Donna Sue Theriot
December 20, 2017
Former Tarpon to transfer to Tulane
December 20, 2017
It was a little windy locally on Friday as a cold front passed through the area, lowering our temperatures and creating a breeze.
But while some of the movement in the air was likely from Mother Nature, it also could have come from Thibodaux as Colonels Nation collectively released a large, profound exhale that their beloved coach is now likely to stay in Thibodaux for at least one more year.
Nicholls State University head football coach Tim Rebowe’s name came up in coaching rumors after the University of Louisiana-Lafayette fired coach Mark Hudspeth after the season.
Rebowe told reporters when the news leaked out that he was happy at Nicholls, but that he’d be interested in listening to any pitch presented to him, which sent a shockwave of nervous energy throughout fans in the area who, obviously, want the coach to stay at Nicholls.
But as it turns out, Ragin’ Cajuns administration was more interested in other coaches, which led ultimately to their hiring of Arizona State offensive coordinator Billy Napier on Friday.
Napier is a decorated hire who has worked under Nick Saban in his career.
But he will not have the recruiting ties in Louisiana that Rebowe has, which Nicholls fans believe is the Cajuns’ loss and the Colonels’ gain.
After the season, Rebowe said he wanted to thank Nicholls’ seniors for their work throughout the year. He then said that he believes the Colonels aren’t finished building on the playoff year they enjoyed in 2017.
“We had a group of seniors that believed in what we’re doing and these underclassmen too did a fantastic job,” Rebowe said. “So the future is going to be bright for us.”
Last year, the Colonels were able to retain their entire coaching staff, which Rebowe credited multiple times throughout the season as being a big key to the team’s success.
As of now, the team’s staff has remained intact throughout the offseason, but often times any departures are not announced until after recruiting season is over.
NICHOLLS BASKETBALL SOARS
While Nicholls fans celebrated the news that Rebowe was not a serious candidate at UL-Lafayette, the Colonels basketball teams continue to soar.
The Nicholls men’s basketball team crushed Culver-Stockton 95-51 on Saturday, improving to 5-5 on the season.
The Colonels cruised to a 52-14 halftime lead in Saturday’s win, using balanced scoring to overwhelmed the outclassed Wildcats.
Nine Colonels scored in the win, led by seniors Roddy Peters and Lafayette Rutledge, who both had 18 points.
Also scoring double figures were Tevon Saddler (15 points) Jahvaughn Powell (14 points) and Ryghe Lyons (12 points).
Powell pitched in eight re bounds, eight assists and six steals in the effort, while Saddler added eight rebounds.
With the win, Nicholls snapped a short, two-game losing streak.
Riley said the Colonels have treaded water so far this season and have won the games they’ve been favored to win and have lost the others.
He said he wants his team to learn lessons from non-conference play so that they can be ready to handle the grinds that will come in the Southland slate.
“We want to prepare ourselves for what’s ahead,” Riley said.
“We want to make sure that we’re rounding into fire at the right time of the year.”
NICHOLLS WOMEN FINDING FORM
By the time this story runs, it’s highly likely that the Nicholls State University women’s basketball team’s winning streak has been snapped.
Nicholls faced Baylor on Monday night at home – just hours after our press-time.
Though it’s unlikely that the Colonels were able to slay the Goliath college basketball powerhouse, the result of that game does not change the fact that Nicholls is playing some of its best basketball season of late.
Before the Baylor game, Nicholls won four-straight games to improve to 5-4 on the season. In Nicholls’ final game before the showdown with Baylor, the Colonels bested Mississippi Valley State 62-57.
Balanced scoring was the order of the day in the win, as four players scored in double fig ures, led by Cassidy Barrios and Tykeria Williams, who each had 14 points.
Marina Lilly added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Airi Hamilton had 11 points.
As always, Barrios was a Jill of All Trades in the win, adding seven rebounds and four steals to her point total.
After the Baylor game, Nicholls will continue to be heavily challenged.
The Colonels will play their final non-conference game on Dec. 21 against Iowa State before playing two-straight road games to open Southland Conference play – first against Northwestern State and then against Incarnate Word.
Nicholls fans exhaled a sigh of relief this past week when UL-Lafayette hired a new football coach. The relief was because Colonels coach Tim Rebowe’s name came up when the job opened.
