It had been a banner season for the Ville Platte High basketball team. Not only did they secure the District 5-3A championship, but they also now have two players that have reached the 1,000 point mark in their respective careers.
The latest to reach that mark is Ernest Roberts. The junior post player for Bulldogs has always had basketball on his mind.
“I watched my older sister play and it inspired me to want to play as well,” stated Roberts. “I started playing when I was about six or seven years old in EPYB and have played ever since.”
After finishing out his “career” in the youth league, Roberts went on to play junior high basketball at Ville Platte High, while at the same time starting his time on the AAU circuit. Roberts believes that playing AAU has helped his game because of having to play against some tough competition.
“Being able to play against some really good players allows me to work on what I need to get better,” said Roberts. “It is fun to get to travel around the country and see what it takes to become the best player around.”
Roberts began his high school career in the eighth grade. He impressed the coaching staff so much that by his freshman year, he was in the starting line-up.
When asked if he ever thought that the day would come that he would be able to score 1,000 points in his career, Roberts was very honest with his answer.
“I really did not believe that I could reach this goal because when I got on the floor, I wanted to pass the ball all the time,” commented Roberts. “But, the coaches kept on me to become a scorer and I knew I had to step up my game.”
Roberts is hoping that his game will help Ville Platte reach the state semi-finals once again this year. Roberts and the Bulldogs will begin their journey toward that goal tomorrow night when they host Loranger in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Ville Platte earned the No. 12 seed in the playoffs by virtue of their 25-10 record.
Loranger, out of District 8-3A comes into the game as the No. 21 seed and owns an overall record of 21-11. The Wolves are the only team from that district to make the playoffs.
Loranger averages 59 points per game on offense and surrenders 51.8 points per game.
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Tracey Jagneaux
Sports Editor