With the spring semester getting into full swing, students are getting back into the routine of morning classes and demanding professors.During the break, some students may have spent their time either relaxing or working to pass the time. Students who also had extra free time on their break were members of the Nicholls State men’s basketball team.

Toward the end of the semester, from Thanksgiving through Christmas, the team was in the heart of its non-conference road schedule.

During the Thanksgiving holidays the team had a stretch run that had its members playing two games in the state of Maryland. For senior guard Cyril Djoukeng, it was an opportunity for him to spend time with his family.

“This year we got to play games in Maryland against Maryland-Eastern Shore and the University of Maryland, and I had time to be with my family between games and practice,” Djoukeng said. “We were down there for almost a week, so I had time to spend with them.”

Another player who was able to see his family during the break was junior forward Stefan Blaszczynski. Blaszczynski, a native of Sydney, Australia, got a chance to go to Canada and spend a few days with his family.

“My mom and dad were in Quebec City for a while, so during the break I went there to go and visit them,” Blaszczynski said. “It wasn’t as long as I would have liked, but it was still good to see them.”

The team mostly stayed in Thibodaux during the rest of the winter break, finding different things to do in and around the city.

“Most of the guys got together, and we watched a lot of basketball games and just hung out,” Djoukeng said. “I think it built a lot of team camaraderie.”

Blaszczynski had the same mind-set when it came to his free time.

“Going to the movies and just having fun with the guys on the team helped,” Blaszczynski said. “We just do what regular guys do.”

There were games going on at this time, so it was still business as usual for the Colonels.

“When you have a game all you think about is basketball,” he said. “The days go faster and you have some free time, but it’s free time thinking about basketball.”

Djoukeng also said that the games help make the time pass by much more quickly and breaks up the monotony of daily routines.

“Sometimes it seems like you get up and go to practice and do the same thing,” he said. “The games are what you look forward to, to help speed things up.”

Head coach J.P. Piper made sure that his team had access to facilities when they needed it, but held off on adding more practice to the schedule.

“I originally planned to have extra practice, but I was comfortable with where we were as a team and how we were playing,” Piper said. “I didn’t feel like we needed the extra work and thought it would benefit us to do a little less and help us down the stretch.”

Piper also did his part during the holidays by opening up his home to some of his players who were unable to travel home.

“Everybody except for the Australians were able to go home, so a couple went with friends or relatives, and a couple came to my house for Christmas,” he said. “It was good spending time together with the guys.