By GEORGE MAHL

Fans of area boys basketball teams know who some of the top players are in the River Parishes. Kids like Ryan Perrilloux (East St. John), Demond Carter and Frankie Francois (Reserve Christian) Gerard Landry (Lutcher) and Chris Moore (Destrehan) have had great seasons and ignite their re-spective teams offense.

Being that I have seen several top players from other schools, I think I would like to share some thoughts on some other players that fans might not be that familiar with.

Let me start out by mentioning the forward/center over at Mount Hermon High School, James Causey. This guy can do so much for a team it amazes me. He can shoot, rebound, block shots and pass. I saw him play against Reserve Christian last month and he seemed like a one man force. He had 38 points and pulled down several rebounds.

One person familiar with Mr. Causey is RCS head coach Timmy Byrd. The Eagles coach told me after there game with Mount Hermon that Causey is “a tremendous athlete”.

I now know why. A player that I was impressed when I saw play in December is Springfield High School forward AJ Danzler. He was named to the Riverside All-Tournament team because of his play inside the foul line.

He has a nice touch who can play well with his back to the basket. Danzler makes All-Unknown team. Speaking of the Ri-verside Tournament, I saw a guard who had been playing basketball at Grand Isle High School for six years. Thad Soileau has been playing with the Crusaders since the seventh grade and is averaging over 21 points a game.

He played on a team that only dresses out about seven players per game. That is amazing. He makes my All-Iron team. Speaking of Grand Isle, I think they may have the smallest player to participate in a high school basketball game ever.

Robert Vegas is a player that is about five-foot tall and is only 13-years old. Vegas makes my All-Small team.

French Settlement center John Cain is a force I was impressed with a couple of months back. If he can add some weight to his body, he will be a player to contend with in the future.

Lastly, Thibodaux High School starter Jordan Cle-ment is arguably the best player in 6-5A. He has lead the Tigers to an impressive season, including a victory over 6-5A champs Hahn-ville. Mr. Clements makes my All-Bayou team.

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