As they step on the court with new talent, expectations and mindsets, the Northwestern State University of Louisiana men’s and women’s basketball teams get ready for the 2024-2025 season in early November.
On the men’s side of the court, the Demons basketball team looks to improve from their previous 9-23 record from the 2023-2024 season.
Rick Cabrera, men’s head basketball coach, shared how the Demons prepare for the season’s competition.
“We are practicing extremely hard; we have a great unit of young men that understand the common goal of the game,” Cabrera said. “The team’s mindset is to hang a banner. I tell them to leave their legacy behind, you know, what are people going to be saying about the 2024-2025 team.”
From the Masked Raiders at Texas Tech University (TTU) to the Golden Bears at University of California, Berkeley (Cal), the Demons have a tough non-conference slate ahead of them as they face off against 12 non-conference teams this season.
“There’s a lot of them out there. Our biggest non-conference competition is our first Division I game which is against TTU. They are a very good team and are probably top 27 ranked,” Cabrera said. “Then, we got University of Oklahoma (OU), Cal, The University of Texas at Austin and Louisiana State University (LSU). With non-conference competitors, it really is every game.”
The men’s team will compete in 20 conference games this season before the Southland Conference Tournament in early March of 2025.
“McNeese State University is the big dog in the conference just based on them being the reigning champions, so you can give them their flowers on that aspect,” Cabrera said. “Every game is extremely important in the conference, and we’ll prepare for every game like it’s our last one.”
On the defensive side of the ball, the team has implemented numerous strategies that they have learned from the previous season and over the summer.
“It’s so important defensively to talk, and that was a struggle early on in the summer and preseason. We’re getting a lot better at it, but there are still ways to go,” Cabrera said. “We’re pressuring the basketball, defending and rebounding, and we still have to clean some things up and be better at defense.”
With new recruits to handle the ball against opponents, the Demons aim to be aggressive and make good plays through practice.
“Offensively, we recruited better guys that can shoot the basketball at a higher clip; we recruited guys that can create their own basket and get a basket in comparison to last season,” Cabrera said. “As long as we do right by the basketball gods in practice, I think it can translate into games, and we’ll have some success.”
With new and returning players stepping onto the court, the team has high hopes entering the new season. Mitch Williams, redshirt sophomore class sports and recreational management major and point guard, added his expectations for the team.
“We’re doing a lot for the new season. One thing I like about what we do here is we play live, and the best way to learn is to play, so we do that a lot and watch a lot of films,” Williams said. “I’m just looking forward to having a great year with the team; we have a lot of new guys because they’re great people and win as many games as possible.”
Whether it’s for competing near home or friendly rivalries between former teammates, Williams is excited to go head-to-head against teams in the early season.
“I’m looking forward to playing OU and TTU because a lot of friends from high school go to both of those schools,” Williams said. “My mom went to TTU, so I think it’ll be interesting.”
Relating to Williams, Micah Thomas, senior general studies major and point guard, looks forward to traveling to familiar areas and playing against his past teammates and friends.
“Personally, I’m from Oklahoma, so I think it’ll be fun to go home and challenge OU,” Thomas said. “I’m also looking forward to playing Nicholls for the conference game. I came from there, so what’s understood doesn’t have to be explained.”
Cabrera and the men’s team have high spirits going into the upcoming season and hope to see the stands full.
“To our student body: please come and support us, and we’ll support you guys if you need us as well, but we need our students and we need our faculty to give the guys energy at the game,” Cabrera said. “Come take a couple hours out of your day and support men’s basketball.”
On the women’s side of the court, the Lady Demons basketball team looks to improve from their previous 11-19 record from the 2023-2024 season. Anna Nimz, women’s head basketball coach, shared what changes the Lady Demons made for this season.
“I think the biggest thing for us to understand is that we’re young and understanding that we have a lot of new bodies,” Nimz said. “It’s really paying attention to the details and processes while allowing that transition time for some of our transfers and some of our freshmen to have a little grace.”
Nimz explained the team is actively working to be ready for their challenges in and out of the conference.
“We’re not going to be expected to be at our best right now, and when we tip off on Nov. 5, we won’t be playing our best basketball, but we are preparing ourselves and competing every single day to prepare us for Dec. 7 for our first conference game,” Nimz said. “So really this is what the non-conference is and where our thoughts are.”
The Lady Demons have a difficult non-conference schedule ahead of them as they face off against nine non-conference teams this season.
“I feel like the biggest non-conference competitor will be the first team we play, which is Champion Christian College (CCC), because you never want to look past games,” Nimz said. “I’m sure the answer you’re looking for is LSU. There’s a sold out crowd of 15,000 in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with Kim Mulkey and a national championship team, so obviously that will be our biggest competition we face all year.”
The team will play in 20 conference games this season before the SLC Tournament in early March of 2025.
“As far as conference goes, I have too much respect for all the teams in our conference to specify one,” Nimz said. “I think the entire conference has the opportunity to win a championship and we’re going to approach every game as such.”
With new young talent on this year’s team, Nimz explained how she has high expectations going into the new season.
“I think right now with us being so young and such high newcomers, I don’t know if I can easily compare us from this year’s team to last year’s team. We’re significantly different,” Nimz said. “I will say that they’re growing everyday and committed to making small changes but I think right now it’s just not as cohesive as it needs to be, but that’s going to come with time and with competition.”
Energy is everything to the team, and Nimz is looking forward to seeing the Lady Demon’s have fun while competing.
“I’ve mentioned that we have a lot of new kids with a lot of different personalities and good team comradery,” Nimz said. “Obviously, we want to win some ball games, but, I think the more they play loose and have fun on the court, the higher the opportunity for success we will have.”
As the women’s team faces off against many competitors this season, Jasmin Dixon, graduate student public health major and center, is ready to get the season started.
“I’m most excited to play Champion Christian because it’s our first game at home, and it’s the day before my birthday, so we have to get a birthday win,” Dixon said. “In conference, I’m looking forward to playing Houston Christian University because I’m from Houston, and I get to see my whole family get hyped.”
The Lady Demons have been preparing for the competition through practice and a change in their mindset.
“The training process this year has been tough. We have a lot of freshmen, so we’ve been working on getting them on board,” Dixon said. “We’re excited; we’re finally ready to play together instead of working against one another everyday at practice.”
The team is hungry to win at the start of the season including Nia Hardison, senior general studies major and point guard.
“I’m ready for it all. I’m ready to compete with my team and show people what we’re really made of,” Hardison said. “I feel like we’re starting to finally lock in and focus because we realized it’s game time.”
The men’s team will open their season against the Dallas Christian College Crusaders on Monday, Nov. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Prather Coliseum. The women’s team will open their season against the Champion Christian College Tigers on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Prather Coliseum.
