{"id":7383,"date":"2018-03-15T10:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-03-15T15:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=7383"},"modified":"2018-03-15T09:35:13","modified_gmt":"2018-03-15T14:35:13","slug":"running-out-of-gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2018\/03\/15\/running-out-of-gas\/","title":{"rendered":"Running Out Of Gas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past five or so years, the McNeese Cowboys basketballers appeared on paper as if they could compete with the upper tier of the Southland Conference.<\/p>\n

Stats and projections on paper won\u2019t win many games, though. It\u2019s what you do on the hardwood, and how you execute, that shows up in the win and loss columns.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MSU Photo By Richard Martin<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

McNeese will soon notch its sixth straight regular season losing record when it closes out with the home match-up against rival Lamar, which will be the program\u2019s final game at Burton Coliseum.<\/p>\n

By next fall, the new on-campus arena will be open, marking a new era in Cowboys basketball history. And the university, along with fans and boosters, are hoping more wins will follow, with increased attendance as well.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s the future; what about the present?<\/p>\n

Senior forward Stephen Ugochukwu has played a lot of basketball for this program, and experienced more than a fair share of defeats. He feels the roster had the talent to succeed, but didn\u2019t for a myriad of reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are a really talented group. We just needed to learn to play more as a team and play basketball the right way. When we are able to bring it all together on both ends, we are a really special team. But it just doesn\u2019t happen consistently for us, and that\u2019s the thing \u2014 to do it consistently,\u201d Ugochukwu opined.<\/p>\n

What the Cowboys have done consistently this season is dig huge holes and fall behind by 20 or more points; then either their energy or time on the clock would burn out. At times, they would build decent leads of 10 or more, and then slip into a scoring and defensive funk and let teams back into the game.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MSU Photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

That occurred most recently against SLC-leading Nicholls State in a must-win for McNeese. An early 8-point lead was followed by a 14-0 Nicholls run and then a 17-point half-time deficit.<\/p>\n

Game over. 96-79 was the final tally. Imagine the confidence and momentum the Cowboys could have taken away from beating the SLC leaders, not to mention exacting some payback for the McNeese footballers.<\/p>\n

Despite Ugochukwu\u2019s talent analysis, the Cowboys don\u2019t have the athleticism, speed, dependable shooting touch or mental toughness to hang with the league\u2019s leading teams.<\/p>\n

There is a four- or seven-game difference between the Cowboys and the SLC\u2019s Top 5 clubs in the critical league race. That\u2019s a huge spread in this conference. SLC records separate the haves and have-nots. You can\u2019t depend on the overall wins and losses, because SLC teams play a lot of guaranteed road games against bigger schools early in the season, and they will usually have 9 to 12 losses on the books.<\/p>\n

Way back in November, I spied some optimism in two defeats: a 6-point overtime loss at Loyola Marymount, and a competitive 89-78 road loss against a very good UL-Lafayette team. But a demoralizing 38-point blowout at North Texas began a slew of road losses, and the team\u2019s confidence took a major blow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still young. We have young players. Right now, we are like a wounded team. We are obviously not playing as well as we did earlier. We just hit a lull, and that\u2019s what\u2019s been happening. We jumped out on people at the 10-minute mark, but fall off,\u201d said head coach Dave Simmons.<\/p>\n

A couple of games into this season. Simmons saw what he had in junior college transfer Quatarrius Wilson. The 6-foot, 8-inch athletic forward has averaged a solid double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds per game. He earned my vote for SLC Newcomer of the Year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

MSU Photo By Raymond Stewart<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

With Wilson\u2019s work on the boards, McNeese has finally seen their rebounding margin on the positive end versus the opposition, swiping nearly 39 rebounds per game. That\u2019s about five more per outing than last year.<\/p>\n

So, rebounding has been the upside, according to Simmons. But defense and shooting have been the downside. \u201cWhen we needed stops, we just couldn\u2019t get the big stops. I\u2019ve always said the defensive part will always help when you\u2019re struggling offensively. We are an offensive-minded team, and when our guards shoot well, we are in every game. But the defensive set has to be equal,\u201d said Simmons.<\/p>\n

When the Cowboys didn\u2019t have an answer defensively, they had to turn to the shooting guards to keep them in games. And the trio of starters: Kalob Ledoux, Jarren Greenwood, James Harvey; and back-ups Jacob Ledoux and Kelvin Henry, just don\u2019t put together enough consistent firepower.<\/p>\n

K. Ledoux, Greenwood and Harvey mustered up enough shots to average double figures (barely), but no one in the group stepped up with a marksman field goal percentage or became a go-to guy when the team needed big buckets.<\/p>\n

The early emergence of Wilson and his penchant for double-doubles, paired with the experience and skills of Ugochukwu, looked like a dueling complement of 6-foot, 8-inch big men who could run the floor, rebound and give you 10-14 points nightly.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t go as far as Twin Towers, but for McNeese, let\u2019s just say high rise condos was the hope.<\/p>\n

For some reason, the pairing has not produced a consistent one-two punch, for various reasons. The two look good together side by side in the front court: long and lean, aggressive. But maybe they have just not spent enough time playing together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt hasn\u2019t really happened,\u201d Ugochukwu admitted after the Nicholls loss. \u201cWe are doing stuff a lot differently this year, and I\u2019m still getting used to it. I am playing more 5 (he played more of the 4 spot last year) and working to get open and moving on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons took a different view than his senior forward, saying Ugochukwu is still playing down low and is more about staying focused and physical. \u201cLast year, he was a big focal point because we didn\u2019t have anyone else to help [with] rebounding. But technically, it\u2019s the same position. You would think they would be book ends with Quatarrius and Stephen playing, because we have the same system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey practice well every day. I don\u2019t know if one is looking at the other to do it, but you should be going after the same rebounds. Stephen is a very intellectual kid, and sometimes you just have to play. To me, he is thinking about the next play too much. The natural part of the basketball game \u2014 like run, jump and get rebounds \u2014 is the part we have struggled with this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStruggle\u201d is a word that\u2019s been associated with the Cowboys the past three seasons. They failed to reach even 10 victories in 2015 and 2016. Between 2012 and 2016, McNeese was 56-95. The Pokes are 10-16 going into the game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Even if the Cowboys win out, the record will once again be under .500.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of things. We were close my freshman year. [There were] a lot of different guys my sophomore year, and it didn\u2019t work out. Last year, with the twins (Ledoux brothers), they were freshmen. This was really supposed to be the year. But we\u2019ve struggled,\u201d said Ugochukwu.<\/p>\n

The Texas senior, who hopes to play internationally when his McNeese career ends, described his frustration over never having a winning record as a Cowboy as \u201cnormal for any player,\u201d but uses his best intellect to balance the losing with a life lesson of not giving up and continuing to work hard in search of success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI try and give my best to help this program. I didn\u2019t put enough wins on the board with my time here. We didn\u2019t win enough games. But I tried to work hard and be the best I could be to help this team out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ugochukwu takes on a melancholy look and demeanor about not being able to play in the new arena next season. But he seems intent on leaving here with one last hurrah and a spot in the SLC Tournament in Katy, Texas.<\/p>\n

The Top 8 teams earn tournament bids (a championship in the SLC Tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament). Going into that game in Corpus Christi, the Cowboys were in ninth place behind Abilene Christian.<\/p>\n

McNeese has no real wiggle room or margin for error. They need to win out, and will probably still need help from a tiebreaker to make the conference tournament.<\/p>\n

If their season continues past the game, maybe then Ugochukwu\u2019s long-running frustration will subside, and he can walk away with a smile and, finally, some sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Rick Sarro\u2019s perspectives and commentary can be heard on Soundoff 60 nightly, Monday through Sunday evenings, at 9 pm; broadcast on Suddenlink channel 4.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past five or so years, the McNeese Cowboys basketballers appeared on paper as if they could compete with the upper tier of the Southland Conference. Stats and projections on paper won\u2019t win many games, though. It\u2019s what you do on the hardwood, and how you execute, that shows up in the win and [&hellip<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1451,1631,64,33],"yoast_head":"\nRunning Out Of Gas - BestOfSwla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2018\/03\/15\/running-out-of-gas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Running Out Of Gas - BestOfSwla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Over the past five or so years, the McNeese Cowboys basketballers appeared on paper as if they could compete with the upper tier of the Southland Conference. 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