By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

RESERVE – Timmy Byrd’s overseen plenty of talent. He’s coached Reserve Christian teams led by Tweety Carter and Eddren McCain and a Riverside squad headed up by Cedric Jenkins. All went on to play Division I basketball. All were champions.

But ask Byrd about the prospects for the 2010-11 edition of the Rebels and you’ll see a gleam in his eye. This team, he believes, could be the best he’s had the pleasure of coaching.

In his inaugural season with the school as head basketball coach and athletic director, Byrd captained the Rebels to a slew of firsts, not the least of which their first trip to the Top 28 tournament and its first state basketball championship.

It was the eighth for Byrd. This season, his Rebels are heavily favored to deliver his ninth.

ESPN rates Riverside as the 37th best team nationally, securing their status on the national radar only a season after ascending as a state power. Of course, the Rebels’ top player has been on that radar for awhile himself: 6-foot-8, 245 pound center Ricardo Gathers comes off his second straight state championship game MVP and his first Class 2A MVP season, and the junior is now primed to do even more Byrd said.

“He’s kind of scary as far as seeing that strength and athleticism,” he said. “He’s stronger than ever and really even ahead of the game in terms of where he’s been in the past.

“He’s a manchild. The game has slowed down for him. He’s much more consistent with his shot – he can shoot it from the outside or take it to the basket and finish. He’s special to watch.”

Gathers will have plenty of help. Byrd said that he believes this team runs 10 deep.

It will also be a terror defensively if things go as projected on paper. Gone is Jenkins, but the team’s starting backcourt will boast point guard Lucas Martin (6-foot-2) and Lucas Dabney (6-foot-3). Zelvyn Smith (6-foot-4) starts at small forward to go along with Gathers and Donald Thomas (6-foot-7). The lineup is fast, extremely long, and very athletic. And Byrd will have plenty of bodies to throw out there to keep everyone fresh.

Could it be Riverside’s best defensive squad ever?

“It’s not even close,” said Byrd. “This team has the potential to be ferocious defensively. They’re long, strong, athletic and extremely tough. This has all of the characteristics of being a shutdown defensive team.”

Byrd said that the one thing the Rebels have to replace is “that All-State” guard that they lose in Jenkins, who departed to Southern Miss after graduating this year. But he believes that multiple players that can do so are on the roster, including Martin, who returns to play for Byrd after transferring from East St. John last year — Martin played his eighth grade season at Reserve Christian.

The backcourt will get its first stiff test in its season opener Monday. The Rebels will face St. Augustine at Tulane in a matchup of two teams expected to walk away with state championship hardware. St. Augustine is led by point guard Javon Felix, a major Division I recruit.

“It’s a unique game,” said Byrd. “Between St. Augustine, ourselves and Peabody, most consider those three to be the best teams in the state. A matchup between two of them to open things up, it should be intense.”

The JV teams will tip off at 6 p.m. The varsity will take the court thereafter, likely tipping off around 7:15.

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