New Orleans HC Stacy Hollowell details win over TCU

It may only be November, but it is safe to say that in the college basketball landscape, the madness has already begun. One prime example was when the Big-12’s TCU hosted a New Orleans squad who was 4-27 a season ago. To the surprise of many, except those in the Big Easy, the Privateers came out on top 78-74 for a massive uplifting victory to begin the year. We had the pleasure to speak with New Orleans head coach Stacy Hollowell. Below is our conversation.

Matt Carvalho: I want to first take this moment to congratulate you on the start to the season and what is certainly a big win as you guys took down TCU.

Stacy Hollowell: I appreciate it. It was a team that had two really good exhibitions and one against Tarleton State, one against Texas, and we knew that we were up against a formidable opponent and had some pretty specific game keys, and [I] thought we executed really well.

MC: You have that game on the calendar and you go through everything during the offseason. When did you start to look towards that game? When did the focus come to that Horn Frogs’ matchup? When was that starting to become a focal point?

SH: I’d say within the last week to 10 days before we played, we started moving towards them. We had an exhibition game against Sacramento State and had some things that we wanted to do. focus on ourselves and I guess about probably probably 10 days ago or so.

MC: With that sort of game, it’s the start to the season and it’s non-conference play. When you were heading into that first matchup, what was the game plan? What was it you were planning to go into that game against an opponent that’s of this Power-Five ilk, this team that has all that sort of clout and energy about them, the high recruiting, the high funding and everything about it?

SH: I don’t know that we ever really got too deep in the weeds on their recruiting and their funding. We knew Jamie Dixon likes to play fast-paced basketball. They were one of the fastest paced teams in the country, and we knew we had to get back in transition. He does a really good job putting you in some predicaments with ball screens, and I thought we did a really good job handling that. We did a nice job on the glass and hit shots. We executed our stuff and had to play with a little toughness and some poise down the stretch.

MC: When you talk about the shooting and getting that part of the game intact, I take a look at Coleton Benson, who had a great game with 22 points in his debut. Can you just speak on his performance and what you saw from him?

SH: Coleton is a senior, and he’s been tested. He’s knocked down shots everywhere he’s been, and he’s from Texas. He’s from Austin and that was good to be able to play in front of some family and friends, and I thought he did a really nice job. He played extended minutes as he had 37 minutes and hit some tough shots for us down the stretch.

MC: Now with that game under wraps, you turn your attention to the next matchup here and when it comes to this non-conference schedule, and it is a tough schedule to say the least. You look at the likes of squads on here like LSU, Houston and Memphis, just to name a few. When it comes to setting up a schedule like that, would you say it is better to give your team these hard, challenging games against these teams of this nature to get yourself ready for this conference stretch when it comes to January?

SH: I feel like these games kind of sharpen us. We know what we’re up against when we go in and the school kind of requires us to raise some money through these guarantee games. These are games that we can take things away from both positive and negative and grow from, and we feel like they sharpen us as we get into conference play.

MC: Is there any bit of a chip on your shoulder where you want to prove to the school that they’re not just getting a paid win and that this is a competitive game that they’re going to have to put their best effort into to win?

SH: I think all of the small schools feel that way. I coached in NAIA for a long time and coached overseas for a long time in a smaller country, and you go into the games against whatever the bigger teams you could call them. So you’re always trying to prove yourself. I feel like that’s in some ways been my mantra: you’re the underdog, and you got to go out and prove yourself every night.

MC: Next up on the schedule is a Monday night game against LSU. What is the focus heading into that game and for the next few days getting prepped for that match up against LSU?

SH: We’ve got an exhibition on the eighth, and we’ll prepare for that one and won’t take it lightly. We’ve seen a little bit of film on LSU, and we know they’re physical. We know their point guard’s really talented. We’ll figure out another scheme and get out there and fire our best shot.