BEAUMONT, Texas – The new look Lamar University men's basketball team began making preparations for the 2021-22 season Tuesday with their first official practice at the Montagne Center.
 
Under the direction of first-year head coach, and Cardinal Hall of Honor member, Alvin Brooks, the Cardinals enter the season with more than just a new captain of the ship. In addition to the new coaching staff, LU's roster also consists of 10 new faces, to go along with six letterwinners from last year's squad that got hot late and advanced to the third round of the conference tournament championships.
 
"It was exciting to have my first official practice in the Montagne Center," said Brooks. "It has been a long time since I've been able to do this here. We've had a really good offseason and preseason, so I actually felt more relaxed about what we needed to get done going into this first practice. Our guys are receptive and work really hard, so I felt like it was a very good first day. We need to continue to get one percent better every day."
 
The returning letterwinners include guards Ellis Jefferson (6-0, 195, Sr.), Kasen Harrison (6-1, 190, So.), Davion Buster (5-10, 169, Sr.) and Ayaan Sohail (6-3, 182, Jr.), while the forwards are Lincoln Smith (6-5, 198, Sr.) and Corey Nickerson (6-7, 191, Jr.). Three of those are returning starters, but all six having started at some point during their careers.
 
Not included in that previous list are forwards Mason Senigaur (6-6, 201, Jr.) and Clayton Carpenter (6-9, 216, Fr.) both of whom transferred in last year but sat out the whole season.
 
Brooks hit the ground running from the moment he arrived in Beaumont looking to build the roster with several key additions. The newcomers to the squad include Brian Gordon (6-2, 170, Fr., G), Avontez Ledet (6-2, 165, Fr., G), Jordyn Adams (6-3, 200, Jr., G), Trey Harris (6-5, 180, Fr. G), Xavier Ball (6-6, 230, Jr., F), Valentin Catt (6-10, 220, So., C), Deiman Reyes (6-8, 225, Fr., F), C.J. Roberts (6-1, 190, Sr., G), Casey Brooks (5-9, 159, So., G) and Brock McClure (6-6, 195, Fr., G/F).
 
"We have the pieces and ability to give our fans a lot of excitement," said Brooks. "Year one in a rebuild is not always great, but I've been a part of some programs where year one was good. I think we have the makings here to create a lot of excitement. In addition to the local players that everyone knows, I think we have some other guys our fans aren't familiar with that will make an impact here."
 
Of the newcomers who round out Big Red's roster, five come from the prep ranks while the other half are transfers. Among the transfers, three – Adams (Austin Peay), Brooks (A&M-Kingsville) and Roberts (New Mexico State) – come from other four-year programs. The Cardinals roster also includes five Southeast Texans.  
 
Big Red tips off the 2021-22 regular season Tuesday, Nov. 9^th against Wiley College in the Montagne Center. LU fans can catch an early glimpse of the Red and White Wednesday, Nov. 3 when they host St. Thomas in an exhibition.