State of the Program: Houma Christian girls basketball looks for playoffs with rookie coach
Before he ever coached a game for Houma Christian girls basketball, Jamar Celestine already took the Warriors to the playoffs in another sport.
Celestine is not just the rookie head coach of the girls basketball team for Houma Christian, he's also the head coach of the 7-3, playoff-bound Warriors football team. In basketball, though, he inherited a team that has proven to be a consistent contender for the LHSAA playoffs in Class 2A District 9.
The tradition
Before Celestine began at HCS – in either sport – the girls basketball program was competing for championships. For three straight years, the Warriors made the playoffs, but their biggest achievements came before the most recent run.
In both 2017 and 2018, Houma Christian went all the way to the Division IV state championship game under then-head coach Kathy Luke. However, the Warriors came up short both times, falling to Lafayette Christian both times.
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The challenge
The biggest road block to Houma Christian's success this season comes from Celestine's football commitments. In order to prevent any overlap, the Warriors don't open the season until December, the day before football's state championship weekend. However, even this is a double-edged sword.
If the football team gets eliminated early, that means that the girls basketball team faces an uphill climb in the push to the postseason, already playing fewer games than most other Louisiana teams. If the football team does go on a deep run in November, Celestine will have all of those problems with the added issue of even less practice time with his players.
Expectations
Celestine may build a winner with Houma Christian but, unlike with his football team, it'll take him more than one season to do it with his girls basketball team. There's just not enough games on the schedule to make the playoffs in 2023-24.
The schedule
Dec. 6: vs. Thrive Academy
Dec. 12: vs. Terrebonne
Dec. 15: @ Patterson
Dec. 19: @ Comeaux
Dec. 21: vs. South Terrebonne
Jan. 4: @ Benjamin Franklin
Jan. 5: vs. St. Charles
Jan. 9: @ West St. John
Jan. 12: @ A.J. Ellender
Jan. 16: @ Covenant Christian
Jan. 19: vs. St. John
Jan. 22: @ Lutcher
Jan. 23: vs. Metairie Park Country Day
Jan. 26: @ E.D. White
Jan. 30: @ Delcambre
Feb. 1: vs. Independence
Feb. 8: vs. Cabrini
This article originally appeared on The Courier: Houma Christian girls basketball preview: Warriors aim for playoffs
