American Press All-Southwest La. Big Schools basketball team: Season to remember for Trail, Barry

Published 9:27 am Sunday, April 17, 2022

Jabbari Barry helped Barbe to one of its best seasons in a decade, while Myca Trail helped the Saints remain the top team in Division II.

For that, the pair have been chosen as the Most Valuable Players on the American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Large Schools basketball teams.

Trail, a senior forward, helped the Saints win a second consecutive Division II state championship, averaging 18.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.0 steals and 3.0 assists per game. St. Louis went 32-3, capped by a win over St. Thomas More in the state championship game. In that game, Trail scored 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

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“She is a special player who did all the right things on the floor and in the classroom, where she is an A student,” Saints head coach Tony Johnson said.

Johnson said Trail never backed away from responsibility.

“She came in as a freshman and played a role on that team,” he said. “As a sophomore, she knew  that we needed more from her and she stepped up and led us to the championship game.

“She did so much work after practice; she was a great leader. You know she is going to be successful in life because she appreciates what it takes.”

Johnson is the Coach of the Year, giving the Saints a sweep of the individual honors.

Joining Trail on the first team is teammate Paris Guillory, a junior guard who averaged 18 points per game. Also on the team are Iota guard Avery Young (20 ppg), Barbe guard Mikayla Manley (18.3 ppg) and LaGrange guard Miah Alexis (15 ppg).

The boys first team is led by Barry, who averaged 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game while leading the Bucs to a 20-win season.

“Since his freshman year he has really worked hard, matured and worked on all aspects of his game,” Bucs head coach Carl Klein said. “This year, his court awareness — getting the ball where it needed to go and ability to take over when needed — really improved. He was able to create and make things easier for others.”

Barry is joined on the first team by St. Louis forward Bryson Hardy (19.6 ppg), Washington-Marion guard Tyree Brown (17.8 ppg) and the Iowa tandem of forward Curtis Deville (13 ppg) and Deshawn Ceasar (13 ppg).

Coach of the Year is Iowa’s Robert Melanson, who guided the Yellow Jackets to a 26-5 season, District 4-3A championship and trip to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Melanson picked up his 700th career win during the season.

American Press All-Southwest Louisiana Big Schools basketball team

Boys

First Team

Pos. Player, School Cl. Ht. Avg.

G Jabbari Barry, Barbe Jr. 6-1 18.1

F Bryson Hardy, St. Louis Catholic Sr. 6-3 19.6

G Tyree Brown, Washington-Marion Sr. 6-1 17.8

F Curtis Deville, Iowa Sr. 6-2 13.0

G Deshawn Ceasar, Iowa So. 6-2 13.0

MVP — Jabbari Barry, Barbe

COACH OF THE YEAR — Rob Melanson, Iowa

Second Team

Pos. Player, School Cl. Ht. Avg.

F Ja’quise Richmond, Barbe Jr. 6-5 14.1

G Desamonte Gradney, Iowa So. 6-1 13.0

G Jamaal Guillory, Westlake Sr. 5-10 17.8

F Chance Levi, Jennings Sr. 6-1 17.0

G Ryan Baptist, LC College Prep Jr. 5-10 13.6

Girls

First Team

Pos. Player, School Cl. Ht. Avg.

G Myca Trail, St. Louis Catholic Sr. 5-10 18.7

G Paris Guillory, St. Louis Catholic Jr. 5-7 18.3

G Mikayla Manley, Barbe Jr. 5-8 18.3

G Miah Alexis, LaGrange Sr. 5-7 15.0

G Avery Young, Iota Sr. 5-7 20.0

MVP — Myca Trail, St. Louis Catholic

COACH OF THE YEAR — Tony Johnson, St. Louis Catholic

Second Team

Pos. Player, School Cl. Ht. Avg.

G Jill Fontenot, Jennings Sr. 5-7 15.2

C Bri Doucet, Jennings Sr. 6-2 12.7

F Ariel Williams, Barbe Jr. 5-11 22.0

G Dayla Simon, South Beauregard Sr. 5-6 16.0

F Mckenzie Shaw, LaGrange Sr. 5-9 12.0