The Nicholls men’s basketball team will begin their quest for an eighth consecutive Southland Conference Tournament birth, kicking off the 2015-2016 season in Stopher Gym in two weeks.

This year’s squad boasts a heavy upperclassmen roster, with more than half of the players in their junior year or higher. The Colonels return ten from last year’s team, with all but one seeing significant playing time due to an injury-plagued season.

“There’s going to be more freedom because there’s a level of confidence and trust in this team,” J.P. Piper, head coach, said. “I feel like I know what these guys are capable of, and they know what I expect from them.”

Headlining this year’s team are seniors T.J. Carpenter and Shane Rillieux, and juniors Ja’Dante Frye and Liam Thomas. Carpenter and Frye are the returning high scorers for Piper’s squad, averaging 10.9 and 10.7 points per game respectively last season.

Rillieux, a three year starting point guard from New Orleans, missed the entire season last year with a leg injury. His absence was felt strongly on the court, with the Colonels committing 17 turnovers per game without him in 2014-15.

Piper said Rillieux will be a steadying influence for this team when situations arise in games that are unexpected.

“Shane will be able to adjust on the fly and keep things together for us, which we sorely missed last year,” Piper said.

Another addition to the Colonels’ roster this year is 7-foot center Kyle Caudill. Caudill joins the program after graduating from Boston College and will provide much-needed size on a team that has only two other players over 6-foot 8-inches tall.

An advantage of having an experienced roster such as this one is the familiarity the players have with one another on the court. The free-flowing offense the Colonels like to play requires each player to know exactly where the others will be in order for easy shot attempts created by constant motion.

“At this point last year, we were still trying to gel as a team,” Carpenter said. “This year, we have progressed quicker than we expected.”

After the home opener on Nov. 19, the Colonels will hit the road for 10 of their remaining 13 preseason games. The team will rack up the travel miles this year, with trips to Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, California and Hawaii.

New to college basketball this season is the reduction of the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds.

“I know five seconds doesn’t sound like a lot,“ Piper said. “But if we waste time and initiate our offense around 18 seconds, that doesn’t leave us much time to get things done.”

Piper said the fans will notice this team is playing faster than years past, which is due in part to the new shot clock, but also in part to the personnel on this year’s team. Piper added he expects this year’s team to score more points due to the higher pace of play.

“A big difference from last year is the energy and vibe in the gym,” Carpenter said. “We’ve watched enough football, now it’s time to play basketball.”