Leading by Exavian
Christon captains Louisiana Tech into 2018-19 season
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first installment of three articles about the start of Hot Springs alum Exavian Christon’s second year with the Louisiana Tech men’s basketball program.
RUSTON, La. — Exavian Christon learned last month he was voted as one of three team captains for Louisiana Tech this season despite going into only his second year with the program.
“This year, because we have just one senior and we also brought in four new players, we have just one freshman,” said Louisiana Tech head coach Eric Konkol.
“We are a very heavy sophomore and junior team. I really wanted to create some great ownership from our team in selecting captains. I wanted them to have a major say in that.”
Konkol said team captains usually develop naturally within a team. He said the final decision rested with the coaching staff, but he wanted the players to take ownership of their roles.
“We basically laid out what it means to be a captain and what is expected of them and asked each member of the team to vote for up to three people that they felt could handle that responsibility and do a great job as a captain,” Konkol said.
The team voted for Christon, a sophomore from Hot Springs; Oliver Powell, a 6-8 junior forward from Rowlett, Texas; and 6-2 guard Derric Jean, from Miami. Jean is the only senior on the team with 98 games in his collegiate career, Powell started the final 12 games last season and Christon was one of only three Bulldogs to play in all 33 games last year.
Players and coaches gather in a circle and clap together at the start of every practice. Konkol informed the team of the captain selections while they were circled up.
“I was surprised because I am younger,” Christon said. “I’m just a sophomore, but then again, I wasn’t surprised because being captain and being a leader is a goal that I have every day.”
Christon said he is glad his teammates felt the same way, but the official title has not led to a different approach for him.
“I just bring it every day,” Christon said. “I challenge everybody to be their best because we are only as strong as our weakest link. Make sure everybody is strong and we are all on the same page.”
The Bulldogs will look to start off the season strong tonight with a road game at Wichita
State at 7 p.m. in Kansas. The Shockers were 24-6 in the 201718 regular season in their first year in the American Athletic Conference. They were eliminated in the conference tournament by Houston and upset in the NCAA Tournament by
13-seed Marshall. Konkol is entering his fourth season in Ruston after
11 seasons as an assistant for Jim Larranaga at George Mason and Miami. He won 23 games in each of his first two years to hit the 50-win mark in only
70 games, the fastest in program history, but the Bulldogs endured a rocky season a year ago.
Omar Sherman was expected to lead the Bulldogs last season as a senior after averaging
9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in his first season of eligibility after transferring from Miami. Sherman instead transferred for a second time to NAIA William Penn in Iowa before the season.
Sophomore guard Jalen Harris led the team in scoring through the first 11 games before leaving the team and transferring to Nevada. Joniah White, a 7-0 center, retired as a junior in February due to heart-related health issues. The team faced other exits and injuries throughout the year.
“I thought we were able to weather the storm enough to be competitive,” Konkol said. “We played four freshmen in our top eight at the end of the season. We just weren’t quite strong enough to finish those games like we hope to this year.”
Christon was inserted into the starting lineup for several games after Harris left the team. He helped the team improve to 9-4 in non-conference play and win the inaugural New Orleans Shootout in December.
The Bulldogs stumbled to a 7-11 record in Conference USA and finished 17-16 overall. Konkol said the parity of the conference has made it more competitive.
“In some years, maybe the bottom you felt like these games, if we take care of business, we should be able to come through,” Konkol said. “Whereas last year and I believe this year as well, you’ve got to bring it every single night. In every single game, home or away, you are going to be tested.”
Konkol said he was further impressed with Christon in their postseason meeting.
“He has a real humility about him and it is one of the things I love,” Konkol said. “He just said, ‘Hey, I learned so much this year and it is really going to help me for next year.’ That says a lot about who he is.”
Konkol said Christon developed throughout his freshman year and has grown faster, stronger, more explosive and more confident ahead of this season.
“He has been through this before,” Konkol said. “My expectation for him is, one, he has been voted captain and we expect a very strong leadership role from him to say it, live it, walk it and be about it for his whole team.
“On the court, I expect him to be one of the better defenders, not just on our team, but I think he should aspire to be one of the great, elite defenders around.”
Christon said a goal going into the season is for the team to be tougher together with everyone on the same page.
“We are not going to try to force anything or try to change anything that is out of our control,” Christon said. “We just want to go in, play Bulldog basketball and hopefully get the win.”