NSU’s Bathie joins elite group

Nicholls State senior Ryan Bathie has never been a big fan of nicknames, but his latest moniker is one he doesn’t mind hearing.

Bathie’s first shot in the second half against the University of California-Santa Barbara Nov. 11 earned him the title “Mr. 1,000” from NSU coaches and teammates. The Colonels and the Gauchos faced off during the World Vision Invitational in Normal, Ill.

The two-point shot made Bathie the third Colonel in as many seasons to score 1,000 career points, joining former teammates Stefan Blasczynski and Adonis Gray in the record books.

The Australian exchange student already holds NSU’s three-point record. The previous record was 174, and was held by the University of Louisiana-Lafayette mens’ basketball coach Robert Lee.

Head coach J.P. Piper presented his star forward an honorary game ball prior to the start of Saturday’s game against the Southern Jaguars. (NSU won the game 75-56. Bathie pulled in seven rebounds and scored 10 points.) The Colonels’ faithful greeted Bathie with a round of applause, while his teammates shared hugs with their leader.

“It’s an honor,” he said. “To know that I came here and made an impact is something I’ll always remember. I never thought I would reach this milestone, but there’s no way I could have done it without my teammates.”

The only drawback to Bathie’s feat was that it happened on the road. But he’d predicted that since the Colonels only played two of their first six games in Thibodaux.

At the outset of the season, Bathie was only 66 points away from the record. The UC-SB game was Nicholls fourth of the season.

“The only thing that could have made (reaching the milestone) better was if I could have done it here,” he said. “I’m just glad I was honored here.”

Bathie’s journey into Nicholls’ record book began on the opposite end of the world.

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Bathie caught American coaches’ attention when the Australian AAU traveled to the U.S. to compete. Bathie and his teammates played exhibition games in Las Vegas and Lubbock, Texas.

Piper, a friend of the Australian team’s head coach, had an “in” in recruiting Bathie.

The Nicholls coach said he saw Bathie play in Lubbock and was hooked.

“The rest is history,” Piper said. “He’s a very special talent. When I first saw him play that day in Lubbock, I knew he had the potential to do great things. We were lucky enough to get him. He’s been a huge acquisition.”

Since arriving at the Nicholls campus four years ago, Bathie has excelled on the basketball court.

After adjusting to the faster pace of American basketball his freshman year, Bathie went on to play in 20 games, averaging seven points per game for the Colonels.

Having four other Australians on Nicholls’ team – freshman Cameron McCallum, sophomores Anatoly Bose and Dominic Friend and junior Mike Czepil – has eased the transition, Bathie admits.

“I’m close to all of my teammates,” he said. “I’m able to joke around with the other Australians but, after four years, I feel like I’ve become one with everyone. It’s great.”

By the time his sophomore season started, Bathie was the only Colonel to start every game. He averaged 12.5 points per game. That figure shot up to 13.6 Bathie’s junior year. He was also a perennial starter.

The senior forward is one of Nicholls’ primary weapons and a key leader, coach Piper said.

“It’s a thrill for me,” the coach said. “Bathie’s a pleasure to coach and has become a great leader on this team. It’s been fun to watch him grow over his time here.”

“He’s come a long way,” the coach added. “The greatest change is that he is physically stronger and tougher and has become a great leader for us. As a coach, you love watching these kids you recruit grow into great athletes and even better individuals.”

With almost three months of basketball left in the season, Bathie’s not content to rest on his laurels. He intends to help lead the team to a conference tournament – a perfect ending to his record-setting career.

“All of this is great, but all I really want to do is get my team into the conference tournament with the chance to make the NCAA tournament,” Bathie said.

“Neither me nor any of the other seniors have had the chance to experience that yet,” he added. “That would make my senior year even better.”