St. Thomas More basketball coach Danny Broussard enters elite group after fourth straight title

Danielle Allentuck, The Advertiser, March 13, 2021

LAKE CHARLES – St. Thomas More coach Danny Broussard fancies himself a bit of a Louisiana high school basketball historian.

He attended his first state championship game when he was 6 at Rapides Parish Coliseum, and he hasn’t stopped going since. Broussard knows the statistics: there are 13 boys teams that have won three straight state championships and, until Saturday, just four that have won four in a row.

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Now, Broussard and the Cougars get to add themselves to that elite list. St. Thomas More defeated University Lab 60-49 to win their fourth straight title.

"I’ve seen tons and tons of games," Broussard said. "This might be one of the best teams to ever play in Louisiana basketball history."

Broussard, who has been coaching St. Thomas More for 38 years, now has six championships and 1,053 career wins. Earlier this season, he became the 10th winningest-coach in high school basketball history.

Broussard, who started at St. Thomas More as his brother’s assistant when he was just 22, said he always dreamed of being a coach. Even so, he never imagined he’d be in this position.

"I was just in the right place at the right time" Broussard said. "I’m sure glad I went into coaching."

With football season running until late December because of COVID-19, Broussard didn’t get a good look at his team until early January. It didn’t take long for things to click, and the team didn’t lose a single game after that.

Led by Jaden Shelvin, a Dallas Baptist commit, and Carter Domingue, the Cougars won 26 straight to end the season. Jack Bech, an LSU football commit, Bryce Boullion and Christian Landry were also significant contributors.

"It’s surreal," Shelvin said. "People can only dream of winning one, and we won four. We’re a talented group but we still have to work hard."

Bech credits Broussard for teaching them about more than just the fundamentals. There were constant speeches about life lessons, including 10 minute rants on picking up trash.

"These guys get it, that’s it’s more than just basketball," Broussard said. "They think I’m crazy but they get it."

With the current crop giving the Cougars a 20-point lead, Broussard’s assistant coaches, all of whom played under him, pushed him to turn to his bench. As the current crop received a standing ovation, the coaches were already thinking about breaking in the next generation.

"We’re going to be a different team." Broussard said. "We’ve got some good young kids. We’re going to work and the future is going to be bright. We’re not going to fall off a cliff."

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Athletic Network footnote by Dr. Ed Dugas.
Please click here for Danny’s Athletic Network Footnote. His two brothers Rickey and Brett are both former UL Baseball players and all three were HPE (Kinesiology) majors.