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Anyone familiar with the Nicholls basketball team is likewise familiar with its two biggest scoring threats: guards Dantrell Thomas and Jeremy Smith.
Entering the week, Thomas was tied for sixth in the Southland Conference in scoring with 17.6 points per game; Smith tied for 12th at 15 points per game.
But it has been the play of a lesser-known guard that has kept opposing defenses honest while allowing the team’s two biggest seniors to play to their potential.
Meet junior guard Shane Rillieux, who is listed at 6-foot-2 but in reality is closer to 5’11. He is seldom the Colonels’ leading scorer or the team’s biggest threat on the floor, but in his role, he hardly needs to be.
“I’m more of the facilitator,” said Rillieux. “I try to get them (Thomas and Smith) the ball in places that they can make plays. I also try to get rebounds, steals and help out as much as I can on defense. I don’t score a lot of points.”
Indeed, Rillieux has averaged just 6.1 points per contest through 20 games. But anything between 7 and 12 points a game is considered a great night for Rillieux, said Nicholls coach J.P. Piper.
Those figures may not seem like a product of high expectations, but getting them means that Rillieux is keeping his opponents on their toes.
“You almost need to surprise the defense by making a play when they don’t expect you to make it, and he’s developed a really good feel for that,” Piper said of Rillieux. “He picks his spots. A couple of times, he’s picked his spot and it didn’t turn out good. He drove to the base line one time and got his shot blocked.
“But those are still positive plays because it messes with the defense. You know he’s going to come in there so you can’t pay too much attention to (Thomas and Smith), which makes the game much easier for him and creates balance.”
Another way Rillieux is capable of making positive plays is with his hustle. That was recently on display in Nicholls’ thrilling 73-72 overtime victory over Oral Roberts last Thursday, Jan. 30.
With the momentum shifting back and forth in the final moments of regulation and each possession taking on added importance, Rillieux made a phenomenal play with his body to keep a wild pass from going out of bounds.
Although the Colonels didn’t score following Rillieux’s save, the play ignited Nicholls’ bench – and the crowd – and allowed the team to maintain possession and run another 35 seconds off the game clock.
“In practice, we always talk about not giving up and playing to the whistle,” Rillieux said afterward.
Smith said the play was an example of Rillieux’s competitiveness.
“He competes defensively and offensively,” Smith said. “He just brings that extra component that we need. Whatever coaches ask out of him, he’s going to do it 120 percent. He’s a great teammate. I look at him like a younger sibling. He’s like my little brother.”
Rillieux’s path to Nicholls began at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans, where he was part of the Crusaders team that won the Class 5A State Championship his junior season in 2009-10.
After leaving high school, Rillieux became a starter at Nicholls from day one of his freshman season, averaging almost 32 minutes a night his first year.
Now in his third year with the team, Rillieux has experienced some of the highs and lows of any player who’s been with a team this long.
And with the Colonels entering the week 7-4 in conference play following three straight victories over McNeese State, Oral Roberts and Central Arkansas, Rillieux says this is the most excited he has ever been about the program.
“Being here (for three years), we haven’t had this good of a start in conference,” Rillieux said. “I’m looking forward to the next couple of games. I think we’ve built a bond. Our chemistry is big right now. Earlier in the season, maybe we didn’t have that same chemistry, we didn’t score as many points and the offense wasn’t as fluid.”
Rillieux may never be the team’s leading scorer or the first player that opposing defenses think to shut down, but his coach calls him the glue that holds everything together.
“He really pulls it all together and makes it stick,” Piper said. “He’s huge. He manages the game and is a tremendous defender. He makes sure we’re in the right spots, and then he’s just a tough kid. He’s not real emotional. He doesn’t get too high or too low. His expression doesn’t change. You want that at that position. You need that.”
The Colonels will stay busy this week in a road-filled slate.
Nicholls will travel to take on the University of New Orleans on Thursday night – a game set for a 7:45 p.m. tipoff.
From there, Nicholls will stay on the road and will take on Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.
The games are big for the Colonels, who were 0-2 last week.
Nicholls State men’s basketball player Shane Rillieux takes the ball down the floor during his freshman season. Now a junior, Rillieux has blossomed into a steady player for the Colonels, who sit with a 7-4 record in the Southland Conference standings.
