If Hollywood decides to make a movie about this year’s Colonels basketball season, the title would most likely be “Underdogs.” After winning their exhibition game against Southern University of New Orleans 83-75 Thursday, the Colonels started week one of pre-conference play Saturday with a 90-55 loss to Mississippi St. The Colonels also lost to Northern Iowa, who made the NCAA tournament last season, in the first game of the Basketball Traveler’s Classic in Seattle, Wash. 68-63.
With pre-conference games still remaining against LSU, Texas, Ole Miss, Auburn, Vanderbilt and North Texas among others, the Colonels are definitely underdogs.
Colonels Head Basketball Coach J.P. Piper said his team is excited about the opportunity to play quality opponents.
“The attitude of these kids and this coaching staff is exciting and unique,” Piper said. “We are going to go out there and compete and hopefully have some success. Success may not be in the form of a win, but if we can get better and get ready for conference, then it is success for us.”
One thing Piper said he is confident about is the multiple weapons the Colonels have this year that they had lacked in the past season.
“For the first time since I have been here, I feel like we have several guys who can step up,” Piper said. “We are really excited about the potential we have, but as coaches we have to get that out of them and demand they play hard every night and pick up some championship habits that will help us win games.”
One downside for the Colonels is they will be without senior guard Stefan Blaszczynski, who is out for the next two weeks with a stress fracture in his foot. Blaszczynski was the Colonels leading scorer last season, averaging 16.4 points per game.
Despite Blaszczynski’s absence, Piper said he is still confident the Colonels can stay competitive in the upcoming games.
“It is a great opportunity to get some of the other guys some valuable playing time,” Piper said. “The minutes that these guys are getting that they normally would not if everybody were healthy are valuable come conference time. It will just make us that much deeper.”
In Blaszczynski’s absence in the exhibition against SUNO, junior guards Aaron Scott and Adonis Gray took control of the game, according to Piper.
Scott finished the night with 27 points while Adonis added 24.
Scott also led the team with 16 points in the loss to Mississippi St., and Gray had 20 against Northern Iowa to lead the Colonels.
Besides Gray and Scott, Piper said he expects big things from sophomores center Chris Paige and guard Ryan Bathie.
“Chris has had a great offseason. He’s really gotten stronger and really has the itch to become a good player in conference,” Piper said. “(Ryan) Bathie is shooting the ball well in practice. I think he is gong to surprise some folks.”
With ten games left before their conference opener at Stephen F. Austin on Jan. 4, Piper said he looks at the pre-conference schedule as a way to help prepare the team for conference.
Piper said the future of the team looks bright.
“We are going to miss Stefan and James after this season, but I am excited about some of the younger guys that are coming up and the improvements that they are making year to year,” Piper said. “I’m not convinced that we’ll have a little more success than people expect this year.
Piper said he is turning to his seniors to be the leaders on this year’s team.
“Stefan (Blaszczynski) has become such a good player and (forward) James Dixon has matured and become such a good player,” Piper said. “With the addition of Aaron Scott and some of these young kids stepping up, we really have a chance to be pretty good.”
The Colonels game tomorrow night against LSU is set to tip off at 7 p.m. in the Pete Maravich Assembly center on the campus of LSU.
