As the post-John Comeaux era begins at Lamar State, sixth-year head coach Lance Madison has widened his imprint on Jefferson County in the recruiting game.

“There were a lot more players who I felt pretty good about accomplishing our goals at Lamar State,” Madison said. “Some of these guys were transfers who came back home, and we’re fortunate to pick them up, and so far they’ve been good additions.”

Madison had to replenish his roster with only two players returning from last season’s 17-13 ballclub that made the NJCAA Region XIV tournament, and he did it adding five more players from the county. Comeaux, the Ozen graduate who was the fourth-leading scorer in the region as a freshman last winter, signed with Stephen F. Austin.

Silsbee sophomore guard Travious Grubbs (4.7 points per game) is the leading returning scorer, with West Brook alumnus Jared Gobert, another sophomore guard, back as well. Grubbs knows he could be called on to pick up the scoring slack Comeaux left behind.

“John, first of all, I want to say he’s a great player,” Grubbs said. “We played together since I was 12 or 13 [on AAU teams]. I look forward to kind of being like him as far as a leader on and off the court, but we’ve got to get better, so I look forward to doing that and more.”

Among the new additions from Jefferson County, Nederland graduate Jase Miguez could be a big help in the scoring department. Miguez returned home late last school year after spending his freshman season at NAIA program Southeastern University in Florida.

“I’m just very blessed to be back home,” Miguez said. “We’ve got good team chemistry. We’re working very hard and try to stay together as much as possible.”
Miguez said he’ll execute whatever Madison’s game plan is for him when asked if he’ll step up as a scorer.

Sophomore forward Rodney Brown (West Brook) and freshman forward Devin Ellis (Beaumont Central) are coming off redshirt seasons, while forward Justice Vaughn (Ozen) and guard Tevin Baker (Kelly) are true freshmen.

Another redshirt fresman, San Antonio’s Ethan White, could be another impact player.

“Sitting out a year, sometimes you learn from watching practice and other guys’ mistakes,” Madison said. “We’re definitely a little bit inexperienced with returning what we had from last year.”

With the graduation of Petar Radojicic (16 points, 10.2 rebounds per game), Madison reloaded on the low blocks with a pair of sophomore transfers from Europe, 6-foot-11 Croatian Matej Gaspert and 6-9 Serbian Stefan Radosavljevic.

“We got a lot of guys who can contribute,” Madison said. “We’re focused right now on team unity, and I’m pretty sure one of these guys will step and score the ball for us.”

Casey Apetrei is another newcomer to the Seahawks. The Southeastern Louisiana graduate has replaced Barry Wellington as assistant coach following a stint at LSU Shreveport. Wellington joined the staff at NAIA’s University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky.

Apetrei also was a volunteer and student coach at Southeastern Louisiana.

“We expect him to recruit high-character kids who fit the mission of our school,” Madison said.

The Seahawks, Madison added, are dedicating the season to the Golden Triangle as the region continues to recover from Tropical Storm Harvey. The Carl Parker Center was used as a storm shelter at the start of school.

“The guys that are from outside the area got a chance to sit with some local people who had some misfortune,” Madison said. “We got in the community and we helped some of the faculty members with some of the repairs they had in their homes. We decided to dedicate our season ‘409 Strong’.”

Lamar State will play in the Mullen/Mitchell Dallas JC Blowout on Saturday against Otero JC of Colorado, Three Rivers College of Missouri and Sunrise Christian Academy of Kansas, a prep school team. The Seahawks will play home exhibitions against Up Tempo Basketball Academy on Oct. 11 and Louisiana Christian School on Oct. 28 and visit the NAIA’s LSU-Alexandria on Oct. 21 before starting the regular season against the Gladiators on Nov. 1 at home.
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I.C. Murrell: 549-8541. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews