Basketball season starts with high hopes for LSU & NSU

Football season will not be finished for a couple months, but that’s not stopping the Nicholls State and LSU men and women’s basketball teams from revving up their engines with the hoops season drawing near.

The collegiate basketball season starts early next week and the Colonels, Tigers and Lady Tigers are excited about what the new year might bring to their respective teams.

NSU Men’s: Piper touts Colonels as most talented

Nicholls State men’s basketball coach J.P. Piper watched last week as true freshman Elridge Moore threw home a one-handed slam-dunk in traffic.

During most seasons, that occurrence would have possibly sent Piper into shock, as Nicholls hasn’t always been an overly athletic team.

But not this year, as the “high-flying” Colonels are gearing up for the 2010-11 season.

“We’ve never been athletic in all of the years that I’ve been the head coach here,” Piper said. “In the scrimmage Saturday, there were guys going up and dunking the ball in traffic. We just don’t normally do that. That’s not something that our teams have been able to do. This level of athleticism lets us make those difficult plays in traffic where maybe we’d have had a shot blocked or we’d have had to alter a shot, now we’re going up there and are trying to dunk the ball on somebody.”

The Colonels did not have a senior on last year’s team, so they return to majority of their roster from a year ago.

Leading the returnees is senior forward Anatoly Bose, who was No. 16 in the country in scoring last season, averaging 21 points per game.

Bose currently ranks as the No. 4 leading scorer in the country among returnees, which makes him one of the best players in America, according to Piper.

“Anatoly Bose is one of the most exciting players in the country,” Piper said. “If he were at a little bit bigger school, he’d be getting a lot of hype for National Player of the Year and All American honors, but unfortunately that’s not going to be the case, because of the league he plays in and the school he’s at, but he’s still a dynamic player and is a lot of fun to watch.”

But Piper said Bose’s success isn’t the key to Nicholls winning games.

The coach stressed that wins and losses will likely be determined by what the Colonels other players do to assist Bose’s anticipated 20-25 points per game.

“I think last year, we were kind of knocked at times for being one dimensional,” Piper said. “It was either Anatoly or nothing.”

Junior Fred Hunter is the player that Piper said would be the most likely second scorer for the Colonels.

Hunter averaged 14 points and five rebounds per game last year, but sometimes struggled to give a consistent effort, something Piper said the Denton, Texas native has worked on this summer to improve.

“Fred has always had the physical tools, but sometimes the mental part of the game would get him,” Piper said. “He’s really grown up mentally and his approach to practice, his work ethic and his understanding for what needs to be done is the best it’s ever been.”

But joining Hunter in the lineup are fellow returning starters senior Kenny Franklin and senior guard Kellan Carter, as well as incoming freshmen Dantrell Thomas, Moore, Sterling Bailey, Chris Talkington and Keelan Garrett, who make up one of the best recruiting classes in school history, according to Piper.

“The ideal guy in our system is a 6’2-6’6 guy who can do a little bit of everything,” Piper said. “And we’ve got a handful of those guys in this freshman class who can flat score the ball. Their bodies don’t look like freshman bodies. These kids are much stronger than you’d expect a freshman to be. As soon as the light goes off for them defensively, they’re really a finished product on the offensive end.”

The schedule the Colonels play will be an early season challenge, as Nicholls plays non-conference road games against Houston, LSU, Oklahoma State, Wichita State, Mississippi State and Texas A&M. The Colonels also host Tulane.

But no matter the schedule, Piper said he likes his team.

And having a 20-point scorer on his side, too, of course.

“Absolutely. That’s the best I’ve ever felt, in fact,” Piper said with a laugh when asked if having Bose back made him more relaxed. “He’s had a tremendous summer and has really worked to improve himself. He’s gotten stronger and he’s quicker and believe it or not, he’s shooting the ball better than he ever has. He’s set himself up to have another great season.”

LSU Men’s: Inexperienced Tigers hoping to rebound after subpar year

Where the LSU women have a plethora of returnees, the men’s team is in a complete opposite situation.

The Tigers return to the practice floor for the 2010-11 season after losing starters Tasmin Mitchell, Bo Spencer and Alex Farrer off the 2009-10 that only won two SEC games.

But where some fans might see inexperience on the LSU roster, Tigers coach Trent Johnson sees new blood and a new start after last year’s poor season.

“I’m very excited about this basketball team this year,” the third-year coach said. “For the first time since I’ve been here, we’ve got a group of guys that the fan base and you can all grow with. Our team is going to be in place for two or three years, so that’s exciting.”

Despite the many departures, the Tigers do have a few returnees from last season’s roster, most notably junior forward Storm Warren.

The Monroe native averaged 12 points and seven rebounds per game last season during his sophomore campaign.

Warren promised to be even better this year thanks to a few tweaks he has made in his arsenal.

“I’ve worked on facing up, getting to the rim, shooting and basically just touch ups,” Warren said. “Getting everything down pat, putting everything together and gelling with my teammates.”

But in addition to Warren, LSU also brings back sophomore Aaron Dotson, who started last year and forward Malcolm White, who will play his first season at LSU after transferring from Ole Miss.

White is the only current starter Johnson has announced for opening night, thanks to a lingering offseason injury to Warren that has slowed him early in practices.

“The one guy that I feel really good about right now putting on the floor is probably Malcolm White,” Johnson said. “I say that based off the fact that he is the only guy that has played at this level and has some experience, even though he sat out last year. He’s the only guy that has been out there since Day 1.”

LSU will also lean on a highly touted recruiting class during the new season. The Tigers landed a freshman class ranked nationally by almost every publication.

The players to make up that class are guards Andre Stringer and Ralston Turner and forwards Matt Derenbecker and Jalen Courtney.

Johnson said that although the bunch has growing pains sometimes, they will see the floor if they continue to progress.

“They look like freshmen at times,” Johnson said. “There is a lot being thrown at them. But they all come from different basketball backgrounds. Some had a lot of structure, while some did not have enough structure. There is a skill level there. They listen and they very seldom make the same mistake. They are like sponges. [They] are all going to be good players in time. The sooner they adjust to the physicality and how violent the game of basketball can be against good teams and good players, they better off they can be.”

Like the women’s team, the LSU men will face a challenging schedule. The Tigers will play national power Memphis, as well as NCAA Tournament regular Wichita State outside of the conference.

In the SEC, the slate tightens and LSU will see Tennessee, Florida and Kentucky.

“I think in general with this basketball team, regardless of who you play, when you play and where you play, you need to be ready to play because in college basketball there is so much parity,” Johnson said. “This schedule is certainly going to be challenging just because, looking at the backcourt, we have a lot of guys that will be playing a lot of minutes who are inexperienced.”

But despite the odds not being in his team’s favor, Johnson said he likes his team’s chances.

“From a coaching standpoint, building this team from the ground up is going to be very exciting,” he said. “We are as healthy as we’ve been and are looking forward to this year.”

NSU Women’s: Colonels’ women’s team hopes depth equals improvement in new year

The Nicholls State women’s basketball team fought a depleted roster last season and struggled to just a 4-24 record.

Yet despite that mark, Colonels’ coach DoBee Plaisance never felt her team was very far away from success.

“Arguably in conference last year there were only three games that we really and truly got beat,” Plaisance said. “Every other game, I believe we lost ourselves. We were right there at the end and we had opportunities, even though we played most of the year with seven or eight players.”

With a newly-built roster chocked full of Tri-parish flavor, the Colonels are hoping to learn from last season’s lessons and finish strong in their attempt to make the Southland Conference Tournament.

“I feel good about us being in the tournament for at least the first time since I’ve been here,” Plaisance said. “I will be very disappointed if we’re not [qualified for the tournament].”

Like the men’s team, the Nicholls women return with arguably the best player in the Southland Conference, senior guard Ricshanda Bickham, who averaged 19 points and close to four assists per game last season – her first in Thibodaux after transferring from Connors State College.

Plaisance said she also expects similar numbers this season from sophomore forward Alisha Allen, who averaged 14 points per game last year – good enough to win the Louisiana Freshman of the Year last season.

The coach said Allen’s progression is good for the team, but bad for her nerves in practices, as the Colonels have struggled to guard the dynamic scorer.

“Just the other day at practice, I was getting a little frustrated with the team and I even got a little frustrated with her, because right now in practice, we don’t have an answer for Alisha Allen,” Plaisance said. “If Alisha Allen keeps bringing it, then I’ll be hard pressed to see the conference having an answer for Alisha.”

Also returning to the lineup will be Cassie Hearon, Portia Washington and Jasmine Hoskins, who have all had experience as starters.

Joining them is a talented freshman class comprised of a pair of Vandebilt Catholic standouts, Sybil Washington and Shikera Ross. One of Washington and Ross’s high school rivals, guard KK Babin also will join the Colonels. Babin played for St. Michael the Archangel and made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat Vandebilt in the State Championship game.

Those players will give Plaisance options and depth – two things she arguably has never had as Nicholls’ coach.

That, in turn, will give Bickham time to relax more during the game, which will help her be fresh in crunch time.

“We now have some better players around her, which will give us some balance and some depth,” Plaisance said. “That will also allow us to give her a rest.”

One concern the coach has with her young team is unforced errors. Plaisance said she has stressed since day 1 of practices that the Colonels cannot afford those things with seven freshmen and one sophomore on their 14-player roster.

“They are freshmen by classification only,” Plaisance said. “We’ve already warned them, ‘You do not have a year to play like freshmen. You need to play like seniors immediately.’ They are learning very quickly. We’re closing the gap on their learning curve in that they need to get it faster than most freshmen.”

Whether young or old, the Colonels will be greeted by several testing non-conference games to start the season. The team will travel to play road games against Ole Miss, St. John’s, North Texas, Stony Brook and Southern.

The team’s biggest game will undoubtedly be at home – a Nov. 30 matchup against LSU.

That game will pit the coach against her daughter, LSU freshman Theresa Plaisance.

“The game itself, I think that’s going to be very, very interesting,” DoBee Plaisance said. “I think it’s the first time in women’s basketball history that a parent has coached against a child, and it’s going to be an interesting night in terms of giving out scouting reports and things like that.”

As for the way the Colonels plan to slow Theresa down?

That’s probably the easiest solution all night, according to the coach and mother.

“One of the strategies I’m going to use against Theresa is when we’re guarding her, I’m just going to have whoever is guarding her say, ‘Your mother will cut off your cell phone if you hit the 3,'” DoBee Plaisance said with a laugh. “That’s definitely going to go in the scouting report.”

LSU Women’s: Vandebilt’s Plaisance impressing in preseason drills

The LSU women’s basketball team lost just one senior to graduation following the completion of last season.

But that “one” was current WNBA player Allison Hightower. And Lady Tiger coach Van Chancellor said the former All-American’s departure has left a huge void in his team that they’ll struggle to fill all season in what’s expected to be a highly competitive Southeastern Conference.

“When I think about losing Hightower, I think about losing three players,” Chancellor said during LSU’s Preseason Media Day last Wednesday. “I think about losing our best defender, our best scorer and our best player to beat the press.”

The way Chancellor plans to combat the loss of his best player is through depth and experience. LSU returns every rotation player from last season’s team minus their former star.

The lead returnees are senior guard Katherine Graham and junior forward LaSondra Barrett who combined to average 21.4 points and 12.3 rebounds per game last season.

“Katherine Graham and LaSondra Barrett will anchor our team,” Chancellor said. “Graham’s last 11 games at the end of last year were as good as anyone in the SEC and Barrett was Second-Team All-SEC.”

Barrett and Graham both said they look forward to proving Chancellor’s predictions right in the new season.

“We’re going to have to bring it every night and every game,” Graham said. “Getting back to the Final Four is definitely a goal of ours. LSU has a rich tradition, and every year we try to do it. I think it’s pretty hard to get to that moment, but we need to work hard and continue. Anything is possible.”

“I will do whatever it takes to help us win,” Barrett added.

But the Lady Tigers also have a few new additions – one in particular with some Tri-parish roots.

Freshman center and former Vandebilt Catholic High School product Theresa Plaisance joins fellow freshmen Shanece McKinney and Jeanne Kenney to make up what Chancellor believes is one of the best groups of newcomers in America.

“I have always thought that the basketball doesn’t know if you are a freshman or a senior,” Chancellor said. “Whoever plays the best is going to play the most. I think some of these freshmen could play really early.”

Plaisance said she is enjoying her collegiate experience, while also adjusting to the intensity of the college game.

“The physicality of it is so much higher in college,” she said. “You just have to be ready to battle every day no matter what. … Practices are so tough. We do our fair share of hitting, bumping or whatever you need to do to get the ball. It’s basically really cut throat.”

In addition to the new roster additions, LSU will also get “new” contributions from an “old” player in fifth-year senior Andrea Kelly.

Kelly, a 5-foot-9-inch guard, missed the entire 2009-10 season with a stress fracture in her foot, as well as a torn ACL.

Having the sharpshooter back in the lineup will provide Chancellor with what he describes as “dynamite on offense.”

“I think she is instant offense,” he said. “I think she is a zone buster. I think she can come into the game and just shoot, because she has just an unbelievable shot.”

Whether young or old, the Lady Tigers will need to be firing at full throttle from the opening tip of the season. LSU plays a litany of ranked opponents all throughout the season, starting in the first week of the season when the Lady Tigers take on Northwestern and Ohio State.

LSU also plays defending national champion Connecticut, as well as two meetings with SEC foe Tennessee.

“My whole thought process is if you want to be a part of the best and you want to call yourself an elite program, you have to play elite competition,” Chancellor said. “That’s what we’re doing this year.”

Nicholls State senior Anatoly Bose flies through the lane for a right-handed layup during a game last season. Bose is one of the most highly-touted players in American heading toward the start of the season. CASEY GISCLAIR