07 season binder - Karr High School

Cougars headline CYO Tournament 

Gfoot-6 senior center 

H~gans leading hhrr 

By Pierce W. Huff 

Staff writer 

@embers of the Karr boys 

basketball team carried a busi- 

< ,',.,? 

nesslike demeanor after the 

'Ct,t~gars defeated 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 eams 

season. 

Karr's mind-set is one expect- 

ing 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 serni- 

finals are set for Friday at 

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 

the 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 Je- 

suit 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- 

nior center Kedrick Hogans, 

who was selected the Most Valu- 

able Player of the Jesuit Invita- 

tional. He scored 17 points in 

the Cougars' victory against 

Salmen in the championship 

game. 

"I saw the big guy against 

Salmen, and even when he 

played against us the day be- 

fore, neither team could do any- 

thing with him," Jennings said. 

"Granted, neither team has any 

big players inside, but (Hogans) 

is SO active." 

Karr Coach Bill Robinson 

said Hogans has improved a lot 

during the past few years. 

"He's become a legitimate 

post threat," Robinson said. 

"He's played on the same AAU 

team with Greg Monroe of He- 

len Cox the past two or three 

summers, and I think that expe- 

rience has really helped him." 

Robinson said the coaches 

from local colleges and universi- 

ties have really started to notice 

Hogans this year. 

Right now Karr is focused on 

trying to win the CYO Tourna- 

ment. The Cougars will play 

games against Covington, Jesuit 

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 re- 

turn 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 rest of the 

teams in Class 3A," Robinson 

said. "I just want us to focus on 

doing well in district and play- 

ing 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' [ate shot 

B the game-mhw 

By John Glambelluca 

Staff writer 

Darnell Williams' &point bas- 

ket with 35.2 seconds remaining 

gave Karr a 51-49 victory 

against Jesuit in the CYO Clas- 

sic 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 Wd- 

liams' &pointer. The Blpe Jays 

ran the clock down to 11.2 sec- 

onds, 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 pe- 

rimeter. 

Karr Coach Bill Robinson 

said he knew playing the Blue 

Jays a second time within a 

week would be a tough assign- 

ment. 

"We expected a difficult 

game," said Robinson. "I ex- 

pected Jesuit Coach Chris Jen- 

nings to find flaws and weak- 

nesses from our first game." 

The Cougars played its best 

defense and held its poise late in 

the game. Hogans led the Cou- 

gars 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 sec- 

ond-chance scoring opportuni- 

ties." 

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 Jesuit with 25 

points, including five &pointers. 

Garrett Gremillion had 17 re- 

bounds 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 one- 

point 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 Martin. 

Class 1A Country Day won 

its fourth consecutive game 

against a higher classification 

team with a 58-39 victory over 

defending Class 5A champion 

Ehret 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@19 when 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 quarter. 

But Karr finished the game 

with an 114 run. 

'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.

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 g Jon . Ander- 

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 

championshipson's 

basket gave Country Day 

a 51-42 lead with 2:5g l&. HOW- 'Xarr picked up its intensity The Cajuns did an excellent Parham Motaghedi scored 10 

ever, Darnell W i 3-poinkr in the final quarter," Country job of defending Cougars lead- points for Country Day 

and a basket by Jared Berry cut Day Coach Mike bkGuire said. ing scorer Kedrick Hogans. Anderson was selected the 

the Cajuns' lead to 5147 with IWe had three 'We could not get the ball to tournament's most valuable 

129 remaining. that let Karr back into the 

game, but we made our free 

On the ensuing possession, 

late in the game!, 

Eddie Ludwig rebounded his Charles, steal and layup gave 

Hogans,9, said Karr coach Bill 

Imey did a good job 'We played hard to the end," 

of defending him. Their past de- own shot to score and extend the cougars a 9-4 lead midway 

the Country Day lead to 53-47. through the first quarter, but 

The Cajuns outscored Karr the Cajuns went on an 8-0 -, 

5-3 in the final minute to secure including a 3-pointer by Ludwig, 

Stone said. We pmved we can 

fense was excellent." play with the big schools, but we 

Stone had four 3-pointers and are not where we should be as a 

11 assists to lead a balanced team. We have to decrease uur 

scoring attack Ludwig and An- turnovers and do a better job of 

the vidory. to take a 12-9 lead. derson scored 14 points apiece. blocking out."

'He's the best laver to come 

out of here since Raidy Livingston: 

league games. At high school 

games, fans point at him in 

warmups, snap photos of him 

with camera phones and implore 

him to 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 to 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 mag- 

azines. 

"He's the best player to come 

out of here since Randy Living- 

ston," said Roch Weilbaecher, 

the athletic director and assis- 

tant boys basketball coach at 

Karr who also serves as the 

chairman of the AAU's South- 

em Distrim. "He's the only guy 

from here that comes close to 

Randy in terms of hype and pos- 

sibilities." 

Hoop Scoop, a Louisville, Ky., 

based recruiting service, rated 

Monroe among the top eighth- 

graders in the nation. A year 

later, he earned an invitation to 

the Nike All-American Camp, 

one of the most prestigious all- 

star 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 consis- 

tently was ranked among the 

top-10 prospects in his class. He 

gained the top ranking last sum- 

mer when he outplayed 6-5 

guard Tyreke Evans from 

Pennsylvania, and Brandon Jen- 

nings, 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 the junior 

class," Rob Harrington, a re- 

cruiting analyst for PrepStar- 

s.com, said. "I always - men- 

tally at least - have a hierarchy 

of players (to rank) for college 

and for the NBA. He's No. 1 for 

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 Or- 

lando Magic, Lamar Odom of 

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 

Greg Monroe 

Delvon Roe 

Luke Babbitt 

Harotd Thompkins 

J'covan Brown 

Drew Gordon 

Willie Warren 

Devin Ebanks 

Greg Monroe 

Delvon Roe 

Tyreke Evans 

Brandon Jennings 

Jrue Holiday 

B.J. Mullens 

Drew Gordon 

Travis Reteford 

Troy Gillenwater 

Al-Farwq Aminu 

Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill 

Aston (Pa.) American Christian 

Helen Cox 

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 

Helen COX 

lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward 

Aston (Pa.) American Christian 

Mouth of Wilson (Va.) oak Hill 

North Hollywood (Calk) Campbell Hal 

Canal Winchester (Ohio) High 

San Jose (Calif.) Archbishop Mitty 

Shawnee Mission (Kan.) Bishop Miege 

Tierra Rfjada (Calif.) Stoneridge 

Norcross (Ga.) High 

ha. nt. khl 

Greg Monroe W 8-10 Helen Cox 

Jrue Holiday SG 6-3 North Hollywood (Calif.) Campbell Hall 

B.J. Mullens C 7-0 Canal Winchester (Ohio) High 

Tyreke Evans SG 6-5 Aston (Pa.) American Christian

Monroe, Cox hang on to top I k 

UCmn coach mak~ 

vr;Fit tb toke look 

at 6-9 fomoard 


Staff writer 

The Greg Monroe Show at 

Helen Cox had a surprise visitor 

Friday University of Connecti- 

cut men's basketball coach Jim 

Calhoun was among the many 

spectators in the standing-room- 

only crowd watching Cox's 

game against Karr. 

But in the end, Karr almost 

stole the spotlight and the game 

away from Monroe and Cox in a 

non-district game. 

Melvin Lambert scored 20 

points and Monroe added 19, as 

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 

prospect in the Class of 2008. 

Monroe said he was glad that 

Calhoun took the time to see 

him play against Kam 

"(Coach Calhoun) is one of 

the best coaches in college basketball." 

And Monroe showed his 

mettle by coming up with key 

plays down the stretch to lead 

Cox (22-3) to its second victory 

of the season against the Cougars. 

Trailing 47-33, Karr (14-9) began 

the fourth quarter with a 

17-4 run, capped by a layup by 

Kedrick Hogans, who scored 15 

points, to cut Cox's lead to 51-50 

with 2:07 remaining. 

After a Monroe dunk, Karr's 

Mike Butler, who scored 15 

points, hit a hook shot to again 

cut the Cox lead to one with 1:28 

remaining. 

But Monroe hit two free 

throws with 47 seconds remain- 

ing, and Jarron Thompson fin- 

ished the game's scoring when 

he hit a free-throw with 16.2 

seconds left to secure the win 

for Cox. 

"We made the plays at the 

end, and we made our free 

throws," Monroe said. 

Cox Coach Tyron Mouzon 

said Karr "outhustled" his team. 

"It's a rivalry game. (Karr) 

wanted it real bad." 

But Cox had little resistance 

from Karr in the first three 

quarters. It finished the first 

quarter with a 12-5 run to take 

an lsll lead. 

Cox increased its lead to 

34-21 when Lambert finished 

the first-half scoring with a 

3-pointer with 32 seconds re- 

maining in the second quarter. 

"He hit some big shots, and 

his outside shooting was crucial 

for them," Karr Coach Bill Rob- 

inson said. 

. Cox took a 40-24 lead in the 

third quarter, and a backwards 

dunk by Monroe with one sec- 

ond remaining in the quarter 

gave the Cougars a 47-33 lead. 

"Greg's passing is one of his 

biggest assets," Robinson said. 

"He gets the ball to the open 

people, and he's not that big a 

scorer, but his presence was al- 

ways there." 

Pierce W. Huff can be reached at 

phuff@tirnespicayune.com or 

(504) 826-3809.

Karr continues its mastery of St. Augustine 

CouganJnlac, off 

KnigtY in sdha3f 


Staff writer 

Fop the second time in less 

than three weeks, Karr's pres- 

sure 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 Tues- 

day. 

The victory was Karr's sec- 

ond against St. Augustine in less 

than three weeks. Kabr de- 

feated St. Augustine 60-47 in the 

CYO tournament. 

Karr center Kedrick Hogans, 

a &foot4 senior, scored a game- 

high 20 pointson Tuesday He 

led Karr with 16 points in the 

game against St. Augustine ear- 

lier 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 

- 

B 

first quarter and 23-20 at half- 35-25 lead at the end of the Robinson said it was importime. 

St. Augustine then began quarter. Karr increased its lead tant that Karr play well defen-. 

the third quarter with a 51 to 43-26 when Hogans had a fol- sively, and it did. 

to take a 25-24 lead. low-up dunk with 3:52 left. "We knew we had to extend 

66~eyplayeda23mneand "I'mveryactiveonthe ourdefense,"hesaid. 

packed it in to stop our big boards, and I was able to score . some easy points and get Pierce Hfl can be rnahed at 

mah" Coach Bill my teammates some points," phmImeapunamm or 

said. "Our perimeter game was 

Hogans said. 

struggling early on!' 

(504) 826-3809. 

Hogans also said that St. Au- 

So k txrned to its d~fm~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 Lawk 

finished the third quar- rence) dribbling for them." 

ter with an 11-0 run to take a

Cougars use balanced attack to advance 

By Mike Strorn 

Staff writer 

Franklin Coach Darian 

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 inten- 

sity it needed and rode a bal- 

anced 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 re- 

bounds and six blocked shots. 

"They just wanted it more 

than my kids," said Breaux. 

"We just didn't match their in- 

tensity. But they did an excel- 

lent job. They caused that. 

Karr did a great 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 over- 

all. The Cougars had made 

three unsuccessful advances to 

the quarterfinals in 2000, 2001 

and last season. 

The Cougars, state champi- 

ons in 1994 and 1996 and run- 

ners-up in 1993 and 1997, will 

face Richwood, a 71-53 winner 

Friday night against top- 

ranked 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 consec- 

utive time against Karr. The 

Cougars won a regional game 

last season 50-48. 

"Our kids played well," said 

Karr 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 

just pleased with how we 

played. We came to play to- 

night." 

Karr, the District 10-3A 

champion, led wire to 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 at the end of the 

third. The visiting Hornets 

didn't get closer than eight 

after halftime, and faced with 

the unrelenting pressure of 

Karr's 10-man rotation. 

Hogans was Karr's lone 

player to reach double figures, 

but the 6-foot-6 senior center 

got ample support from for- 

wards Darnel1 Williams and 

Korey Williams and guards Al- 

vin Bailey and Ian Charles. 

Darnel1 Williams and Davis 

scored nine points each, and 

Davis nade three 3-pointers in 

Karr's first-half surge. Wil- 

liams also held Franklin's top 

shooter, Bryan Tardy, in check. 

Tardy was one of three Hor- 

nets 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 Ho- 

gans. "We had an 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 institu- 

tions of the fledgling Algiers 

Charter School Association. 

The Chargers and Cougars 

also have experienced a basket- 

ball rebirth of sorts as well this 

season, with each program ad- 

vancing within one victory of 

making its first appearance in 

the Top 28 Tournament in at 

least a decade. 

0.E Walker (25-9) has de- 

feated 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 dou- 

ble overtime and Albany 68-55 

to advance to the Class 3A quar- 

terfinal 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 as- 

sistant principal and head coach 

of the Chargers after 16 suc- 

cessful seasons at Kennedy. 

"This particular team will not be 

together again. (This achieve- 

ment) represents the culmina- 

tion 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

UII~~~-KI- 

OCIIVVI msvclauvn. 

The Chargers and Cougars 

also have experienced a basket- 

ball rebirth of sorts as well this 

season, with each program ad- 

vancing within one victory of 

making its first appearance in 

the Top 28 Tournament in at 

least a decade. 

0.P Walker (25-9) has de- 

feated 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 dou- 

ble overtime and Albany 68-55 

to advance to the Class 3A quar- 

terfinal 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 as- 

sistant principal and head coach 

of the Chargers after 16 suc- 

cessful seasons at Kennedy. 

"This particular team will not be 

together again. (This achieve- 

ment) represents the culmina- 

tion 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 exis- 

tence as a senior high school. 

The Cougars' most-recent ap- 

pearance 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 ex- 

cited," Robinson said. "They 

know they lost in the quarterfin- 

als (to Rayne 45-41) last year, 

and they would like to redeem 

themselves. Our biggest con- 

cern is to keep them focused be- 

cause some of them have a ten- 

dency to drift. We have some 

free spirits, so we've got to 

watch them."

Hogans 

gets back 

in time 

for 1- 

Cramps hi& him, 

but bib winning shot 


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 the hopes of the 

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 non- 

district game at the Karr gym. 

"I had a charley horse and my 

leg was still cramping at the 

end, but I knew my teammates 

needed me and I had to suck it 

'up," Hogans said. 

His last-minute 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 com- 

ing on a John Ray dunk off a lob 

pass from Charles Hammock 

with 4:10 remaining. 

But Karr (15-9) tied the score 

at 51 on a reverse layup by 

Howard Trice with 2:49 left. 

Thirty-one seconds later, Ho- 

gans 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, Ho- 

gans returned and hit the win- 

ning 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 turn- 

overs at the end of the game. 

'Wa Lnaxrr it xxrtlo rrninrr fn ha o

Led by ~rz'ckt Hogans, the Ahrr Cougars are on pace to make a run for the Chs 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 in- 

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 

terestini" said Robinson, a two-iime 

state championship winner and the only See KARR, D-7 

cougm 

brace for 

tide run 

KARR, fjmn D-1 

against McCall in the Class 3A 

finals. 

The Cougars, who improved 

to 22-10 following a 81-26 Dis- 

trict 103A victory against Ra- 

bouin on Wednesday, appear to 

be more than capable of adding 

some hardware to the Karr tm- 

phy case. Blessed with a 

10-player rotation and a prime 

time performer in 6-foot-6 se- 

nior center Kedrick Hogans, 

the Cougars are on their way to 

winning the District 10-3A 

championship and could be- 

come the Karr team to ad- 

vance to the Top 28 Tourna- 

ment 

Hogans is the team's leading 

scorer at 14.5 points per game 

and its best defender in and 

around the lane. His long, lanky 

arms make him an outstanding 

shot-blocker, and his lateral 

quickness and ability to face 

the basket make him a force of- 

fensively. Like the rest of his 

teammates, Hogans is con- 

cerned only with winning. 

"The coaches tell me to look 

to score more often," Hogans 

said. "If we really need to 

score, then I'll put it on my 

back. But I'm OK with us being 

balanced. My favorite thing is 

to play defense. I feel like any- 

body can score. But it takes 

somebody special to play good 

defense." 

'The man on this tek is ~e 

drick," said senior forward Ko- 

rey 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 Wil- 

liams is the team's second-lead- 

ing scorer at 10.3 points and 

one of its top shooters along 

with junior guard Michael But- 

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 ex- 

cel 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 

STAR PHOTO BY BRm DUKE 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 victo- 

ries have come against a 

rugged schedule that includes 

12 games against Cox, 0. Perry 

Walker, East St. John, 

McMain, Salmen, East Jeffer- 

son, Country Day and North- 

shore. 

"I don't like to make predic- 

tions. But we do have the o p 

portunity to advance," Robin- 

son 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 for- 

ward all season. I think our 

best ball could be in front of 

us."

E.D. White upsets Wossman 

Cardinals rally 

from 11 point 

deficit, win 58-57 

Dan McDonald 

dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com 

E.D. White coach Jonathan 

Keife said that Thursday's 

Class 3A semifinal was a 

microcosm of his team's season. 

If it was, his team's had a 

heck of a year. 

The Cardinals rallied from 

an 11-point deficit in the final 

quarter, getting a key threepoint 

play from scorer Ben 

Martin with 21 seconds left 

and a clutch free 

throw from Brian Class 

Fakier to post an 

upset 58-57 win over 3A 

Wossman in the 

Top 28 Tournament semifinals. 

Fakier's free throw snapped 

a 57-all tie with 4.2 seconds left 

and put the Cardinals into 

their first state title game. In 

fact, the Cardinals had never 

even made it to the semifinal 

round. 

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~us Dunn 2-12 5-8 

10, Ladarrian Willlams 3-5 2-3 8, Davar~us Dunn 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.Totals 25- 

59 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). 

"It's indicative of what this sions and getting a key inside mishandled a pass under the 

team is all about," Keife said. basket from Tremel Daniel basket. 

"These guys never give up. with 2:09 left that provided a "We probably should have 

They just focus on the next 54-49lead. pulled it out rather than try for 

play." "It got frustrating," Martin one more basket," 

The Cardinals (28-7) had said of his team never manag- Zimmerman said. "We gave it 

plenty of opportunities to give ing to edge in front. "Our plan to them at the end when we 

up, with the Wildcats (22-14) was to take it to them, try to couldn't finish free throws and 

appearing to break open a get to the free throw line and threw it away." 

close game early in the fourth get back in it." Martin came up with a 

quarter. Martez Sellers' driv- It didn't help that Martin loose ball and drove the base- 

ing layup 11 seconds into the picked up his fourth foul with line for his three-point play, 

final period and a three-point 5:09 left with his team still and Robinson hit one of two 

play on Tremel Daniel's offen- down by eight points. But he free throws with 7.6 seconds 

sive rebound less than a never left the game, and Keife left to tie the game. He missed 

minute later had given said he never considered the second, and Wossman was 

Wossman a 48-37 advantage, its pulling him. hit with a traveling violation 

largest of the game. "I trusted him with four on the rebound to give the 

"We cautioned our guys all fouls," Keife said. "He's a Cardinals their last chance. 

year long, don't relax," said smart player. He's been play- Fakier was fouled by Sellers 

Wossman coach Dale ing long enough to know when trying to head upcourt, and he 

Zimmerman. "E. D. White to gamble. I wasn't pulling him hit the first free throw for the 

didn't quit, that's the bottom out of the game." game-winner. He missed the 

line. They wanted it more." Fakier's baseline jumper second, but all Wossman could 

Martin, who finished with after Daniel's bucket made it a manage was a half-court heave 

32 points including 12 in the three-point game, and three from Daniel at the horn. 

fourth quarter, began a 9-0 run free throws by Bryson Triggs "It's not our style to go up 

with a driving layup. Later, he sandwiched around two miss- and down the court like that," 

hit three straight baskets in a es by Wossman's Wilbert Keife said. "We're a patient 

period of just over a minute, Williams tied the game at 54 team, but we had to try to drive 

the last one on a steal and with 50.9 seconds left. the ball to the goal the first 

layup with 3:58 left that sliced Lazzare Robinson hit a chance we got on every posses- 

the difference to 48-46. layup in transition to give the sion since we were behind. 

But Wossman held onto its Wildcats the lead again, and That's our comeback offense, 

advantage, stifling the after a turnovers Wossman and it's worked for us a couple 

Cardinals on two late posses- had a chance to put it away but of times this year." 

Top 28 Boxscores 

Excelsior Christian 5-19 (Woods 0-1, L.Dunn 1-8, D.Dunn Raschard Boatner 3-12 1.4 8, Rydell hams 4-1 1 0-0 10, Triggs 2-3 4-6 10, Cory Adamsl-2 0-0 2, Brett Lede12-5 2- 

2-4, M.Rush 2-6). Fouled out-M.Rush. Rebounds- Keldr~c Martin 2-5 0-0 5. Storm Warren 4-7 4-4 12. Leslle 4 6, Ryan BlossO-3 1-2 1, Man Hymel 0-0 0-0 0, Trey 

Reserve Christian 35 (McCain 15), Excelslor Chr~stian 33 Dav~s 3-10 1-2 7 Desmond Ellis 6-10 0-0 12, Greg Lamse 0-0 0-0 0 Totals 19-39 17-24 58. 

(L.Dunn 12). Assists-Reserve Christian 13 (McCain 6). 

Excelsior Chr~stian 5 (DDunn 2). Total fouls-Reserve 

Johnson 0-4 0.0 0.Totals 22-59 6-10 54. 

Edna Karr 13 10 18 20 - 61 

WOSSMAN (57) 

Martez Seilers 8-13 2-2 18, Jarrell Carl 3-9 3-5 9, Tremel 

Christian 22, Excelsior Christian 21. Technicals-Reserve Richwood 13 20 6 15 - 54 Daniel 4-10 1-1 9, Lazzare Robinson 4-7 5.8 13, Wilber1 

Christian bench. Anendance--TEA. 3-po~nt goals-Edna Karr4-12 (Butler 1-3. D.W~lihams 2- W~ll~ams 1-1 0-2 2, Rontarrius Bradley 1-1 0-0 2, 

tku 3A Somilid 

Eb k 61, Riihd 54 

EDNA KARR (32-10) 

Charles O.O Butler 4.1 2.4 ,,, Korey 

williamS 0.4 0.0 0, Darheli 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. 

5, Ba~ley 1-4), Rlchwood 4-21 (Boatner 1-9, Harris 2-6. 

Mart~n 1:4. Johnson 0-2). Fouled out-Elils. Rebounds- 

Edna Karr 34 (Hogans 9). Richwood 34 (Davis 9). Assists- 

Edna 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~laaII 57 

E.D.WHITE (28-7) 

Dominique Halckr 2-2 0-0 4, Tedric Wesley 0-0 0-0 0. 

Totals 23.43 11-18 57. 

White 12 17 7 22 - 58 

Wossman 16 14 13 14 - 57 

3.polnters - EDW 3-10 (Martin 1-6, Triggs 2.3, ~~oss O- 

I), Woss 0-5 (Sellers 0-2, Carr 0-1, Dan~el 0-2). Rebounds 

- EDW 23 (Ledet 8). Woss 24 (Robinson, Carr 7). Assists - 

EDW 10 (Fak~er 3). Woss 3 (Wesley, Sellers, Robinson). 

Total Fouls: EDW 15, Woss 20. Technicals - None. 

RICHWOOD (30-9) 

Brian Fak~er 1.1 5-6 7, Ben Martin 13-25 5-6 32, Bryson Anendance- 4,023.

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 Termi- 

nators, make that the Cougars, 

have advanced to the state semi- 

finals, with all five excursions 

producing a trip to the champi- 

onship round. 

In appearance No. 5 Thurs- 

day night, the Cougars rode the 

scoring of Kedrick Hogans, Dar- 

nell Williams and Michael But- 

ler, 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 semi- 

final games played at the Cajun- 

dome. 

"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 out- 

scored 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 Wos- 

sman 58-57 in Thursday's sec- 

ond semifinals. 

District 2 champion Rich- 

TODAY'S 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 D.m. 

wood, which entered as the 

highest-ranked team remaining 

in the 3A field at No. 3, finished 

30-9. 

Wossman, the third-place 

team in Richwood's district, fin- 

ished 23-13. 

Karr trailed 35-23 following a 

short jump shot by Richwood's 

6-foot-8 junior center, Storm 

Warren, in the frst 13 seconds 

of the third quarter. From there, 

the Cougars, champions of Dis- 

trict 10-3A, mounted their 

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 en- 

tering 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 fi- 

nal 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," Robin- 

son said. "I'm very proud of our 

guys. Things looked bleak at 

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 

guard Raschard Boatner. 

Boatner was limited to eight 

points, 19 below his average, on 

3-of-12 shooting. Instead, War- 

ren, 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 star 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 re- 

bounds. 

"Coach told us that what we 

can't do by ourselves that we 

can do collectively as a team," 

he said. "We took that (mes- 

sage) 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 stm back 

to beat Richwood 

reach 3 sem$nUk 

By Mike Strom 

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 - . 

BOYS TOP 28 

Semifinal round at the 

Cqjundome in Lafayette 

THURSDAY'S 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 

TODAY'S 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 as the 

highesbranked team remaining 

in the 3A field at No. 3, finished 

30-9. 

Wossman, the third-place 

team in Richwood's district, fin- 

ished 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 Dis- 

trict 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 en- 

tering the fourth quarter. 

The Cougars, the only other 

2 n* A_-- A- -2 A-

2 The Advertiser Friday, March 9, 2007 

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 Class 

at halftime with a 

10-point lead, hav- 3A 

ing 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 

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 game, compared to his season 

down the stretch. average of 27. 

The normally potent shoot- "We payed a lot of attention 

ing of Raschard Boatner also to (Boatner)," said Karr coach 

was largely ineffective, as he William Robinson. "We had 

scored eight points in the (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 abil- 

ity, 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 35- 

23. 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 champi- 

onship game next week, while 

Richwood wdl have to wait a 

little longer for a repeat of its 

2005 performance.

ill ~obimon and Roch Weilaecher have led a 15-year 

f@rr High bmketball dm& 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 suc- 

cinct explanation of the mix of 

humble personalities on the 

coaching staff of Karr basketball. 

"I've never seen them dis- 

agree, 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 Wheth 

Head coach Became close 

speaks softly, with Robinson 

but words have in AAU two 

clout , decades ago 

Taurus Howard 

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 

making the 

program's 

sixth appear- 

ance in a 

state champi- 

onship game 

and trying to 

win their third 

basketball 

title.

I k 

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, even- 

keeled individuals who possess 

the ever-vanishing ability to 

check their egos at the door 

when they come to work. 

Always inclined to deflect 

credit, Robinson and Weil- 

baecher 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 Weil- 

baecher, 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 as- 

sistant when his friend Robin- 

son called to ask if he was inter- 

ested in joining him in establish- 

ing a varsity program at Karr. 

They modeled the Cougars 

after two of the area's most leg- 

endary programs - Jim Ro- 

barts' team at 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 bas- 

ketball 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 them- 

selves academically. On the 

tnurnvirate leads way 

STAR PHOTO BY SUSAN POA 

Under Bill Robinson, who has won 305 games as Karr's coach, players are expected to be good citi- 

zens, apply themselves academically, commit to defense and play unselfishly on offense. 

THROUGH THE YEARS Karr bo *hm!l history 

Season 

1992-93 

1993-94 

1994-95 

1995-96 

1996-97 

1997-98 

1998-99 

1999-00 

Record . 

24-10' 

35-4' ? 

26-1 1' 

30-12' .y.+ 

32-9' 

16-16 

9-18 

19-15; 

watch practice today and you 

saw one from 17 years ago, you 

wouldn't be able to tell the dif- 

ference." 

"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 commit- 

tee, and I guess there's a lot of 

truth in that." 

Said Weilbaecher: "Our big- 

gest thing from the get-go has 

been that we do everything to- 

gether. It's an easy job. It's a 

fun job. It's enjoyable. It 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 diffi- 

culty identifying the head coach. 

Robinson, an imposing 6 feet 3, 

260 pounds, normally remains 

seated for much if not all of the 

3A state runners-up . 

' 4.13~ 

state champions 

3A quarterfinals 

CL%3A state champions 

3A state runners-up 

no 4A playoffs 

no 4A playoffs 


focus of attention." 

"I tell people now that we're 

like Don Corleone," Weibaecher 

said. 'We're in semi-retirement, 

and Michael is taking over the 

family business. So we're in a 

state of transition." 

But make no mistake about 

who is in charge, Weilbaecher 

said. 

"The big fellow comes from 

the Teddy Roosevelt mode," 

Weilbaecher said. "He doesn't 

speak that often, but when he 

does, he carries a big stick. 

When he speaks, it's like the 

words are coming from the 

burning bush with Moses." 

Howard was a shooting guard 

on Karr's first two varsity teims 

who teamed wit9 point guard 

Patrick Surtain to help lead the 

Cougars to a state runners-up 

finish in the program's first var- 

sity season, 1992-93. The Cou- 

gars won their first state title 

one season later, in Howard and 

Surtain's senior years. Howard 

went on to play at Nicholls State 

on two Colonels teams that 

reached the NCAA Tourna- 

ment. Surtain became an NFL 

Reovtts 

3A regionals 

4A regionals 

4A bi-district 

4A bidistrict 

4A bi-district 


3A state finals 

2 state.titles 

Howard. "But there's no pres- 

sure from me in that regard. I'm 

happy doing what I'm doing. 

Coach Rob and Roch tell me 

what they want the kids to do, 

and I relay it to them. It's a 

pleasure for me to coach with 

them. I'm content to be an assis- 

tant coach as long as Coach Rob 

is here." 

Country Day Coach Mike 

McGuire says Karr has a domi2 

nant program because it has 

quality people as coaches. 

"They do check their egos at 

the door," McGuire said. 'They 

work with their kids. They get 

their kids to play year-round, 

and you have to do that to be 

successful. So when they're 

good, they're really goo 

when they're not as; &: 

they're still good b&se of the 

way they work with those guys. 

They've got a complete pro- 

gram. They do as good of a job 

as anybody. That's why they're 

playing for a state champi- 

onship."

PLANNED APPROACH 

&rrS senims hada notion thy could lead the Cougars to a state titk 

By Mike Strom 

Staff writer 

Four years ago, a wet-behind- 

the-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 know- 

no-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 Tour- 

nament at the Cajundome in La- 

fayette. 

"To win it all has been a lifelong 

dream," said Karr guard Alvin Da- 

vis, 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 some- 

thing 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 Rob- 

inson, but first since 1997, when the 

Cougars finished as state runners- 

up to Parkview Baptist. The Cou- 

gars have advanced to the state fi- 

nals in all five of their appearances, 

and won state championships in 

1994 and 1996. Karr's other run- 

ner-up finish was in 1993, in its first 

season of LHSAA varsity competi- 

tion. 

In their march through the play- 

offs 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 appear- 

ance. 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 Dis- 

trict 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~lling 

a 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," Rob- 

inson 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 disci- 

plined, structured style that re- 

volves around senior center Ke- 

drick Hogans. Plus, the Cougars 

are 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 pro- 

gram as a ninth-grader. "As fresh- 

men we always talked about win- 

ning 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 or (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 holdov- 

ers, reserves Jered Berry, How- 

ard 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 play- 

ers from five different pre- 

storm programs. Karr's team is 

nearly all home grown. "These 

children are a trip," said Karr 

assistant coach Roch Weil- 

baecher. "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 Hogans Jr: l;c driving force behind iG$rr's quct 

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 work.'~ut hz 

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 lateral 

movement, particularly on defense, are 

key ingredients in Karr's success. Hocans 

also has develo~ed a 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. 

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." 

Ashehasprogressed,hisconfidence 

Hogans is o~timistic about Karr's 

prospects for a siate title. 

~~~t~in~we~aveapre 

has grown. 

"I think I've done a 180," said Hogans, 

whose parents were standout athletes 

at L.B. Landry, and Kedrick Sr. a 

quarterback at Southern. "I wasn't alchance 

as long as we keep playing our 

pame and keer, lav vine: the wav we've 

v " - 

been playing," Hogans said. "To he, personally, 

I don't usually express my feelings. 

But we've been wanting to win a

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 1 I -ymr drought, 

winr C h shte kttk 

KARR 54 E.D. WHITE 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~tle game tcirfZelplng 

lead 

p

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 charnpi- 

onship. 

Darnell Williams made four 

free throws in the final 17 sec- 

onds to help the Cougars hang 

on for a 54-51 victory over E.D. 

White Catholic of Thibodaux in 

the Class 3A state champi- 

onship at the State Farm- 

Louisiana 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 Cardi- 

nals lost possession on a travel- 

ing violation. 

Williams' next pair of free 

throws with six seconds re- 

maining propelled the Cougars 

to their third state basketball 

championship. 

"We had a humble and confi- 

dent group," Karr coach Bill 

Robinson said. "They didn't 

worry about unnecessary 

things." 

In addition to Williams' effort, 

Karr center Kedrick Hogans 

contributed 11 points, nine re- 

bounds and four blocks to grab 

player of the game honors. 

"He (Hogans) is a phenome- 

nal 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 re- 

maining to tie the contest and 

spark the Cougars offense dur- 

ing the final few minutes. 

'We expected them (the Car- 

dinals) to pinch in the post," 

Robinsoxi said. "Our people saw 

some good perimeter opportu- 

nities and we knew we would 

have to win it from the perime- 

ter." 

Neither team was able to pull 

away in the opening half, as 

Karr grabbed its biggest first- 

half lead of six points on a cou- 

ple of occasions. Korey 

Williams scored on a fast-break 

layup with 5:42 left in the sec- 

ond 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 de- 

fensive 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 un- 

real circumstances. They (the 

players) always wanted to get to 

this point." 

Three players finished in dou- 

ble figures for the Cardinals, 

(28-8). Brian Fakier scored 12 

points. Bryson Triggs and Brett 

Ledet each scored 11 points. 

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) ac- 

complished were special."

- 

RO BASKETBALL 

LL ROBINSON KARR 

wsmallsc~~oftbeyar 

..,,. SANDER

07 season binder - Karr High School

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?