By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE — East St. John coach Yussef Jasmine saw a wide-open Class 5A playoff field as brackets were released by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association Thursday — and he believes his 8th seeded Wildcats team is as dangerous as any in the field, if not more so.

“This year’s team, as far as having quickness, length, size, skill … I think this is the most complete team we’ve had,” said Jasmine. “And the thing about us is we’re still getting better.”

The Wildcats (22-7) tip-off playoff action 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at home as St. Amant visits Leon Godchaux Jr. High gymnasium, and will do so featuring a team that exploded onto the scene this season despite turning over virtually the entire rotation from a year ago.

East St. John graduated 10 seniors from last year’s team, which bowed out at Brother Martin in last season’s second round.

But the 2013 Wildcats have put together perhaps the most impressive resume of any team Jasmine has guided, notching a slew of impressive wins, often in eye-opening fashion. A 19-point win at Brother Martin; a 21-point win over Riverside on a neutral court; 16 and 19-point wins at home over Higgins and Jesuit. Those teams represent the fifth, third, 11th and 10th seeded teams in their classifications. ESJ has also scored wins over O.P. Walker (10th in 4A) and Country Day (4th in 1A) and St. Thomas Aquinas (4th in 2A). Eleven wins in all have come over teams ticketed for the postseason.

Elex Carter, the team’s senior center, is at the heart of ESJ’s base defense, the 2-3 zone. The 6-foot-7 big man patrols the lane and giving his teammates license to be as aggressive as possible on the perimeter.

Tre’Von Jasmine, the team’s starting shooting guard and the son of Yussef Jasmine, leads ESJ in scoring at over 15 points per game. Edwin Winston has provided the explosive scoring punch in the frontcourt next to Carter, and point guard Kyle Patterson has shown a penchant for coming up with big plays in the clutch.

But unlike many high school clubs, the Wildcats can hurt you past their top three or four players.

ESJ boasts one of the deepest teams in the state.

“This team is very humble,” said Yussef Jasmine. “We’ve had very talented teams before, but everyone on this team understands and embraces a role. Elex knows he’s one of the best defensive players in the state. In my mind, he’s the best. Tre knows he’s a scorer, a shooter.

“It’s different parts of the body working together. If you’re the eye, you don’t try to be the leg.”

St. Amant finished fourth in District 5-5A, finishing 4-6 in the league and 20-12 overall. At one point, the Gators were 15-2, but struggled to close the season, finishing on a 4-10 skid.

Point guard and returning All-State selection Donald LeBlanc leads the Gators. Jasmine said that LeBlanc is the catalyst for a perimeter-oriented attack.

“They like to take a lot of outside shots,” said Jasmine. “There’s one guy who is maybe 6-foot-3, a pretty small team. They’re a scrappy team that fights.”

REBELS HOST POPE JOHN PAUL — Third-seeded Riverside couldn’t be more battle-tested entering Tuesday’s Class 2A bi-district playoff game with Pope John Paul II, after three hotly contested battles with District 10-2A rival John Curtis, including the Rebels’ final two regular season games.

“We like where we are,” said Riverside coach Timmy Byrd. “I feel good about our team from a defense and toughness standpoint. Offensively, we haven’t played our best ball yet, and it’s good to feel that way headed into the postseason.”

The Rebels enter on a high note after winning Monday’s dramatic district tiebreaker over Curtis (see game story for details). Byrd said that the three games with Curtis went a long way in preparing his young group — RA boasts one senior in its rotation, the rest freshmen and sophomores — for a playoff run. In all three games, Riverside rallied back from a second half deficit, twice finishing the job to earn victory.

“For our young team, I think what those games do for us is if we fall behind, these players won’t lose confidence,” said Byrd. “They know that even if we fall behind by double-figures, we’re not out of a game.

“Our kids don’t quit. In the playoffs, you have to have a team that never quits.”

The Rebels (21-5) entered what was supposed to be a rebuilding season, after the graduation of former Louisiana Mr. Basketball Ricardo Gathers and a senior class that won two straight state championships (and a third at Reserve Christian).

But Byrd’s team finds itself as a major championship contender behind a roster of young, but extremely skilled players.

Byrd calls point guard Von Julien “the best point guard in Louisiana,” and Julien has a Sugar Bowl MVP to back up that assessment. Fellow guard Herb McGee has established himself as a top two-way player, the team’s top defender. Malik Crowfield is the team’s deadliest scorer, Jordan Andrews its “glue guy,” an extremely well-rounded contributor.

And Cory Costanza, who serves as the team’s center despite standing at just 6-foot-3, has battled through injuries all season, providing toughness and a lethal 3-point shot that is just now hitting top-form: he canned six 3’s in Monday’s win, showing the tremendous value added when a center spreads the floor.

With Deuce Wallace and Timmy Perrilloux highlighting a strong bench unit, Riverside looks primed to perhaps claim its third state championship in four seasons.

But Byrd cautions that it won’t be easy.

“We’ve got an extremely tough bracket,” said Byrd. “Rosepine is 22-4, and that’s a potential regional game. We could have Curtis again in the quarterfinals. They’re a six-seed, but arguably the first, second or third best team in 2A. Then you’ve got No. 2 potentially in the semifinals and then No. 1. So it’s definitely a tough road to get through.

“But it’s not supposed to be easy. The good thing is, if we do play Curtis down the road, it should be at our place.”

Pope John Paul II and Riverside will tip off at 7 p.m. in Reserve Tuesday.

The Jaguars are 12-13 this season and finished fourth in District 8-2A. PJP II enters coming off of its hottest stretch of the season, though, winners of six of their last eight.

“They’ve got a couple of very good players we need to contain,” said Byrd. “We can’t go to sleep and let those two jump on us early.”

WEST ST. JOHN LOOKS TO UPSET WESTMINSTER — West St. John coach LaVanta Davis knows his team can play better basketball than its No. 28 seed would indicate — and he hopes that the Rams show it Tuesday, as they travel to fifth-seeded Westminster for a Class 1A bi-district playoff game at 7 p.m.

“Anytime you make it in, it represents an opportunity,” said Davis. “Everyone is 0-0. We’ve got a few days to prepare and tweak things.

“I like our chances. If we go out and play the way we’re capable of playing, we’ve got a chance to pull off the upset.”

West St. John continued its historical trend of starting off the season slowly and then picking up steam; with a roster full of players that helped propel the Rams into the Class 1A football semifinals (point guard Jordan Hamilton is the team’s lone basketball-only player) the Rams start their season later than most.

WSJ went 2-8 over its first 10 games but regrouped to go 6-4 over its final 10, including a key 49-43 victory over Class 4A Lutcher on Feb. 7 that all but sewed up the Rams’ playoff spot.

West St. John (8-12) twice played 10th-seeded East Iberville tough in district play, taking the Tigers once to overtime. Though the Rams fell in both games, Davis and his players look at those games as an example that the Rams are capable of playing with the top teams in the classification.

“I feel like, given the teams we played in predistrict and then our district schedule, we’re well-prepared for this,” said Davis, who is in his first season heading the Rams program after succeeding longtime coach Antoine Edwards. “What it comes down to for us is we need to sustain our play for all four quarters.”

Hamilton’s been a steady playmaker for WSJ. Forward Damond Pierce has provided tough frontcourt play, and guard Quan Scott has made an impact down the stretch—Davis said both players are playing well headed into the playoffs.

But he also said that any Rams success won’t come down to two or three guys — everyone must step up.

“When we have just one or two going, we make it tough for ourselves. When we’ve got everyone clicking at a high-level, though, we’re tough for anyone.”

When West St. John wins, it usually comes down to defense. The Rams are 8-3 when holding an opponent to less than 50 points, but 0-9 in all other games.

A strong defensive game would come in handy against their first opponent. Westminster (21-3) finished second in District 6-1A, behind champion North Central. Only North Central has toppled the Crusaders over their past 21 games, the team’s lone other loss this season coming against North Vermilion.

The explosive Crusaders look to play a fast-paced game. They’ve topped the 80-point mark 13 times this season, including five games over 90 points and two over 100. Among the team’s top offensive weapons are Avery Brooks and Chase Malbrue.