After a disappointing 3-25 record overall in Ricky Blanton’s debut season as head basketball coach in 2002, excitement about the upcoming season is running rampant through the halls of Stopher Gym.
When Blanton became the eighth head coach in Colonels basketball history last season, he immediately faced temptation from the beginning. He inherited a team that was without assistant coaches, and because of the late hiring, Blanton did not receive an opportunity to recruit.
“It is really our first year, therefore we have a lot of excitement,” Blanton said. “Obviously we have a long ways to go because of our youth. We are looking forward to it, and we know we have to work.”
Junior forward Dominique Geason said he appreciates the hard work and dedication Blanton gives to the Colonels.
“He is a tremendous coach, and I never been around somebody like him,” Geason said. “My last couple of coaches would be no where around if we were working out and lifting weight. But if we had 6 a.m. workouts, Coach (Blanton) is right there waiting for us at 5:50 a.m.”
Despite losing nine players from a year ago and having a roster consisted of transfer and freshman players, the Colonels said they are excited about the team’s chances this season.
“I am very excited about the new season because we have some really good players this year,” senior guard Markeith Brown said. “It is going to be a good season and we are going to have more wins.”
Brown, who is the only senior on the roster, returns for his second year with the Colonels. After transferring from East Central Community College in Mississippi last season, Brown quickly became a leader in the Colonels backcourt after leading the team in assist and minutes played in 2002.
Joining Brown in the upperclassmen leadership role is Geason. As the longest tenured Colonels member, Geason returns for his third season in the red and gray.
The other letterman returning from last season is sophomore forward Eric James. In his freshman season, James was fifth on the team in scoring and second in rebounds.
Geason said it is important that he and Brown provide leadership to the underclassmen.
“I just have to lead everybody, stay focused on the game and be a leader in practice,” Geason said. “Everyone is going to look for me and Markeith to be the leaders. We have a lot of pressure on the team this year, so we are going to have to step up and be leaders on this team.”
Newcomers include transfer players junior point guard Willie Depron and Jason Wilkins. Freshmen players include forward Stefan Blaszczynski, guard Joshua Carlin, guard Bobby Cox, center Kieran Gleeson, guard Shaun King, forward Andrew Westmoreland and forward Maurice Veal.
Despite the inexperience, both Geason and Brown said the road will tough, but the team will be better in the long run.
“I think it is going to hurt the first couple of games, but it depends on how fast the freshman pick up and adjust to the college level,” Geason said. “High school is way different and they are going to see that real quickly. If they pick up real quick, we are going to have a tremendous season.”
Brown said, “That is why we have preseason. Of course, we are inexperienced. With the big teams that we play, that will give them more experience. If we play good against those guys, it is going to be easier for them when we get in Southland Conference play.”
Blanton said the size and depth of the roster will enable the Colonels to become more diverse with their game techniques and preparation.
“We are going to be able to be a little more diverse in our approach because we have size, depth and guys that can do different things,” Blanton said. “We just have a lot of diversity because of the personnel. The biggest thing is that we have options, and last year we didn’t have many options.”
The Colonels 2003 schedule includes many major non-conference opponents. They will travel to the University of Arkansas, Florida State University, University of Mississippi and Tulane University.
By playing at Arkansas on Nov. 21, the Colonels will be playing a former national champion for the first time, since 2001-2002 when they faced Michigan State and UNLV in the same season.
Nicholls has played against five former national champions that include: Arizona (1997 champion), Georgetown (1984 champion), Marquette (1977 champion), Michigan State (1979 and 2000 champion) and UNLV (1990 champion).
The remaining teams of interest on the Colonels pre-conference home schedule include Wiley College, Nov. 29; Dillard, Dec. 1; Southern University, Dec. 10; Mobile, Dec. 15; Loyola, Dec. 17; and Birmingham Southern, Dec. 21. The Southland Conference schedule begins Jan. 17 with a home game against Texas State.
“We have some tough games early,” Blanton said. “We have a demanding schedule; however, we have to prepare ourselves somehow because the Southland Conference would be demanding also.