RHS ready for another run

Can the 2024-25 season be the third time’s the charm for the Ruston boys basketball program?

That’s certainly the bet RHS made in the offseason after longtime head coach Ryan Bond moved into an administrative role, leaving one of the most coveted coaching jobs in the state open.

A winning program was already assembled. It just needed someone to put the final touches together and bring the Bearcats over their recent state semifinal hump.

In steps Marcus Jackson, a three-time state champion head coach, who most recently spent his time at Arcadia — winning two state titles with the Hornets (2016, 2021) in the process. He’s seen success at the highest level of 1A basektball. His staff has done at the 5A level as well. What’s the secret?

Well, that’s the best part. All it takes for Ruston to reach the mountaintop is all about themselves. If Ruston wants to be great, the Bearcats just have to commit to the staff’s defensive- first approach and allow top playmakers to shine.

Corey Deans is handling the main coaching duties while Jackson is sidelined with an offseason injury. Jackson won’t be back until mid-December because he tore both of his bilateral patellar tendons in practice.

For now, Deans is carrying on his standard.

“I won a state title in 2003 as a player. So many things have to go right to win a title. I don’t want that to just be the focal point of everything is championship or bust. We didn’t win ours like that,” he said. “We just tried to win the next game. But the key for us is to defend. If everyone buys in to the type of defense we want to play, we got a great chance to win. We’re going to score. I don’t care what another teams. We’ve got different ways to score on anyone when we execute.”

It’s simple because it is. Jackson and his staff aren’t here to reinvent the wheel. Sure, they have their own standard and language for players to learn, but the approach is the same as has always been at Ruston: compete with everything you’ve got.

And with All-State phenom Ahmad Hudson back for his sophomore season, along with seniors Joran Parker, Zheric Hill, and Fabian Stringfellow and sophomores KeShun Malcom and Jasen Morgan, the Bearcats have a strong foundation.

You don’t go 49- 13 with two state tournament semifinal appearances over the last two seasons without a talented core.

But what’s the next step? Deans goes back to each player understanding their role and how the team wants to win on a nightly basis and sticking to it.

A standard does no good if it’s flexible. Just like it was under Bond, Ruston’s identity starts on defense.

Ruston will run a man defense with a full-court-pressure approach, looking to get steals and plenty of hands in passing lanes to cause chaos. Deans is particularly excited to see how younger players handle that style in the early weeks of the season while football players remain in the playoffs.

“I think the last three weeks, we’re making leaps and bounds as far as our progression. I’m excited. We’re still learning some things, but we still have a lot to be excited about,” Deans said. “Right now, we only have three guys that have real experience, even when the football guys come back. The new guys, every drill we gotta set goals for them and make sure they hit their goals every week. We’re scheduling some tough games. We make take some losses, but we don’t plan on it later. We want our guys to see where they’re at. I told them the other day that it’s amazing to see where they are now compared to June 3. June 3, they didn’t know anything. Playing time was limited last year for them obviously. Just getting their confidence is key.”

Expect Malcom, Morgan, Zatterion Sutton, Mason Delaney, Hudson Paul, and Keshawn Carrington to see significant minutes over the next month for the Bearcats.

And when Hudson, Hill, and Parker return, Deans expects big things from the Bearcats who have lived out the standard.

The return of Aidan Anding, Ruston’s leading scorer last season and an All-State performer, is still undecided.

“I’m leaving it up to him and his family,” Jackson said of Anding’s return to the court, where he has been a starter since his freshman season under Bond.

Anding is a football commit to play cornerback at LSU and a 4-star recruit on the gridiron.

Hudson ( 6-7, 230), who averaged 14 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 3 blocks last season, will be asked to do more for the offense. But Deans is confident his young power forward can handle it.

“A lot of times what coaches want to do with somebody of his size, they’ll just put him on the block and the low post. That’s not the plan,” Deans said. “The plan is to move him from the low post, the slot, the wing, and get him moved around and get offense ran for him. We do the same thing in football. A lot of times when he runs routes, he’s not even getting the ball but then you see Joran or Dylone (Brooks) score touchdowns because of the open space. He’ll be happy with how we use him.”

Parker, who averaged 10.4 points and 2.7 assists last season, will also be looked to as not just an offensive driver, but a leader off the court to younger players.

“Hopefully, as a senior, he becomes the leader of the team and bring the young guys with him,” Deans said. “Every season, you’re going to have games you lose that you didn’t expect. Him seeing it with his experience knowing that the ebbs and flows of the season, he can talk to the guys and tell them we’ll be OK and we just gotta get through it. I want him to guard the best player every night. I want him to lead by example. Get in here and run all the drills hard. That’s what we expect.”

Zheric will also do that like he is on the football field. The young guys still have to learn from them that you can always learn something from wins and losses,” he added.

Ruston opens the 2024-25 season Monday at the City of Lights Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Natchitoches-Central. Ruston faces Bossier on Monday at 5: 30 p. m. and H. L. Bourgeois on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m.