Robinson
said. "He lacked coordination when he
was younger. But he always had a great
desire to be a very good player. He always wanted it. What probably sets him
apart from some of the other post people
that we've had here is his work ethic."
Hogans and Karr (31-10) will take
center stage at 6 tonight when the District 10 champion Cougars meet District
2 champion Richwood (30-8) in the first
of two Class 3A state semifinal games at
the Cajundome in Lafayette.
Hogans is friends with both Monroe
and Moore and is particularly close to
Monroe, considered one of the nation's
top prospects for 2008. With his team
eliminated, Monroe attended Karr's
60-46 victory against Fkanklin on Friday
in the state quarterfinals at Karr. Hogans scored 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked six shots. That followed a 26-point, 17-rebound performance in a 68-55 regional victory at Albany
Those performances were a month
after Hogans' teammate, senior forward
Korey Williams, said, "The man on this
team is Kedrick. We can go as far as Kedrick takes us. If Kedrick keeps playing
the way he is, then we can go as far as
we want."
Hogans' quickness and l a t e r a l
movement, particularly on defense, are
key ingredients in Karr's success. Hocans also has develo~eda consistent
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN POAG
Kedrick Hogans was awkward as a novice in the eighth grade, but hard work has
helped to polish his game and propel Kar'r into the Top 28 Tournament.
BOYS TOP 28
Semifinal round; At the Cajundome
Class C: Excelsior Christian vs. Reserve
Christian (Class C), 4:30 p.m.
Class 3A: Richwood vs. Karr, 6 p.m.
Class 3A: Wossman vs. E.D. White, 7:30 p.m.
Class C: Athens vs. Family Christian,3:30 p.m.
Class 1A: Plain Dealing vs. Christian Life, 5
p.m.
Class 1A: Grambling vs. Country Day, 6:30 p.m.
Class 4A: Washington-Marion vs. St.
Thomas More, 8 p.m.
Class 8: Ouitman vs. Centerville, noon
Class 2~:~onesboro-~odge
vs. Madison,
1:30 p.m.
Class B: Zwolle vs. Lacassine, 5 p.m.
Class 5A: Westgate vs. Bonnabel, 6:30 p.m.
Class 4A: Peabody vs. Northside, 8 p.m.
Class 2A: Ville Platte vs.
St. Thomas Aquinas, 3 p.m.
Class 5A: Barbe vs. Ellender, 4:30 p.m.
Ashehasprogressed,hisconfidence
has grown.
"I think I've done a 180," said Hogans, whose parents were standout athletes a t L.B. Landry, and Kedrick Sr. a
quarterback at Southern. "I wasn't al-
coaches and my teammates for pushing
me. I knew I had it in me. I was determined to become a better basketball
player."
In its fifth Top 28 Tournament appearance, Karr is seeking its third state
championship. The last trip was 10 years
ago when the 1997 team finished as state
runner-up to Parkview. Karr won state
titles in 1994 and 1996, and its other runner-up finish was in 1993.
Hogans averaged 13.8 points and 9.5
rebounds during the regular season as
the top scorer and rebounder on a team
with a 10-player rotation. By all accounts, Hogans is as unselfish as he is
talented.
"Kedrick is a pretty cool person,"
said senior guard Alvin Davis. "He's
really playful, and he's kind of goofy. But
he's a pretty good young man. He's got
his head on straight. He is the centerpiece of this team. We know that
when Kedrick plays his game that nobody can stop him and nobody can stop
us."
Hogans is o~timisticabout Karr's
prospects for a siate title.
~~~t~in~we~aveapre
chance as long as we keep playing our
pame and keer, lav"vine: the wav we've
been playing," Hogans said. "To h e , personally, I don't usually express my feelings. But we've been wanting to win a
v
-
Karr's Darius
Alexander,
middle left,
and Darnell
Williams,
middle right,
defend a
potential pass
by E.D.
White's Ben
Martin to
Brian Fakier
during the
Class
3A State
championship
game at the
Cajundome in
Lafayette.
Cougars complete trophy
chase with clutch victory
icim end 1I -ymr drought,
winr C h shte kttk
KARR 54 E.D. WHTIE 51
By Mike Strom
Staff writer
LAFAYETTE - Dust off a spot in the
trophy case. The Karr Cougars are
bringing some more hardware home to
Algiers,
After going 11 years without a state
championship, the Cougars have ended
the drought.
Darnell Williams and Kedrick Hogans
combined for four points to break a late
tie, and Williams sank four free throws
in the final 17.4 seconds to ensure a 54-51
victory against E.D.White in the Class
3A state championship game Friday
night at the Cajundome.
Karr (33-10) claimed its third state
championship on its fifth trip tb the finals
in 15 years of varsity competition.. Karr7s
previous titles came in 1994 and 1996,
during a run in which the Cougars ad-'
vanced to the Class 3A championship
game four times in their first five seasons.
See KARR, 0-14
points, nine
rebounds,
;ou~-blocked
shots and a
\teal and was
selected the
Outstanding
vlayer of the
;lass 3A state
i~tlegame tcirfZelplnglead
p<arr to a
:~4-51v~ctory
nga~nstE.D.
iVh11e
D. White pushed
Cougars to the limit
KARR,
from D-I
. . . ....... . ...................
. .. .
.
,.
7
BOYS BASKETBALL
.
!'hc C k ~ ~ g a rprevious
s'
champior:,:hip garns appearance was in
! 997.
Karl'-. 1% victories b the secoriti-iiiust in school history, two
rewer ~ i - i the
~ n 35-4 team that
\.\..,!I ~!i(+
program's initial state
i,lt1e.
"We kr.i.w coming into t h e
~.;.an!c:t h a t they (E.D. White)
had heart," said Williams, a se~ ~ i foi~vard
or
who finished with
i 0 points and Sour assists. "They
play aggressive like we do. We
icne\\ wc would have to play
with heart also, because you've
got to \vant it to get it."
.'As I've :;aid before, if we
play,
play the way we (no~~llally)
iio olio was going to beat us,"
::aid EIogrins, t h e C o u g a r s 7
?i-foot-tj srnior center.. who was
sclected t h e championship
izanlc's Outstanding Player
after scoring 11 points, pulling
down nine rebounds, blocking
fom. shots and coming up with a
steal. "I can't say it was easy.
had to work for everything."
E.D. White (28-8) pushed
ICxr, thc 1)istrict 10-3A champion. hr ?: minutes before falling four. points short of its first
state titalein its first trip to the
Top 28 Tournament. The Cardi;uls trtilec-l by eight points four
L u ~ l r sin the third quarter before
.I chary(>that produced a 46-43
!!'ad with 3% remaining, followi n g c o n ~ c c n t i v eb a s k e t s b y
!hian Fakier and Matt H.yme1.
Kijrr's Alvin Eailey t h e n
made his third 3-pointer to tie
f he score 14 seconds later, and
iht: Cougars' defensive pressure
finally took its toll on the Disd:,I.:
lLt 7-::A champions. Williams
rnadr a free throw following the
filest of tlvo consecutive E.D.
Whit(: turnovers, and Hogans
.,,
. 7
. .
Saturday's State championships
at Lafayette Caundome
Class 411: Washington-Marion vs.
Peabody, 8 p.m.
Class 2A: Madison vs.
St. 'Thomas Aquinas, 650 p.m.
Class 1A: Country Day vs.
Christian Life, 5 p.m.
Class B: Quitman vs. Zwolle,
150 p.m.
Class C: Athens vs. Reserve
Christian, noon
nus situations before a long
3-pointer by Cardinals guard
Bryson Triggs with 20 seconds
remaining. Williams responded
by sinking the game's final four
free throws, making a layup by
Triggs with two seconds left inconsequential.
Besides Bailey's t h r e e
3-pointers, the second of which
gave Karr a 17-15 lead a t the
end of t h e first quarter, t h e
Cougars also got 3-pointers
from Williams and Ian Charles
near the end of the second and
third quarters.
"I'm just happy for the fell a , " said Karr Coach Bill Robinson, who has directed the Cougars throughout their 15-year
history, said. "At crunch time
when we went down by one, we
kept our poise. We could have
withered there. But we didn't.
We stayed strong. I'm proud of
our guys. They did a tremendous job."
Fakier, Triggs and Brett Ledet led the Cardinals with 1 2 , l l
and 11 points, but Karr's defensive pressure limited leading
s c o r e r Ben M a r t i n t o nine
points, eight below his average.
"I can't say enough about how
h a r d we played," said E.D.
White Coach Jonathan Keife. "I
,.*
..
.
7
.
.
.
.
Advocate staff photo by BRYAN TUCK
E.D. Whitels Brett Ledet tries to get a shot off as Karr's Kedrick Hogans, left, and Korey Williams.
defend during the Class 3A state championship game Friday night in the Cajundome.
Karr holds off EDW
to claim Class 3A title
BY BRIAN HUDGINS
Special to The Advocate
-
LAFAVmE Edna Karr High
School had just enough gas in
the tank win a state charnpionship.
Darnell Williams made four
free throws in the final 17 seconds to help the Cougars hang
on for a 54-51 victory over E.D.
White Catholic of Thibodaux in
the Class 3A state championship at the State FarmLouisiana High School Athletic
Association Top 28 Tournament
on Friday at the Cajundome.
Williams hit a pair of free
throws with 17 seconds left to
give the Cougars a 52-49 lead.
Before E.D. White could get a
look at a 3-pointer, the Cardinals lost possession on a traveling violation.
Williams' next pair of free
throws with six seconds remaining propelled the Cougars
to their third state basketball
championship.
"We had a humble and confident group," Karr coach Bill
Robinson said. "They didn't
worry about unnecessary
things."
In addition to Williams' effort,
Karr center Kedrick Hogans
contributed 11points, nine rebounds and four blocks to grab
player of the game honors.
"He (Hogans) is a phenomenal player," E.D. White coach
Jonathan Keife said. "I thought
our kids boxed out and we did
all we could."
The Cardinals held a 46-43
lead in the fourth quarter, but
Karr's Alvin Bailey knocked
down a 3-pointer with 3:22 remaining to tie the contest and
spark the Cougars offense during the final few minutes.
'We expected them (the Cardinals) to pinch in the post,"
Robinsoxi said. "Our people saw
some good perimeter opportunities and we knew we would
have to win it from the perimeter."
Neither team was able to pull
away in the opening half, as
Karr grabbed its biggest firsthalf lead of six points on a couple of occasions. Korey
Williams scored on a fast-break
layup with 5:42 left in the second quarter to make it 23-17.
The Cougars ended up taking a
28-22 lead into the break.
Karr of New Orleans stayed
ahead partly because of a defensive effort that included the
Cougars holding E.D. White's
Ben Martin, who posted 32
points in a semifinal win over
Wossman, to nine points.
"That was the best defense we
played against all year," Martin
said. "I couldn't get around
screens. You have to give Karr
credit. They shut me down. I
never really could get it going
on the offensive side."
Karr finishes 33-10. Williams
had 10 points. Bailey and
Michael Butler each scored
nine.
''Last year, we lost to Rayne in
the quarters," Robinson said.
"We had players displaced (by
Hurricane Katrina). We
thought we could make a run
this season to get to Lafayette.
We have a couple of kids who
have parents living in other
places. We have had some unreal circumstances. They (the
players) always wanted to get to
this point."
Three players finished in double figures for the Cardinals,
(28-8). Brian Fakier scored 12
points. Bryson Triggs and Brett
Ledet each scored 11points.
It was a season that saw E.D.
White make it to the final for
the first time in school history.
"This has been the perfect
team," Keife said. "There have
been no attitudes. Coaches
would kill to coach this team.
The things they (the seniors)accomplished were special."
-
RO BASKETBALL
LL ROBINSON KARR
wsmallsc~~oftbeyar
..,,.
SANDER