BY DAVID FOLSE II

Sports Editor

RESERVE-After perhaps the most successful season in the history of the program, Tommy Monier’s Riverside Rebels were rewarded with three members on the 10-2A all-district team.

Senior guard/forward Josh Labiche was named the District MVP and was joined on the all 10-2A squad by Chris Fontenot and senior Matt Rogers.

“Those three guys couldn’t be more deserving,” the Rebels Head Coach said. “They meant so much for what we have been trying to do for the last couple of years. They came in with me and they entered a program that had not made the playoffs in its history.

“Six seniors had just graduated and it was a very young team, a bunch of very young guys. It would have been really easy for them to just mail it in, but they stayed the course and really bought into what I was trying to accomplish and it paid off.”

Headlining the emergence of Riverside Academy basketball was Josh Labiche.

The all-everything for Monier, Labiche led the team in scoring and was the number one offense threat as well as the top defender for the Rebels throughout the season.

Monier said having the privilege to coach a player of Labiche’s skill level is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I played high school ball and my junior year the starting five we had all played college basketball,” Monier said. “I played with several very good players, including some that played in the NBA.

“Honestly, he is the best ballplayer that I have ever been around. I know people might look at me and say that I am a young guy and haven’t been around long enough to know the difference, but without a doubt, and I think I know a little bit about basketball, Josh is the best player I have ever been around. The kid can just flat out play.”

An extraordinary talent, Monier said Labiche is also a very team-oriented player.

“If there was one thing I wanted people to know about him was how unselfish he is,” Monier said. “He is just so selfless. That is what makes him a great ballplayer.

“He could have easily averaged 30-35 points a game for us. He is the kind of kid that gets his teammates involved and wants to win.”