WCSU men’s basketball is back on the court
DANBURY, Conn. — The Western Connecticut State University (WCSU) men’s basketball team has started the 2021-22 season with a 6-1 record heading into their Little East Conference opener against Plymouth State University on Saturday, Dec. 4.
Third year coach Guy Rancourt is happy with what his Colonials have done so far and is excited for what the rest of the season holds for his squad.
“I think we’ve had a good start to the season,” Rancourt said. “We’re just going to take it one game at a time and just trying to make sure that we take care of the business that’s front of us before anything else.”
Rancourt has had first-year players play valuable minutes to start the season, with four freshman averaging more than 10 minutes per game.
“We have a very young group and there’s a lot of talent in that youth, so I’m very happy that we’re able to start the season off as well as we have,” Rancourt said.
Corey Walters leads all freshman in scoring, averaging 6.7 points per game (PPG). The Hamden, Connecticut native has enjoyed the relationship that the returning and new players on the team have had so far this year.
“I’m really excited about the rest of the season,” Walters said. “After a week or two of practices, the younger guys, including myself, bonded with the older guys more and started connecting on the court and it shows off the court as well.”
Junior Ahmod Privott, one of five returning players this season, was a pivotal part of the 2019-20 Colonials team that won the LEC Championship, averaging 11.0 PPG, second on the team that year. Privott, from Middletown, Connecticut, thinks highly of what this year’s team is capable of.
“This is probably one of the best teams I’ve been on talent-wise, and I like what I’ve seen so far,” Privott said. “Everybody is buying in, and I feel like if we all stay locked in going into a tough conference schedule, we could come out on top.”
Coach Rancourt gives Privott and the rest of the returners credit for developing chemistry with the new players quickly, which he has emphasized as important to continuing the high quality he and his staff have created within the program.
“Our returners have done a great job working with the new guys, spending time with them not only on the court but off the court, in the cafeteria, and checking in with each other every night,” Rancourt said. “It’s the little things that has helped the team and I think those are the subtleties that have helped the program remain at a high level.”
This is the first time the Colonials have played since their conference-winning season in 2019-20, with WCSU being one of three LEC schools canceling their winter sports for the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19. Coach Rancourt and his staff held a few practices and workouts as they were still unsure if there was a season to look forward to. This made it hard for Rancourt to keep his players engaged for a season that was still up in the air.
“When there’s no prize at the end of it, it really is difficult to stay focused and be enthused and excited about pushing yourself as hard as you possibly can day in and day out,” Rancourt said.
Privott and rest of the Colonials used the postponed season as motivation to make sure they were ready to finally play this winter.
“I honestly think that it wasn’t that difficult to get back into things because everybody was already playing over the summer,” Privott explained. “We all did what we had to do to stay in basketball shape leading into this season.”
Coach Rancourt, a former player for WCSU from 1994-97, and his staff like to keep a close relationship with their players, although he thinks the label he would give the relationship between the coaches and players has been worn out. It is something he would rather show to people than just talk about.
“I am always concerned about that cliché of people talking about a ‘family’ environment,” Rancourt explained. “It’s just becoming a word and having an environment where they feel like they are wanted is the most important thing for me. I can’t wait until we can do more to show them that.”
That environment is what attracted players like Walters and others to play for Coach Rancourt and the Colonials program.
“When I came down to visit, Coach Rancourt made me feel like I was part of a family, part of the community and he’s stuck by that so far,” Walters explained.
Privott, who is also second on the team in scoring, averaging 8.1 PPG, understands how much it would mean to help the Colonials become seven-time LEC Champions this year.
“I want be a part of something bigger than myself,” Privott said. “I want to make history here at WestConn and be remembered.”
Qualifying for at least the semifinals of the LEC Championships in the last three seasons they have played, Coach Rancourt and the Colonials are motivated to get back to that point after not getting the opportunity to do so last year.
“Our goal is to get back on track and just continue that positive direction we had a couple years ago,” Rancourt concluded.
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