Saban Still Rules the Bayou

Contrary to popular belief, Saban has not left Louisiana for greener pastures...at least not yet. The Saban of which I speak is Saban Sellers of St. Thomas More High School of Lafayette, Louisiana and the pastures have nothing to do with a pigskin.

St. Thomas More's Saban Sellers

Saban Sellers is the reigning WSL Louisiana Player of the year. In lacrosse. Wait, there's lacrosse in Louisiana? Apparently, there is and Mr. Sellers is doing his best to remove the tarnish from the name Saban in the Bayou State. He's doing a fine job in my estimation.

Lacrosse might be the oldest team sport in North America, but it's still a relative newcomer to the Louisiana sports scene. Founded in 2005, and technically a club sport, the Louisiana High School Lacrosse League is comprised of a little over a dozen varsity squads. Saban Sellers is a relative newcomer to Louisiana too which has got to explain the develpment of his game. Where, you ask, did he groom his game; New York, Maryland, California maybe? How about Louisville, Kentucky? Wait, there's lacrosse in Kentucky? Evidently there is and that's where Saban fell in love with the game while in eighth grade. That's right, he's only been playing the game for a few years. Some friends in Louisville played in a city league there and introduced him to the game. He's never looked back.

From Bluegrass to the Bayou

Growing up in Kentucky, Saban played football, baseball, and basketball before picking up a lax stick. A natural athlete, he was good at all three sports, but he excelled in basketball. Those basketball skills have translated nicely on the lacrosse field. The basketball background is evident in his poise with the ball, dodging in traffic, and general field sense. Some people would argue that these qualities are among the intangibles that coaches always speak of. They're difficult skills to coach and they are what often separates the good from the elite.

After moving south to Lafayette, Saban decided, with the support of his parents, to concentrate solely on lacrosse in high school. In retrospect, it's a decision that he felt has accelerated the growth of his game. That's hard to argue given his success on the lax field. Saban describes his best attributes as his dodging ability and field vision. These skills are prominently on display on his youtube channel. The videos are chock full of Saban dodging entire defenses, quality feeding, and behind the back passes. At times, he more resembles a pinball than an attackman, but Saban attacks the cage with every ounce of his buck forty frame. I'm definitely dating myself now, but Saban reminds me of former Virginia lefty attackman Doug Knight. Not always the prettiest dodges, but like Doug Knight, Saban has a nose for getting to the goal.



Not one to rest on his laurels, Saban attended the Texas Top 99 and Tier 1 camp in Pennsylvania where he went toe to toe with D1 recruits of top 20 schools. He managed to hold his own, and then some, against some of the best poles he'd been exposed to. Saban also played for Team Quickstick, a group of elite Louisiana high school players from the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette area. Team Quickstick traveled to North Carolina for the Fall Classic Tournament where he tallied 14 goals and 12 assists against solid competition from lacrosse's more traditional hot spots. This exposure was important for a kid who is playing in an area off the beaten recruiting path. Despite his success in his junior year, camps, and fall ball, Saban has experienced what I might describe as a combination of northern bias as well as the unfortunate reality of recruiting in this day and age. That is, much of recruiting has been wrapped up by the time kids finish their junior year, with some kids giving verbal commitments after just one year of high school ball. As crazy as it sounds, that's where the sport is today, for better or for worse.

A marked man this year for sure, Saban and St. Thomas More are in the midst of another stellar season. With only a few years of lax under his belt, the upside for this kid is huge. Saban realizes that as far as he's come and as much as he's accomplished in a relatively short time frame, he still has room to improve and that's probably the most important attribute of a great player. Right hand, crease play, and shooting on the run are tops on his to-do list. He'll be an asset to whichever campus he decides to set up shop on.