Two Made the Show

By Jim Gazzolo

Javohn Garcia and DJ Richards spent the last three seasons leading McNeese basketball to new heights.

They won 86 games together and lost just 17. They captured three Southland Conference Championships, won an NCAA Tournament game, and became legends in a city they didn’t know existed before coming here.

Thursday afternoon, in Oklahoma City, when their historic run came to an end on the court at the Paycom Center, they were together again.

The duo, each of whom scored 1,000 points while at McNeese, left their mark individually and collectively. 

“Those two guys have been a part of a lot of wins for McNeese,” said Cowboy head coach Bill Armstrong. “They set the standard here for the rest to follow. They need to be remembered.”

The two came back for their final seasons after Will Wade left for North Carolina State in the offseason. Each could have tested the transfer portal and gone elsewhere, but decided to stay together.

Garcia was last year’s Southland Conference Player of the Year, while Richards is one of the top 3-point shooters in league history. Their decisions to stay became the catalysts for the Cowboys to continue their current run, especially at home.

McNeese didn’t lose a game in Townsley Law Arena, and is 48-1 over the Richards-Garcia era in games played in Lake Charles. That’s an amazing turnaround from where the program was before.

This season, the duo had to be more than players on the court. In fact, both would tell you they had more than their share of struggles this season. But they did a lot for the younger players.

“We leaned on them all the time,” said redshirt freshman and leading scorer Larry Johnson. “They have been through all this, and that helped us. We could always count on them.”

Both Richards and Garcia will tell you they did not have the years they had hoped. Both struggled at times as they learned a new system and style. However, both did set the standard.

“They accepted what we were trying to do,” said Armstrong. “To have their leadership and then accept the new coaching staff and players was a very big thing for our culture.”

Garcia will be remembered for his 31-point performance on one leg in the SLC title game last week against Stephen F. Austin — Richards for his lively personality and long shooting.

What should not be lost is the standard they help set. That will carry on long after they are gone.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers sports in Southwest Louisiana. He is also the host of Poke Nation, which airs weekly on CBS Lake Charles.