The season before senior forward Fred Hunter came to Nicholls, the Colonels finished with a 10-20 record and failed to make the Southland Conference Tournament. The following year, Hunter gained Rookie of the Year honors in the conference and helped the Colonels reach the semifinals as the second seed in the SLC tournament. Now at the end of his time at Nicholls, Hunter received All-Conference recognition in his final season and led the Colonels to a school record fifth consecutive postseason appearance.
Along with fellow senior guard Linden Smith-Hyde, the Texas native forms the lone pair of players leaving head coach J.P. Piper’s team. Looking back, Piper admits underestimating what Hunter could do.
“We knew he had potential, but he has done far more than we could ever imagine,” Piper said. “I wish we could say we saw it coming but we didn’t.”
For Smith-Hyde, graduating from Nicholls caps another chapter in a trip that has brought him across states and hemispheres. In 2006, a high school tour of the western United States from Australia preceded a stint in prep school in New Jersey. After a season at Vermont Tech, former Nicholls standout Anatoly Bose, high school friend of Smith-Hyde, contacted him about an open spot on the Nicholls roster.
“It has been a good journey,” Smith-Hyde said. “I made a lot of friends and played a lot of good basketball with and against some great players. So it has been a good experience.”
Though he had to adjust to the lack of beaches compared to his home in Sydney, Smith-Hyde learned to appreciate southern Louisiana.
“It is a lot different here, but I’ve grown to like the Cajun style,” Smith-Hyde said. “The food is different, but I have been here for a few years now, and I like some hot sauce. I was joking with Fred the other day about that. I like it down here.”
While most players remember big games and performances, Hunter notes an injury that kept him out of what would have been his senior season last year.
“When I tore my ACL, that just changed a lot of stuff for me,” Hunter said. “It made me see a lot of stuff and made me a better basketball player.”
Hunter used his time to earn his bachelor’s degree in four years, allowing him to focus on pursuing a graduate degree as he finished his basketball career.
The Colonels’ historic 2010 win over LSU, the first for an opposing Louisiana team on the Tigers’ floor in 82 games, was a memory that stands out for the departing seniors.
“The year we beat LSU was a good year,” Hunter said. “It is LSU and you’re not expected to beat them, and we beat them.”
“I knew LSU was a big team, but I didn’t realize the magnitude of it at the time,” Smith-Hyde said. “We were the only school to beat them in like 20 years from Louisiana. It was good to be a part of something like that. Coach Piper is from Baton Rouge, so it was big for him.”
Smith-Hyde also enjoyed a chance to play against North Carolina in a game that was televised even in Australia, noting the significance of playing at Michael Jordan’s alma mater.
Sitting in an empty Stopher Gym, Smith-Hyde added that along with the bigger schools, he will remember the home court as well.
“I enjoyed playing here in Stopher Gym, too, in front of the home crowd,” Smith-Hyde said. “I had a lot of fun. It can be tough, but good.”
Both players have future plans that could find them outside of the United States. Hunter’s teammates are confident Hunter will get to play basketball internationally.
“There is no ‘if,'” sophomore guard Shane Rillieux said. “He is going to get overseas.”
Smith-Hyde plans to take some time off from basketball now that the season is over.
“I might go back home and play for a team out there,” Smith-Hyde said. “My family is coming over for graduation, so we are going to take a little holiday and then take it from there.”
The seniors will miss their teammates, who they think of as brothers.
 “I will definitely miss my teammates and the brotherhood we have,” Smith-Hyde said. “We get in there an hour before practice and joke around. It will be weird to not have an opportunity to hang out with the guys like that.”
“We have a close bond,” Hunter said. “I am going to miss playing with them.”
According to Piper, Hunter played a role in bringing in players that are the future of the program like freshmen guards Amin Torres and T.J. Carpenter.
“Those are talented players,” Piper said. “When they came to visit, they got to spend time with Fred. I think they are here in part because of Fred’s influence on them.”
Being a college athlete is a tough, valuable experience, according to Smith-Hyde. Naturally, it will be strange to leave that structure.
“It is different when you leave the routine,” Smith-Hyde said. “You go to class, then you go to practice. It’s your whole day. It will be weird to not live with a routine like that. You learn about responsibility and toughness. You grow up. You mature.”
Despite the departure of the two seniors, Smith-Hyde sees the program continuing to grow under Piper, especially if the team continues to develop relationships with Australian players, a practice that played a large role in bringing the senior to Nicholls.  
“They have a lot of young guys coming back,” Smith-Hyde said. “Success is definitely on the horizon for them. They know what it takes, so it is just a matter of putting it all together.”
Next season, the Colonels will look to make a sixth consecutive postseason appearance to continue a trend that Hunter and Smith-Hyde worked to establish at Nicholls.