McNeese State junior guard Roydell Brown was one of the bright spots for the Cowboys during the 2018-19 season as he averaged 14.5 points per game.

LAKE CHARLES — Heath Schroyer likes to talk about the process. Fans like to see the finished product. 

It’s a clash of patience, the first-year McNeese State head basketball coach has had to suffer through this season.

There was hope and hype when the Cowboys opened their 40-million dollar plus arena and began the era under Schroyer. But close losses, injuries along with a key departure left McNeese State struggling just to finish the season. 

With only seven healthy scholarship players left by season’s end, the Cowboys limped to the finish line instead of running to Katy, Texas and the Southland Conference post-season tournament. McNeese lost eight of its last 10 games.

“It has been a tough year,” Schroyer said. “We have had our share of adversity, that is for sure. One thing though the players never quit.”

Maybe, but a 9-22 record is not what the fans expected when Schroyer came to town. There was excitement surrounding the program that hadn’t been seen in a very long time.

But seven times the Cowboys lost games by five points or less, four by three and under. Close losses added to the hope and some frustration.

“It’s disappointing when you don’t win,” Schroyer said. “We get disappointed just like fans, but we have to look at the process. I’m all about the process.

“I have to look at the big picture. That’s what’s important.”

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The hopefuls believed that a new coach and new arena would lead to a new era of winning right off the bat. But that was wishful thinking.

Instead, the season proved that turning around a program that has struggled for at least two decades doesn’t take place over night. It is, to quote Schroyer, is a “process”.

“We knew what we were getting into,” said Schroyer. “We knew there was a lot of work to do and we are prepared to do it. I like the direction we are headed.”

The Cowboys were far more entertaining this year, playing a pace of basketball that drew fans to their new arena. During the recent years at Burton Coliseum and even the Lake Charles Civic Center, McNeese games were dull and stale. 

With the new arena there was interest and noise as the Cowboys returned to play of campus. But in the end the fans will only continue to come out to watch a winner. 

“Long term you have to win games and championships if you want to get the fans to come out,” Schroyer said. “The new arena gives us a chance to show off our product but we have to win and it is something I think we will be able to do here in Lake Charles.”

The fans did show support as McNeese drew over three times as many for home games, moving all the way up to second in Southland attendance. But you don’t get a free pass as the novelty of the new stadium wears off. 

“We have great fan support and we want to reward those people for coming out,” said Schroyer.

Playing consistently good basketball was the Cowboys biggest issue. Too often a good half was followed by a bad one, or a 10-minute period of poor play in the second half.

There was also the loss of Malik Hines, the 6-10 senior center who left the team for personal reasons after 21 games. Hines’ departure took the biggest man on McNeese out of the lineup. Schroyer then turned to playing four guards often after that.

“We didn’t have the size or numbers of bigs,” Schroyer said. 

Things got even worse when leading scorer Roydell Brown injured his ankle and missed the last eight games. Brown, a junior forward, was really coming into his own at the time of the injury. He finished the year averaging 14.5 points a game and earned All-SLC honorable mention honors on Monday.

He will be joined next year by Sha’markus Kennedy, who finished scoring 13.1 points a game, giving McNeese a strong front line to build around. 

But there are pieces to the puzzle that will need to be filled if the Cowboys are to live up to the arena they now play in.

“I like what we have coming in and where we are headed,” said Schroyer. “I’m excited for the future.”

Hope and hype. It’s something the Cowboys and Schroyer will try to live up next season.