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RESERVE — The East St. John High School boys basketball team recently completed it 2022-23 season. Ranked No. 15, the Wildcats made it to the second round in the playoffs, where they fell to No. 2 Ruston.

Regardless of the loss, the progress by the team made the year a success.

Coach Antonio Broadway Sr. was named Coach of the Year.

When asked the secret of his success, Broadway replied, “Coming in year 3 as the head boys basketball coach, I raised the bar extremely high. The reason for my success was discipline. Everything I did was based on discipline, from wearing the right color socks to shoes and being punctual.

He said winning district was extremely special to the team because it had been the goal since he got to the school.

“We shared last season with Destrehan; we wanted to win it all this year,” he said.

“This year we knew we had to rely on defense and needed other guys to score. We were a well-balanced team this year. Our overall theme was to BELIEVE.”

Broadway continued, “The team started coming together when I implemented TIP -which means teamwork, intensity and poised.”

Members of the team were also recognized with district honors.

Senior Amir Rios earned first team all-district honors.

“Amir has been special since I met him his sophomore year,” Broadway said. “I believe we would have made a late run last year, with exiting in the quarter finals. Amir tore his ACL and returned to the team late January and still got first team.”

Other players recognized include Wendell Williams, a first-year player who received 2nd team all-district, and Honorable Mentions for Devin Davis, Bryan Warren, Charles Rayfield and Jyhi Jones.

When asked about expectations for next year, Broadway said, “We will raise the bar even higher!”