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When the Nicholls State University men’s basketball team is good, they’re real good – a group that’s had flashes of brilliance at times this season.
But likewise, when things get bad, the Colonels sometimes evolve into a different team – a squad that doesn’t consistently defend, takes bad shots and falls apart at the face of adversity.
Preventing those constant ebbs and flows are what coach J.P. Piper said is the key to the team’s season as the team heads toward the meat of Southland Conference play.
At press-time, Nicholls is in a bit of a funk, owning just a 5-13 record and a 1-3 mark in Southland play.
Piper said the slow start isn’t cause for panic just yet, because he thinks the Colonels have the talent to turn things around.
But the veteran coach said the only way that’ll happen is if Nicholls finds a way to give a consistent effort on a day-to-day basis – something that hasn’t happened so far this season.
“We’re a team right now that’s in process,” Piper said. “We’re still trying to get where we want to be. The good news is that the attitudes are terrific. Our guys want to do what they’re being asked to do. They’re trying to do what they’re being coached to do, but it’s just not always clicking for 40 minutes just yet. It’ll take time, but we believe it’ll click. We’re encouraged and still very excited about what’s to come.”
Piper said the Colonels biggest problem right now is an inability to provide a championship-level of effort when things are going bad on the offensive side of the floor.
Offensively, Nicholls shows flashes at times with standout guards Ja’Dante’ Frye and T.J. Carpenter leading the way, averaging 15.8 and 12.1 points per game respectively.
When that duo and the rest of the Colonels are hitting shots, Nicholls is hard to beat, because they can hit an opponent with a variety of weapons in multiple spots on the floor.
But when the Colonels aren’t scoring the ball, the team sometimes holds down its head and begins to get uneasy. Once that happens, Piper said the Colonels rush and completely get out of sync and make their problems even worse.
Piper pointed to the Colonels game with Memphis as proof of his statement. In that game, Nicholls led 16-12 with 12 minutes left in the first half. But in those 12 minutes, the Colonels went cold, then got blasted, surrendering a 38-5 run to fall behind 50-21 at halftime, putting the game well out of reach.
“We just abandon offense,” Piper said. “We just don’t run it. We take a lot of quick shots and quick threes. And when that happens, we’re bad. That’s when we can go from tied up to down 30 real quick. The message we’re giving to our team is to understand the bigger picture and realize that we have to slow the game down and play one possession at a time.”
The Colonels players agreed with their coach and even added to his statements. They added that the offensive lulls sometimes even affect the team’s defense – something that can’t happen anymore down the stretch.
Senior guard Schane Rillieux said the Colonels have heavily emphasized defense in recent weeks, trying to do better than the 79.4 points allowed per game average that they’ve accumulated this season.
Rillieux said he thinks Nicholls is a good defensive team – when it wants to be. He said the problem is that during prolonged runs, players lose focus and quit playing as hard as they should.
“Our identity here is defense. It’s always been,” Rillieux said. “Once we figure that out, offense will come naturally to us. When we struggle on offense, it bleeds to our defense. We have to stop that. We have to realize that if we get stops, it will give us confidence and enable us to go back the other way and score the ball.”
But even with problems on both offense and defense, everyone involved said they believe that there’s hope for quick progression and a prompt turnaround in the standings.
Carpenter said the Colonels have the talent and pieces in place to make a run in the Southland Conference – something the team has been trying to do for the past few seasons.
Both he and Rillieux said the Colonels can compete with anyone in the league, adding that the team’s errors are all correctable and soon to be fixed.
“We just have to compete,” Carpenter said. “Sometimes, it just takes one game to set off a spark. We’re at that point. We’re right on the brink. We just need that one game.”
“It’s close, man,” Rillieux added. “It’s closer than people probably think. We’re just a break or two away.”
The coach said he’s not giving up, either, adding that he challenges his Colonels daily to progress and continue to fight.
“When we run good offense, we play good defense and we’re a good team,” he said. “When we don’t, we’re bad in all phases and we’re a bad basketball team. We just have to find that median to get more consistent. The kids want it. We just have to lock it in and make it happen.” •
