McNeese basketball enters a new era under head coach Bill Armstrong, hoping to keep the momentum of being a top player in mid-major basketball.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: McNeese basketball.
The Cowboys may be in for a rough first season under Bill Armstrong, having lost most of last year’s squad – a team that won 28 games and took down Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Still, they return leading scorer Javohn Garcia and DJ Richards, who was fourth on the team in scoring last season. McNeese ran a balanced offense, so having two of their top four scorers from a year ago should help the new head coach Armstrong.
The power forward position is very up for debate. If the Cowboys go small, insert 6-foot-5 Carl Cherenfant, who would force them to run small ball. Another option is playing Jerrell Colbert and Peitok Machar together, which would in effect mean three guards and two centers. Spacing and offensive flow would be tough to come by. Finally there are Yanis Ndjonga, who didn’t play at Baylor, and Jacolb Fredson-Cole, who played very sparingly at Oklahoma. I’ve got Fredson-Cole as the starter at this point in time, but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t get starter minutes. It’s a clear blank hole for McNeese and there isn’t a great guess on who would be the best option to fill it.
Head coach:Â Bill Armstrong (1st season at McNeese, 1st season overall)
2024-25 record:Â 28-7 (19-1)
2025 postseason finish:Â Lost to Purdue (76-62) in second round of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:Â
- Sincere Parker (12.2 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 0.5 APG)
- Christian Shumate (10.4 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 0.8 APG, 62.3 FG%)
- Quadir Copeland (9.2 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.3 RPG, 1.4 SPG)
- Joe Charles (8.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 35.5 3P%)
- Brandon Murray (7.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 50.3 FG%)
- Alyn Breed (17.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 50.0 3P%, 52.2 FG%, 2 GP)
- Bryant Selebangue (3.7 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 0.5 APG, 63.6 FG%)
Notable non-conference games:Â
- N/A
Projected Rotation
PG: Garwey Dual (6-5, 205, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 5.4 PPG, 3.0 APG, 1.6 RPG, 1.7 SPG (Seton Hall)
SG: Javohn Garcia (6-3, 185, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 12.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.5 SPG, 35.4 3P%
SF: DJ Richards (6-4, 185, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 9.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 0.8 APG, 1.0 SPG, 42.5 3P%
PF: Jacolb Fredson-Cole (6-7, 220, Rs.-So.)
2024-25 stats: 0.9 PPG, 0.8 RPG, 0.2 APG, 4.6 MPG (Oklahoma)
C: Jerell Colbert (6-10, 235, Sr.)
2024-25 stats: 2.5 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 0.3 APG, 63.6 FG% (SMU)
6: Tyshawn Archie (6-1, 165, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 9.3 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 SPG (Tulsa)
7: T’Johnn Brown (5-11, 164, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 4.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, 1.0 RPG
8: Peitok Machar (6-9, 215, So.)
2024-25 stats: 8.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 0.5 APG, 2.4 BPG, 73.9 FG% (Triton College – NJCAA)
9: Yanis Ndjonga (6-8, 220, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: DNP (Baylor)
10: Larry Johnson (6-4, 200, Fr.)
2024 247Sports #114 ranked recruit (Creighton)
11: Carl Cherenfant (6-5, 195, Jr.)
2024-25 stats: 2.1 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 35.9 FG% (New Mexico State)
McNeese Basketball team MVP: Javohn Garcia
Even though McNeese graduated and lost a lot of key players from last year, Javohn Garcia was their leading scorer (not counting the two games Alyn Breed played). With Garcia back, the Cowboys have a clear number one option, which is also good for a new head coach to rely on and have that safety blanket.
Garcia likely won’t be much more than a 13-15 PPG type of guy this season, but to have him back gives the Cowboys a good starting point for the 2025-26 season.
McNeese Basketball make-or-break player: Garwey Dual
Dual has shown flashes of being a pro-type guard. At 6-5, 205, he is bigger than virtually every point guard in the country, and it will show even more in the Southland. But he hasn’t shown traits of being a good shooter or scorer, and his handles have been missing at times.
Still, Dual has good vision and rebounds well. If he can become a more natural point guard, it gives the Cowboys a good backcourt to work with, which can in turn help out a frontcourt with lots of questions.
Key analytic: ORPG
A big part of McNeese’s success last season was rebounding the basketball, especially after a missed shot. The Cowboys averaged 11.7 offensive rebounds per game, top 100 in the nation.
But they lose Joe Charles (6.9 RPG), Christian Shumate (6.5 RPG), and a few other pieces that chipped in on the boards.
Now they turn to some relatively unknowns. Jerrell Colbert only grabbed about two boards per game at SMU and Peitok Machar rebounded well, but in the NJCAA. The move to Division I could affect him accordingly.
It seems evident that McNeese basketball will take a pretty big dip in this category.
McNeese Basketball 2025-26 projections
Projected conference finish:Â 1st in the Southland
Projected postseason ceiling:Â NCAA Tournament Round of 64 Exit