A new coach takes over a month before the season begins, two players are ruled academically ineligible 13 days before the season opener, along with a tough non-conference schedule seems like it would be a recipe for disaster. However, the Colonels basketball team has been able to fight through it.With an overall record of 5-10 and an 0-4 conference record, first year head basketball coach J.P. Piper has led his team to the identical record of last year’s squad at this point in the season.
On Oct. 27, Piper was hired to replace head coach Ricky Blanton, who resigned 10 days earlier for personal reasons. Piper had been an assistant head coach to Blanton for the past two years.
Less than a month after being hired, Piper received word that sophomore center Maurice Veal and sophomore forward Kieran Gleeson, the tallest players on the team, were ruled academically ineligible for the entire season.
With all that had already happened, the Colonels still had to play a non-conference schedule including the season opener at Mississippi State, which was ranked 14th nationally at the time, and trips to Auburn and Michigan State, the 9th ranked team in the country at the time.
Despite starting the season 0-3, the Colonels bounced back to win five of their next seven games. The wins, all at home, came against Loyola, Davenport, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Texas Southern and Cincinnati-Christian University while they lost on the road to both Lipscomb University and Ole Miss.
Piper said he is very proud of the way his team has played this season, despite the limitations height wise.
“They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do,” Piper said. “Unfortunately there are some limitations in what we are able to do, given our lack of size, and I think that’s been the difference in wins and losses for us.”
The win against Davenport was the first time that a Colonels basketball team had scored over 100 points since the 1999-2000 season. The game against Cincinnati-Christian was even more important, however, because not only did the Colonels surpass 100 points for the second time in three games, but also Stefan Blaszczynsk became the first basketball player in school history to record a triple-double.
Now that Southland Conference play has started, the Colonels have been on the unfortunate end of all three of their contests, losing games at home to Texas-Arlington and Sam Houston State and a road game to Texas State.
Senior guard Willie Depron, the team’s leading scorer with 13.9 points per game, said the team plays well always seems to be missing something.
“We play hard,” Depron said. “We play together. As a team we lack something. One day I’m good (and) Jason’s good and somebody else (is) not good. Then those guys (are) good and Jason and I are not good.”
Senior forward Jason Wilkins, the team’s leading rebounder with 5.6 per game, said playing in tough environments like Michigan State are good for the Colonels, especially when they have to travel on the road.
With the team currently in 11th place, Piper said they would have to move up four spots to get in the eighth spot, because the conference only takes the top eight teams, which his team is still in position to do.
“We can still get that done,” Piper said. “With 12 games remaining, I think you’re going to have to win at least four or five games to get in. I think four or five wins could get you in, but that’ll depend on the rest of the league.”
The Colonels will resume Southland Conference play when they host McNeese State Saturday at 5 p.m.
