Nov. 11
November 11, 2009
Ms. Mae Ella Marie Carlos
November 13, 2009
For years, Nicholls State’s men’s basketball has started its season expected to finish last among the Southland Conference. Six-year head coach J.P. Piper always readied his team to win, despite the SLC’s prediction that they would not.
This year, things are different.
After the Colonels’ stellar 2008-09 campaign, which ended with a trip to the SLC tourney quarterfinals, Nicholls State has shaken free of the dubious prognostication.
This year, the team sits atop the SLC finish list, with the conference’s coaches and sports information desk writers predicting the Colonels as one of the favorites to play into March Madness.
According to the Southland Conference Sports Information Directors, the Colonels are the odds-on favorite to win the SLC East.
According to the coaches, they are second.
Blue Ribbon yearbook, a college basketball magazine that breaks down every Division I-A school, is also picking the Colonels to win the SLC.
The nod is nice, Piper said, but the proof will be on the court. Nicholls’ season tips off Friday against Duquesne University in Pittsburgh.
“(The team) understands we haven’t done anything yet,” the coach explained. “Really, all this is based on what we did last year. (The SLC voters) have never seen us practice. They’ve never even seen a team photo. So how do they know how many games we are going to win?
“It’s a great honor and, based on what we’ve done the last few years, they expect it to be a good year for us. But if you get away from things at this point, then you are going to disappoint folks and we don’t want to do that,” he added.
Junior guard Kellen Carter said the team isn’t letting the No.1 ranking affect their preparation.
“I came from a high school (Edison High School in Fresno, Calif.) where the target was on our back every year,” he said. “It’s really not going to change anything. We’re still going to play as hard as we did in the bottom to get to the top. Now we just have to work harder.
“Some people don’t understand that, but we do,” he added.
Nicholls’ core players are returning – a contributing factor in the SLC’s rankings.
Gone, however, are Ryan Bathie, the university’s all-time leading 3-point shooter, and guard Justin Payne. Piper said he would be hard-pressed to replace their leadership and clutch playing.
Six-foot, 3-inch transfer student Justin Ayers, who joined the Colonels after playing at Reedley College in California, will assume Bathie’s shooting role. On defense, returners Kellen Carter, a junior, and Chris Iles, a sophomore, will pick up Payne’s position.
Carter finished last season ranked 18th in the nation with 2.4 steals per game.
Carter and Iles also accounted for more than 8 points per game – Carter with 5.2 and Iles with 3.5.
“Justin Payne was unique. Bathie was unique,” Piper said. “So, instead of trying to replace them, let’s reinvent who we are and what we do and how we do it. To do that, we are going to have different guys take on some of the roles.
“There won’t be one guy that does all of it. I think it’s exciting,” he continued. “We could be a better basketball team (with the personnel changes), but we could be totally different.”
Also returning are 2008 SLC Freshman of the Year Fred Hunter (10.6 ppg), all-SLC third team selection junior Anatoly Bose (15 ppg), junior Dominic Friend (4.1 ppg), sophomores Cameron McCallum (.9 rebounds per game through 17 games), K.J. Lee and redshirt freshman Phillip Ward.
Lee redshirted last season while recovering from an injury, so this will be fans’ first real look at him in action.
Piper’s 2009-10 squad is deep in talent – a fact the coach plans to take advantage of this season.
Among the new faces joining the Colonels are Delgado Community College transfer and Houma native Jarred Lafont (a junior); former Central Lafourche standout Ramond Henry (sophomore); E.D. White grad Bryson Triggs (freshman); St. Augustine’s Bryan Hammond (freshman); New Orleans native and North Dakota College of Science transfer Maurice Foster (junior); Jacksonville College transfer Kenny Franklin Jr. (junior); Houston’s Alief Elsik High grad Patrick Agho (freshman); Baton Rouge’s Parkview Baptist guard Andy Roethle (sophomore); St. Thomas Aquinas High’s Zach Reed (freshman); and John Ehret High grad Jeremy Smith (freshman).
“Without a question, this is the deepest we have been,” Piper boasted. “We have 19 guys – 10 from Louisiana – which we think is great. We have some guys we thought may redshirt, but looking at them now, we may have to play them.
“I think depth could be a strength for us,” he added. “It’s what makes (the team) different from last year. It’s a different way to win games, but we’ll do whatever we need to do.”
Following Friday’s showdown with the Dukes, the Colonels travel to Houston Nov. 17 to play the Cougars.
The road show continues with basketball tournaments in New Mexico (World Traveler’s Classic, Nov. 20-22) and Alaska (Great Alaskan Shootout, Nov. 26-28). The team returns home Dec. 9 to face Loyola-New Orleans.
Conference play begins Jan.9 in Thibodaux against Northwestern State.
With last year’s feats behind them, Piper said his team must stay focused.
“I’ll be disappointed if we are not in the conference tournament,” he said. “We should be in the mix for a conference championship. I really think that is realistic.
“There is so little that separates a win and a loss when you get to the semifinals and finals of the conference tournament,” Piper explained. “Would I be disappointed if we lose another 1- or 2-point game in the conference tournament? Absolutely!”
Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Fred Hunter is one of three returning starters for the Nicholls Colonels this season. The Colonels begin the 2009 season Friday against the Duquesne Dukes in Pittsburgh. * Photo by KYLE CARRIER
