Wildcats trio signs at collegiate level

Published 12:03 am Saturday, April 18, 2015

RESERVE—The families, teammates, coaches and friends united in celebration of East St. John’s Phil Adams, Da’Rae Taylor and Kennisha Brooks as each were on hand at Leon Godchaux Jr. High Thursday morning.

The trio of Wildcat standouts sat at a table together, each putting pen to paper to make their next educational and athletic stop official: Adams, Taylor and Brooks were signed National Letters of Intent to compete in college athletics, Adams and Taylor signing with Grambling State University to play baseball and college basketball respectively, while Brooks signed with Southern University-New Orleans.

For Taylor, the Lady Wildcats’ floor leader at point guard over the past few seasons, the chance to expand her game and grow as a player was an attractive part of making the jump to Grambling.

“(Assistant) coach (David) Pierre kept it real with me,” Taylor said. “He told me what he liked about my game, but he also told me what I need to work on. He didn’t cut me slack, and that’s something I liked.”

She said the Grambling coaches told her they liked her hustle and toughness on the floor.

“They made me feel like I could do something great there,” Taylor said. “I want to be one of the greatest players Grambling’s ever had. I really think it’s the place for me.”

Brooks will be making a position change at SUNO after playing center primarily for the Lady Wildcats, as she’ll move to the wing.

Brooks said the program’s success — the Knights boast a 211-146 record over the past 16 seasons under coach Elston King — appealed greatly to her, while, like Grambling with Taylor, SUNO was drawn to Brooks because of how hard she played for East St. John.

“I didn’t want to settle or go somewhere that would feel like a step down (record wise),” Brooks said. “I want to go help someone win a lot of games. I researched them and felt like it would be a really good fit for me.”

East St. John girls basketball coach Jackson Manuel said it was a special day for the girls, the program and Manuel, personally.

“Those two are kind of my babies,” Manuel said. “(In 2009) I inherited a program loaded with established players. These two have been with me for four years. They’ve exemplified everything we strive to be with East St. John basketball, on the court and in the classroom. They studied and made their grades, got a good ACT score and were All-District multiple years.”

Adams, a senior second baseman, is helping guide East St. John to its best baseball season in years, the Wildcats at 13-7 and chasing a postseason berth.

He said he can’t wait to play Division I baseball and test himself against the best.

“I feel blessed and so excited,” he said. “I’ve got the opportunity to display my skills on the big stage. I’m ready to play against teams like LSU and Arkansas.This season, our coaches gave me a chance to step up and be a leader for our team. It’s been amazing.”

ESJ baseball coach Matt White said Adams has been a terrific leader for the Wildcats.

“He loves that role,” White said. “He’s played wherever we’ve needed him, infield and outfield, and he’s a great leadoff hitter for us to top it off. A kid like that, who’s got the GPA, a Beta Club guy … he’s really the ultimate student athlete.”