The Nicholls State men’s basketball team took the term international to a whole new level, with a total of four Australians on this year’s squad. Freshmen guard Michael Czepil, center Mitch Boyce and guard/forward Ryan Bathie joined junior guard and fellow Australian Stefan Blaszczynski on this years’ Colonels team.

Coaching foreign players isn’t new to Colonels head basketball coach J.P. Piper who had at least one Australian on the team the last two years.

“It’s fun coaching these guys,” Piper said. “They’ve learned to infuse their culture into our culture, but because there is more than one of them, their culture doesn’t get suppressed. It’s very inviting.”

Piper said that even his American players have picked up on what he calls a “happy-go-lucky” culture.

No one is more excited to have fellow countrymen on the team than Blaszczynski, who said it makes things much easier.

“My first couple years here I had one other Australian on the team,” Blaszczynski said. “Now there’s four of us, so it’s good having people who talk the same as me.”

For his first two seasons on the team, Blaszczynski was with former Colonel Kieran Gleeson, who is no longer with the team.

Coming to America required change, and all four of them helped each other adjust to the culture. Whether it was the food or classwork, each player has had a different experience.

“For me the biggest change was the game style and the food,” Bathie said.

Boyce said he, too, has had to adjust.

“The amount of practice is the biggest difference, Boyce said. “It’s rougher and a lot more than I was used to. Then I have school work on top of all that.”

Despite experiencing a difference in culture, one common ground the three freshmen had was the help of Blaszczynski, who had already been in America for two seasons.

“He showed us around the traps and gave us a few tips,” Czepil said. “He makes it a lot easier for us.”

Boyce agreed that Blaszczynski has been helpful in making the transition to America both on and off the basketball court.

“He’s really good for advice and telling us what needs to be done,” Boyce said.

Things also got easier for Blaszczynski, who didn’t mind helping his teammates and countrymen.

“I showed them a good time and what living in America is like,” Blaszczynski said. “They’ve responded well to it, and they’ve had a great time. I made them feel welcome. It’s great.”

Piper said he has watched these players share a special bond despite being from different parts of Australia.

Bathie and Czepil are both from Melbourne, Australia, while Blaszczynski is from Sydney. Boyce is from Douglas.

“They’ve developed their own little rivalries from back home,” Piper said. “They unite about the fact that they are all from Australia.”

The bond the players share goes beyond the basketball court. Since they live so far away from home, many times all they have is each other, according to Blaszczynski.

“We only see our moms and dads and family three months out of the year,” Blaszczynski said. “Having those guys around is a pressure release thing to not feel as homesick as I would if it was just me and nine Americans. They’re in the same situation, so we’re just trying to have a good time.”

Piper said no one could understand what the players were going through.

“I think they’ve helped one another,” Piper said. “I don’t think the kids here from the states can relate to what it’s like. Stefan has helped them adjust to our culture and the expectations over here and how things may be different from back home. They enjoy each other’s company.”

All four of them had their own reasons for coming to Nicholls, but the decision became a little easier for Boyce when he heard there were three other Australians on the squad.

“I came here basically because there were other Australians on the team,” Boyce said. “It helps. We don’t get homesick as much, and they’re rebuilding the team so I thought it was a good opportunity to come over and play.”

One task Piper has to deal with is finding the players, which he said isn’t hard.

“David Patrick, our assistant coach, was born in Bermuda but grew up in Australia.” Piper said. “He put us in touch with folks that helped us get these kids over.”

With the exception of Boyce, who has been injured, all four players have contributed to the Colonels this season.

Blaszczynski leads all Colonels with 15.9 points per game. Czepil and Bathie are fourth and fifth on the list with 7.7 and 7.0 points per game.

All of their play has not gone unnoticed.

“Stef (Blaszczynski) is arguably our best player and Mike (Czepil) is an outstanding shooter,” Piper said. “Ryan (Bathie) is really coming on. He’s got good size and shoots the ball well. Mitch (Boyce) has grown since he’s got here; he had a knee injury and had to have surgery, but when he gets back healthy, I think he’s going to be a strong addition.”

Piper said he’s been impressed with the play of the Australians and looks to get more in future seasons.

“Hopefully we’re not done getting Australians over here because the ones we have are pretty good players,” Piper said. “We would certainly love to get more.