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LOCATION: Thibodaux, LA
CONFERENCE: Southland
LAST SEASON: 14-15 (.483)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 12-6 (t-2nd)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Colonels
COLORS: Red & White
HOMECOURT: Stopher Gymnasium (3,800)
COACH: Rickey Broussard (SW Louisiana '70)
record at school 123-127 (9 years)
career record 123-127 (9 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Blaine Russell (Centenary '91)
Quinn Strander (Nicholls State '96)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 24-5-10-19-14
RPI (last 5 years) 59-274-244-141-214
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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If you coach basketball long enough, eventually you see everything. Rickey Broussard never dreamed he would see the day when his Nicholls State team would endure a losing season at Stopher Gym. The tiny sweatbox in the heart of Cajun Country is one of the most feared road trips in the SLC. Yet somehow the Colonels went 4-5 at home against Southland opponents and 8-1 on the road. Still, Broussard can't help but think what might have been after his surprise team finished one game out of first place in the regular-season standings. "That was very unlike us," said Broussard, who did one of the best coaching jobs of his nine-year career last season. "I don't understand that at all." Nicholls lost one full-time and two part-time starters from last season's overachieving 14-15 team. The forte of Broussard's 1999-2000 team will be its physical strength. The Colonels are a team of Clydesdales in a league of 6-5 thoroughbreds. "Nobody is going to pick a fight with us or push us around, that's for sure," Broussard said. "We'll have the bulk. Whether we'll be a team or not remains to be seen."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C- INTANGIBLES B-
The Colonels might be a year away from title contention. There are only three seniors on the roster, and standout Chris Bacon, a talented 6-9 swingman, has to sit out the season after transferring from Nevada. This should be a typical year for coach Rickey Broussard. Hamstrung by Stopher Gym's crackerbox size and infamous reputation, his team will play a merciless non-conference schedule with visits to Tulane, DePaul, Northwestern, Louisiana Tech and LSU. They will enter conference play with one of the league's worst records and most mentally tough rosters. There are more questions than answers, but Broussard's coaching and James Banks' all-around play should lift the Colonels to a third consecutive upper-division finish. |
The Colonels lost their best inside threat in Jason McCutcheon (14.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 71 assists, 25 blocked shots, 42 steals, first-team All-SLC), their best long-range shooter in Linzie Green (14.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg, .829 FT) and one of their best play-makers in Tauris Howard (7.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, team-high 89 assists). But Broussard has always had the ability to mesh a collection of newcomers into a cohesive unit. He'll have to do it again this year. Broussard will go to war with senior James Banks at the point. Banks, a 6-3 power point, does it all. He scores (11.2 ppg), rebounds (5.0 rpg), passes (87 assists) and plays defense (59 steals, second in SLC). Banks was also the Colonels' most reliable outside shooter (.387 3 PT). Banks started just 13 games last season. He should establish himself as an All-SLC candidate as a senior. "He's the most unheralded player in the league," Broussard said. "He doesn't care about points at all. He makes plays. We need him to win more than anybody." Nicholls State's monopoly on McCutcheons continues this season. Terence McCutcheon, younger brother of former Colonels' standouts Russell and Jason, will team with Banks in the backcourt. McCutcheon (3.9 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 39 assists), a 6-3 junior, is another do-it-all performer who should double his production this season. "Terence is in the mold of those McCutcheons," Broussard said. "He's a strong big guard who can post you up inside. He really came on toward the end of the year." Backcourt depth will come from 6-4 sophomore Zach Ray (2.7 ppg, 1.1 rpg) and recruits Marlon Green and Beau O'Quin. Ray, a Baton Rouge native, transferred from North Texas with the reputation as a shooter but struggled terribly from outside (12-53, .226 3 PT). Broussard is high on Green, the son of former Louisiana Tech standout Mike Green. A native of Aurora, Colo., the 6-5 junior leaper starred at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and is a strong candidate to start on the wing. O'Quin, a 6-2 freshman combo guard from South Lafourche (La.) High, is another big-time athlete in the Jeff Shepherd mold. "He's athletic as they come," Broussard said. Inside, the Colonels won't be tall, but they'll be wide. Chris Worrell and Lorenzo Wright return at both forward spots. Worrell (6.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 43 assists, 45 steals team-high .575 FG) is a 6-4, 220-pound senior who uses his quickness and strength to work the offensive boards for put-backs. Wright (6.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 26 assists, 29 blocked shots, 22 steals) is a warrior inside. The 6-7 senior is tough on the blocks but is a major liability at the free-throw line (10-54, .185). Sophomores Reggie Williams (1.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg) and Clifton Jones (1.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg) should play more prominent roles this season. The 6-6 Williams played in 24 games as a freshman despite a sprained ankle injury, Jones, a raw 6-8 athlete, has a big upside. Broussard is one of the top recruiters in the SLC and his class of frontcourt recruits is top notch. The Colonels went to Wyoming to find Arthur Haralson at Northwest Junior College. The 6-5, 220-pound junior uses his powerful torso to finish around the basket. The Gary, Ind., native should get the first crack to replace McCutcheon inside. Ervin Mitchell and Nehemiah Daniels are a pair of strong 6-5 ex-JC forwards who will add size and experience to the front line. Both are juniors. Mitchell played at Lee (Texas) College. Daniels, a Chicago Simeon High product, played two seasons at Marshalltown (Iowa) Community College
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