As many of you know by now, both the Colonels and Lady Colonels basketball teams are struggling through tough seasons this year. Since the Colonels (5-12, 0-6 SLC) and the Lady Colonels (1-16, 0-6) have only three returning players each, the lack of experience has hurt the teams all season.
With both teams in disappointing seasons so far, the frustrations of the fans are becoming more intense each week. For instance, the words “they suck” and disappointing sighs can be heard bouncing from the rafters of Stopher Gym. Sitting through a Colonels and Lady Colonels basketball game this season has been harder to swallow than eating cold, stale pizza and nachos sold at the Stopher Gym concession stand.
I can understand the Colonel fans’ frustrations this season. With the Colonels winless in conference play after six games and the Lady Colonels on a 15-game losing streak, it doesn’t get more disappointing than this. But with the lack of experience, two words can sum up the 2004 season — rebuilding year.
For the Colonels second year head coach Ricky Blanton, the 2004 season was set out to be nothing but a rebuilding year. When Blanton was hired at the start of last season, the 2002 basketball recruitment season was just about over. So Blanton’s 2003 freshman class is basically his first recruiting class as Colonels head coach, even if it is his second season.
Out of the 12 players on the current roster, only senior guard Markeith Brown, junior forward Dominique Geason and sophomore forward Eric James lettered for the Colonels last season. Junior transfer players Willie Depron and Jason Wilkins have collegiate playing experience from the junior college level, but this is their first season in Division I-A basketball. The remaining seven players on the roster are first time college freshmen.
The 2003-04 seasons for the Lady Colonels so far is nowhere near the joyride it was expected to be from the beginning. Throw in the resignation of longtime former coach Louise “Do” Bonin, and you have a disaster season waiting to happen.
Just like the Colonels, the experience factor isn’t there for the Lady Colonels. From a season ago, only senior forward Kaci Fulton, senior guard Elroica Chopito and sophomore Ami Benya have playing experience. Transfer juniors Marneshia Bryant and Cristin Burdette are new to the system, and redshirting their freshmen seasons blocked playing time for sophomore forwards Annika Holmes and Clemisha Mingo.
Regardless of experience, Blanton and Lady Colonels interim head coach Sue Syljebeck continues to coach, and their players continue to play. Both coaches must be thrilled that their teams have not quit and continue to fight this season.
At halftime of the Colonels game against McNeese State, a Colonel fan approached me shaking his head and asked, “Chris, why do they even show up to play? I cannot believe I spent money watching painstaking basketball.” I told the fan, who was wearing a red and white “Colonel Pride” shirt with the Nicholls’ “N” in the middle, he was crazy to think the Colonels and Lady Colonels, for that matter, were going to pack in the season with 11 games to go. I also told the so-called “Colonel Maniac” to turn in his ticket and come jump back on the bandwagon at a later time.
I like to use the 2004 Carolina Panthers as an example of “lack of experience.” In the previous year, the inexperienced Panthers failed to make the NFL postseason. In the 2002 season, they could have called it quits but continued to play hard and pick up a few so-called meaningless wins to close out the season. Any coach will tell you in order to get experience, the players have to play and the Panther coaches let their players gain experience by playing. In 2003, the Panthers continued to win and will be playing in the Super Bowl this weekend. The Panthers went from last in their division to first of their conference in one season simply because they did not give up.
Facing the situations they have, a lot of teams would have quit and called the season a lost cause a long time ago, but that is not so with the Colonels and Lady Colonels. They have put every loss behind them and approached every new game like it was a new a whole new season. And even if they do not make the conference tournament or receive any postseason Southland Conference honors, their resiliency in dark times speaks volumes for itself.