Tuesday, Nov. 30
November 30, 2010
HPD reaches out to area’s needy with food boxes
December 2, 2010
Nicholls State junior forward Fred Hunter walked into practice last Thursday with a freshly-trimmed head of hair.
The 6-foot-5-inch junior vowed to his teammates to trim down his puffy dome when the Colonels won their first game of the season.
After beating LSU two Tuesday’s ago, it was time to get the clippers out and live up to his end of the deal.
“I had a little mini afro going,” Hunter said. “And I didn’t shave or none of that, so it was time for all that hair to be gone.”
While Hunter’s haircut was the running joke Thursday at practice, it is the Colonels’ strong start to the season that has everyone else’s attention.
Nicholls started the season with a tough overtime loss at Houston. Four days later is when the magic happened, as the Colonels landed a 62-53 win last Tuesday against LSU in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center n a win that many are calling the biggest in the past decade of Nicholls basketball.
“It’s pretty neat,” Piper said, struggling to fight away a beaming smile. “The team sets goals each year the Thursday before the first day of practice. And for the last three years, one of the team’s goals has been to beat a higher conference team. To have it come this season is hopefully a good sign, and to have it come against LSU is probably doubly special, being they’re the in-state school that everybody recognizes because they have that tremendous tradition and all of the Final Four appearances.”
The way Nicholls players say they have pushed themselves to the spotlight is through defense. The Colonels held Houston to just 63 points, despite having to play five extra overtime minutes. The team also held LSU to 53 points, while also forcing 18 turnovers.
“We’ve really bought into the philosophy of defense,” senior forward Anatoly Bose said. “And I think that’s the main key of why we got that victory.”
But the offense has seen a big boost as well, most notably through Hunter’s strong play.
The Denton, Texas native averaged 13 points per game last season, but sometimes struggled to be a reliable offensive option.
“Me and Coach Piper had long talks about how I just needed to grow up and have a short-term memory,” Hunter said. “Because last year, I’d make a bad play and I’d let that take away from my game for the rest of the game. This year, when I make a mistake, I forget about it and keep playing.”
From those talks have stemmed an early-season Renaissance in the forward, who dominated LSU, scoring 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds and recording six steals.
“He’s really a different person out on the floor,” Piper said. “He plays with a warrior’s mentality. He’s relentless on offense and defense. I expect him to do that again and again and again this year. Last year and the year before, it was really hit or miss. … But the way he practices now leads me to believe he’s going to show up every night.”
By showing up every night, the Colonels also will be able to give more rest to Bose, who won’t always have to score 30+ points for Nicholls to have a chance to win.
“He’s been unbelievable, I can’t even really explain it,” Bose said. “He’s been helping me out a lot, which is exactly what I need.”
The Colonels still have dates with Wichita State, Texas A&M and Mississippi State on their schedule. And while it’s not known whether the underdogs will strike again, just the mere fact that it’s possible is enough for Piper, who is the first to admit that winning wasn’t always on the radar in some of these early-season games.
“It’s fun to be in a position where special is possible,” Piper said. “It used to be, we’d prepare for these games and there’s just no conceivable way you could go win. That’s not the case anymore. It doesn’t mean we’re always going to win. But it’s fun and it’s exciting.”
But regardless of who the team beats in November and December, the coach also added it doesn’t take away from the team’s ultimate goal n making the NCAA Tournament.
“They’ve moved on from that LSU game,” Piper said. “They understand it doesn’t get us into the NCAA Tournament and they understand we have a lot of work to do.”
Bose agreed, but added he believes premonition is on his side.
“I had two goals, one was to win the Southland Conference, and the other was to beat LSU,” Bose said. “We already got one. We just hope that means this year is our year.”
From the way things look so far, if Hunter agrees to put his hair on the line, it will seal the deal.
Nicholls State senior Anatoly Bose (left) surveys the floor in a recent Nicholls game, while Colonels junior Fred Hunter fires a shot in traffic. Both Bose and Hunter have been impact players in Nicholls’ early season success. MISTY McELROY
