Crusader Sports History
Last Aloysius Basketball Games - 2. Another Gator Foe

The 1968-9 Crusader squad traveled to Alexandria to face the LaGrange Gators in the AAA semifinals Thursday, March 6. Andy Russo's 30-3 quintet had the "hat" put on them as favorites to take the championship.

  • LaGrange boasted a strong bench. Rotating ten players, Jack Fraser had his boys press continuously. Russo stressed to his team that the Gators would force turnovers but to stay calm.
  • The opponents relied on Ronnie Scott and David Wallace for the brunt of their offense.
  • The victor would take on Woodlawn of Shreveport, a 56-45 winner over Lafayette the previous evening.
Opening Tap vs LaGrange 1969
Butch Fourroux battles for the opening tap against LaGrange

The pressure rattled the Crusaders at first.

  • The Gators jumped to a 14-9 lead at the end of the opening period as Aloysius failed to score over the last 3:51. Five times, the Crusaders went down court and missed shots.
  • SA was equally cold at the foul line, missing eight of their first ten attempts. Since he insisted each player shoot 100 FTs every practice, Andy could not have been pleased.
  • The Saints found the range at the outset of Q2, canning four baskets in a row to build a 17-14 lead.
  • Late in the half, a three-point play by G Billy Roniger bulged the lead to 32-25 before LaGrange hit five FTs in a row to cut the lead to two points, 32-30, at the break.
 Butch Fourroux fouled by LaGrange
(L) Fourroux fouled by LaGrange; (R)
Tommy Smith
Tommy Smith
Glenn Masson passing against LaGrange
Glenn Masson passes against the Gators.

The Crusaders lost a point off their lead in Q3 but finally pulled away.

  • Sophomore Tommy Smith answered the call when fellow soph Dale Valdery got into foul trouble and finally took a permanent set on the bench early in Q4. Tommy was the only sub Russo utilized in the contest.
  • The teams battled on even terms into the final 8 minutes until the FTs starting falling for the Saders. Skip Brunet canned 6-for-6 as the Crusaders finally began to pull away.
  • SA forged its first double-digit lead at 63-53 at the three-minute mark on the way to a 73-61 victory.
  • Aloysius outrebounded the Gators 33-29 to offset a deficit in turnovers, committing 20 to the Lake Charles crew's 15. SA sank 25 FTs to just 17 for their foe.
  • The Saints featured a balanced scoring attacked as C Butch Fourroux led with 16 while Roniger added 14, F Skip Brunet 12, and F Glenn Masson 11.
  • As expected, Scott topped LaGrange with 20 followed by Wallace with 12.
 Skip Brunet drives against Jesuit
Skip Brunet drives against Jesuit.

The Saders avenged a defeat handed to them by the Southwest Louisiana team in the first Top Twenty Tourney in Shreveport in 1961, 58-50.

  • The Crusaders would be making their second appearance in the Top Twenty championship game, having lost to De La Salle 38-35 in 1962.
  • Crimson and White followers envisioned the state crown capping the 100-year history of the school, which had won six titles between 1941 and 1952.

To be continued ...

Crusader Pros: Hornets Stat Crew - I
He's a Chief Financial Officer by day. By night, he works on the stat crew for Hornets games.
  • Jason Sanchez ('88) didn't play on any team other than the chess team at Brother Martin, but he did attend many athletic events as a reporter for the Martin Crusader.
  • He began keeping statistics for the women's basketball team as a freshman at Tulane. He couldn't work for the men's team until the following year because the school had shut down that program because of a gambling scandal. He also compiled stats for Green Wave volleyball, football, and baseball.
  • Jason later served as the Sports Editor of the Hullabaloo at Tulane.
Jason Sanchez 1988Jason Sanchez at Brother Martin

When he started at Tulane, none of the statistics were computerized, but that was about to change.

  • The first football stats software came in 1989 from a company called The Automated Scorebook (which exists today as Stat Crew software).
  • Jason was one of the first to use software developed in 1991 at the University of Louisville. Amazingly, that same MS-DOS program is still used today throughout the country and at the Final Four!

He began working at Saints games while still an undergrad.

  • He would do "talent stats," which involves giving the TV announcers statistical tidbits during the game to use on-air. He also worked in the production truck keeping stats and helping build the graphics on the tv screen.
  • The NFL had its own program called SuperStat that was developed by a subsidiary company.

After spending a number of years overseas (more on that later), Jason returned to New Orleans in August 2001.

  • The person in charge of stats for both Tulane and the Saints had just moved away. So within a few days of returning to town, Jason's alma mater as well as the Saints hired him.
  • Several years later, he was hired by the Hornets. He also did stats for the local Arena Football team for awhile.

The NFL utilizes two computers in parallel to keep statistics during games.

  • The primary inputter tries to keep up with the plays. Jason monitors what is entered and correct errors using the other computer. As he explains:
The spotter may call out "23 rush right for 5y, tackled by 56." But 56 didn't make the tackle; 51 did. So I would edit the play. I also keep track of QB hits and knock downs.
  • The stat crew of six people has its own booth review person. There's also a dedicated IT support team of four, and three spotters to keep track of which players participate in each play. So that's 13 people altogether. (The team for NCAA games is smaller.)
  • The crew doesn't have much time to just be fans, but they do discuss what is happening during breaks in the action.
  • When an NFL game ends, a subset of the stat crew reviews the video from the league's own cameras and records what each of the 22 players did on every play. The result is about 175 pieces of data for each play that are added to the database of past games that teams can dissect for scouting purposes. What defensive players are usually on the field in-third-and-short packages? What are the blocking schemes?
  • Jason has worked the three Super Bowls held in New Orleans during his tenure and is getting ready for the next one in 2013.
Jason Sanchez '88Jason Sanchez 2012

The NBA setup is similar but on a smaller scale.

  • Two computers courtside connect to a server in between them that transmits the stats in real time to a server in Jacksonville that posts the play-by-play on the Internet.
  • As he does in the Superdome, Jason acts as editor, making sure plays are recorded correctly.
  • Like the NFL, the NBA collects many more statistics than the public sees in box scores. For example, the NBA wants a record of every whistle blown by an official with a notation of who blew the whistle, where he was stationed, and what he called. This information goes to the NBA Officiating Committee.
  • As in the NFL, the NBA reviews the work of the stat crew at every game just as the officiating crews are graded. Jason is proud to say that both the Saints and Hornets crews have ranked consistently in the top ten for many years.

Jason lived in China and Hong Kong for nearly ten years.

  • Somehow the international network of stat keepers found him.
  • He kept stats for the annual Cricket Sixes international tournament.
  • He worked Rugby Sevens tournaments.
  • He spent four days at Kuala Lampur at the Asian Games, working women's ping pong and badminton.

The Hornets stat crew includes three other Crusader grads. We'll talk about them next time.

To be continued ...
Crusader Quiz

Match each Crusader head football coach with his high school alma mater.

1. Bill Arms
2. Bob Conlin
3. Mark Songy
4. Wayde Keyser

A. De La Salle
B. Jesuit
C. St. Aloysius
D. Brother Martin

About This Site

This site is maintained by Brother Neal Golden, S.C. (CJ '57 who attended St. Aloysius in 1953-4). This section of the Alumni Web site is dedicated to all the Crusader and Kingsmen athletes and coaches at St. Aloysius, Cor Jesu, and Brother Martin. All sports and eras will be included, though not in like measure because available information is not equally distributed. The site will be updated several times a month as the author's time permits. Older postings will be moved to archives. So if you don't get back for awhile, anything you missed will be accessible from links in the right-hand column. Suggestions for improvements and items to include are welcome as are the personal stories and memorabilia of Crusader and Kingsmen athletes. Ametur Cor Jesu! Loved be the Heart of Jesus!

The author's personal Web site on college and pro football, baseball, and basketball, including his Golden Football Rankings each fall, can be accessed by clicking here.

 

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