Central Private Sports New Look

Article and Photos submitted by Ellen Frazier

A number of permanent improvements and facilities upgrades have taken place at Central Private School in recent months.  Among the most striking is the complete repainting and refinishing of the basketball court in the high school gymnasium.  Head Boys’ Basketball Coach Eddie Palubinskas, known internationally both for his shooting skills and sports graphics, not only designed the new look for the CPS gym, but also did the actual painting of the graphics.  His vision for the floor was for a new pro look for the gym consistent with the outstanding work done by his company, USA Graphics.

The center logo of the court is 32 feet tall and features a large star with a basketball bursting from the star in a 3-D effect.  The large star represents Louisiana and the 13 stars surrounding it represent the thirteen southern states. 

In the three-point lanes, twelve stars represent the 12 players who will be on the court for CPS this season.  The 6 gallons of brilliant red paint used on the floor underscore the sharp design details of lettering and beveled edges used in the free throw lane markings and court ends.

A new type of floor finish available from Long Island, New York, is guaranteed for ten years and will save approximately $30,000 in refinishing costs over that time.

More than 100 man hours were spent on refinishing the floor with Coach Eddie being assisted with painting by basketball dads Tim Fletcher and Bill Wicker who gladly donated their time and sweat to contribute to the outstanding finished product.  Fletcher is also painting the bleachers and scorer’s table as part of the fresh new look in the gym. Coach Palubinskas’ next project is a large mural on the back wall of the stage and a welcome graphic for the gym foyer.

In addition to the beautiful graphics on the gym floor, CPS has completed a number of other upgrades recently.  Those projects include replacing all the boards in the softball field bleachers and the visitors’ bleachers at the football field; new scoreboards on the football and softball fields; improvements to the football concessions stand; a new lower elementary teachers’ lounge; re-grading of the lower elementary playground with installation of plastic curbing and rubber mulch; and a new back fence on the baseball field is under construction

All the walkway support poles and playground equipment/fencing in the lower elementary area were recently sanded and painted bright red by the community outreach ministry of Zoar Baptist Church, whose work crew also pressure washed several buildings and sidewalk covers.