Newscopy: Gary steals Cajun show

[Tripple Threat]

Gary steals Cajun show
Ex-Carencro star helps East team beat three other UL signees.
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

BATON ROUGE - Ex-Carencro's LaRyan Gary was outnumbered 3-1 in Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns signees, and outflanked by Acadiana area athletes 3-1.
But Gary and his East Squad teammates emerged victorious over the West in Thursday's LHSCA All-Star Boys Basketball Game 99-92 at LSU's Maravich Assembly Center.


Gary scored 16 points and had eight rebounds in 11 minutes of court time, and he locked up the game for the East when he powered to the basket and added a free throw to forge a 97-87 lead with 1:02 left to play.

"I was just trying to go out and play," said Gary. "I was playing a different position than I'll play in college. I was playing the post instead of guard or a small forward. In high school I played everything, because we were a small team.
"It was not that hard," added Gary, who played his sophomore and junior years at St. Thomas More.

The West featured UL signees Randell Daigle of Northside, Tyren Johnson of West St. John and Central High's Damon Forrest. Also on the West were Westgate's Derrien Williams and Jennings product Darrell Hicks.

Hicks emerged as the game's Most Outstanding Player, pumping in a game-high 18 points by hitting 5-of-9 from the floor and making 7-of-8 free throws. He nailed a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left to narrow the count to 98-92, East, and provided his team's last gasp.

"I was going for the win," said Hicks, who will attend Beville State in Alabama. "I'm not looking to score or produce a highlight play."

So the final score was a letdown, but one tempered by the MVP vote.

"I was disappointed until I heard my name called," Hicks said. "I can't believe I got it.

"It felt pretty good this week. Everbody here can do the same things you can _ run, shoot, dribble, jump. It's amazing the talent there is in the state. It was fun."

The West led by as much as 18 points at 35-17 in the first half, but the East rallied to get within 49-47 at halftime and it was a battle.

"We had to get in the locker room and see what we were doing wrong," Gary said. "We had to work harder on the boards. In the first half, the West demolished us on the boards. Our coach (Ouachita's Casey Jones) told us to play like we were going to the next level."

When Gary heads to the next level, he will team with Daigle, Johnson and Forrest for coach Robert Lee at UL.

"We're all in summer school at UL already," Gary said. "We've been lifting weights together and playing, so I know how they play."

Daigle totalled two points and two steals, Johnson had seven points and a game-high three blocked shots and Forrest came up with nine points and seven rebounds.




Originally published July 21, 2006

[Tripple Threat]

East 99, West 92 (boys)

EAST BOYS ALL-STARS (99) Bennett 2-3 4-4 10, Averette 3-10 2-5 8, Williams 0-0 4-6 4, Herring 1-2 1-2 3, Matthews 2-6 3-4 8, White 0-5 0-0 0, Calloway 0-3 0-0 0, Jones 3-7 3-5 9, Priestly 4-6 0-0 8, Cage 5-14 0-0 10, Gary 4-9 6-12 16, Porter 1-1 0-0 2, Elliott 3-6 0-0 6, Tramiel 1-3 5-9 7. Totals 32-84 30-50 99.

WEST BOYS ALL-STARS (92) Williams 0-2 1-2 1, Banks 3-6 1-1 7, Hicks 5-9 7-8 18, Jones 2-7 2-3 6, Norman 3-6 0-0 6, Gatson 0-2 0-1 0, Hollier 1-5 4-6 6, Williams 4-9 3-3 11, Daigle 1-5 0-0 2, Green 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 2-4 2-2 7, Roche 1-4 6-10 8, Ghoram 2-5 1-2 5, Forrest 3-7 2-2 9, Johnson 2-6 2-2 6. Totals 29-77 31-42 92.

Halftime-West Boys 49, East Boys 47. 3-Point goals-East Boys 5-15 (Bennett 2-2, Averette 0-2, Matthews 1-3, White 0-1, Haywood 0-1, Calloway 0-1, Jones 0-1, Priestley 0-1, Cage 0-1, Gary 2-2), West Boys 3-27 (Williams 0-2, Banks 0-1, Hicks 1-2, Jones 0-1, Norman 0-3, Gatson 0-1, Hollier 0-2, Williams 0-3, Daigle 0-4, Johnson 1-2, Ghoram 0-1, Forrest 1-2, Johnson 0-3). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-East Boys 61 (Gary, Tramiel 8), West Boys 52 (Roche 8). Assists-East Boys 7 (Averette 3), West Boys 4 (Williams 2). Total fouls-East Boys 26, West Boys 31. A-1,834

[Clutch0364]

I hope Gary is eligible because if he is I think he will be a huge player for us next year.

[Cajunsmike]

I hope Gary is eligible because if he is I think he will be a huge player for us next year.

Gary won't be eligible. He will pay his own way to school in an attempt to get eligible. Odds are he will be successful. According to an article in the New Orleans paper, Tyren Johnson was the star at the beginning of the game with a highlight blocked shot. Coach Lee has said Johnson may be our biggest contributor of the young guys.

[Cajunfever]

I hope Gary is eligible because if he is I think he will be a huge player for us next year.

I think Gary will be a good player also. But, I hope he improves his free throw shooting. He was 6 of 12 for the game.

[Hatch]

Sorry it took so long but I made it to the game and here's my thoughts.All four of the guys were impressive and were clearly among the top ten guys out there.

Gary looked real good hitting two threes and made some very aggressive drives. He wasn't that great from the line but getting 12 ft attempts in 11 minutes shows how aggressive he was, also had two three point play opportunities at the line.

Johnson was playing as a center because he was the second tallest guy out there at 6'6". Took the ball right to the basket and scored the first points of the game and also had some nice blocks. Had one three rim out on him during the game but has a nice looking shot and was stroking it from outside during warmups. He has a rather lanky frame and probably needs to put on some muscle before banging with the big guys in D-1.

Forrest hit a few jumpers, 1 from three, and also had some nice drives. I could definetly see him contributing early on at the 2 guard spot.

Daigle had probably the best ball handling skills of anybody out there. He didn't hit a three in the game but was also stroking quite a few in warmups. He had one of the best looking moves of the night making a ball fake then hitting a fade away jumper from the foul line.

Also I ran into former Cajun assistant Paul Johnson who is now the head coach at Bevill State where the Hicks kid who won the MVP is going. We chatted for a few minutes about the Cajuns and he gave his best wishes to the team next year. Nice guy hope he does well too.