The Nicholls State University men’s basketball team has their sights set on a conference championship for the upcoming 2013 to 2014 season with a strong group of men that has more depth than the program has seen in previous years.
The Colonels finished out last season with a disappointing loss to McNeese State University in the first game of the conference tournament. Head Coach J.P. Piper is confident in his team’s ability to make it further this year, saying, “We want to win a conference championship. There was a time here when that was an unrealistic expectation, but we currently have the talent and leadership that it takes to accomplish such a goal.”
Piper is embarking on his eleventh year as the ultimate authority for the Colonels. He is three games shy of 100 wins for his career at Nicholls, a goal which may be easily met in the season to come. He describes his coaching style as one in which rules, restrictions and discipline are instilled in the players early on in practices with the hope that their base knowledge of the game will lead to more freedom to play on the court when it counts.
Senior guard Dantrell Thomas praises Piper’s coaching techniques, saying, “His coaching is creative. You have to think a lot in the beginning, but once you get it down, it comes to you like you always knew it. His main thing is focusing on great pattern and style of play.” That style of play, in addition to a team that has added depth with incoming freshmen, will set the Colonels up for the success they desire.
The basketball program welcomed four freshmen to the team for the 2013 to 2014 season. Piper explains, “The freshmen are good players and understand what to do most of the time. We throw so much information at them, and the game is so much more physical and fast that they look a little overwhelmed at times. I think they are all progressing nicely.”
One such freshman is Florida native Luke Doyle, who looks forward to beginning his collegiate career as a shooting guard for the Colonels this season. “I can’t wait to have the opportunity to travel and compete against big name schools,” he said. Doyle shares the same goals as Piper and the rest of the team saying, “We want to make the conference tournament and then win the conference tournament. If we end up with anything less, it will be a disappointing season.”
The Nicholls State University men’s basketball team is scheduled to play their first game of the 2013 to 2014 season on Nov. 8 against Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.