
Ellis Alexander was taken off guard, to say the least, by a moment he won’t soon forget.
On Tuesday night, as Destrehan High School readied to face visiting Cohen in boys basketball, Alexander was called to midcourt just before the game. There, it was noted to the crowd that his father, the late Henry Alexander, was a coach at Destrehan and at Bethune High School in Norco, an all-Black school in Norco that closed in 1969, with its students moving to Destrehan in the early years of desegregation. Henry coached basketball and baseball at Bethune.
Ellis Alexander was presented with a Bethune jersey emblazoned with the number 44 – which carries special meaning for the Hahnville man and longtime St. Charles Parish School Board representative.
“I wear 44 on some of my shirts and jackets. My idol was Hank Aaron, who wore 44. I follow Formula One (racing) and my favorite driver is Lewis Hamilton, seven-time world champion. And President Obama was the 44th president. It’s three reasons I wear the number,” Alexander said.

There was another big surprise, however. Once the presentation had concluded, the Destrehan players took off their warmups and revealed they were suited up in Bethune throwback jerseys specially made for the occasion.
“It almost gave me chills,” Alexander said. “I never thought I’d see that … it’s special. I thought it was really nice. It stopped me in my tracks.”
Destrehan athletic director George McGovern said the idea was born from a desire to put together something memorable and different for Destrehan High’s ongoing 100-year celebration. With the Cohen game falling on DHS’ alumni night, things began to fall in place.
“It’s important understanding where you came from, where your roots are,” said McGovern. “The impact they made for what Destrehan is today. We wanted to honor those people … with Mr. Ellis and his dad being a former coach, this seemed perfect.”
It was also kept a secret, to ensure Alexander would be surprised by the gesture.
“Only about four or five people in the parish knew what we were doing – we wanted to keep it under wraps,” McGovern said.
The players were presented with the uniforms before the game, and McGovern spoke to them about the history behind all of this.
“I really enjoyed seeing their reaction to it. It seemed like they took pride in it,” McGovern said. “To hear the crowd reaction when the kids took the warmups off (and saw the jerseys) … it was really exciting to hear how it was received by everyone.”
It seemed to carry over to the court – Destrehan won decisively, 76-24.
McGovern said the plan is to have a “throwback” home game with the players wearing the Bethune jerseys each year, for both the boys and girls teams.
Destrehan principal Jason Madere said it presented a great chance to share some of the school’s history with its students of today.
“We were able to tie it into the alumni basketball game, which helped make it extra special,” Madere said. “We had guys from our 1973 team … we had a gentleman who played for (Henry Alexander) at Bethune. And Bethune and Cohen used to play one another in basketball, so that part of it was cool.
“But the biggest thing for me is the kids and that they got to be a part of it.”
Madere echoed McGovern in the importance of highlighting what came before.
“Looking at those who walked the halls before us … Destrehan High School is a special place to be, and that’s not just about what happens now, it’s those things people did in the past. We appreciate what they did for us,” he said.
Alexander recalled attending high school at Carver and the nights where Bethune and Carver would play one another on the basketball court.
“I couldn’t win,” Alexander said. “Either way. If Bethune wins, I’m happy my dad’s team won, but I can’t show it around my classmates. And if Carver beat Bethune, I’m upset that my dad’s team lost. So, there really was no celebrating either way.”
Henry was a World War II veteran who was part of the Allied landing at Normandy Beach in 1944. When he finished his service, he returned to Luling and married his love Doris. They started a family.
Alexander remembers his father as “a remarkable person.”
“He ran a tight ship,” Alexander said with a laugh. “There were eight of us (siblings), four boys and four girls. For the longest time we weren’t allowed to leave our yard.
“Everyone calls him Hank, even to this day. People might not know my name, but they tell me, ‘I know you, you’re Hank’s son!’”
