Right after head coach Jim Christian addressed the media following his team’s 83-64 victory over 18th-ranked New Mexico, he said, “I hope we have a really good crowd next Saturday against San Diego State because we will be saying goodbye to four special seniors who have helped turn this program around.”
Seniors J.R. Cadot, Hank Thorns, Craig Williams and Cheick Kone will be playing their final home game at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum when the Horned Frogs take on No. 21 San Diego State Saturday.
After Thursday’s practice, Cadot reflected on how he wanted to be remembered once his playing career at TCU comes to a close.
“I hope they never forget how I was a guy that came in and wanted to make a change in the basketball program, and that is what I did from day one,” Cadot said.
Cadot transferred from Sheridan College in Wyoming where he earned National Junior College Athletic Association third-team All-American honors after averaging 17 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per a game as a sophomore.
“When I signed and committed to TCU, I told everybody that I was coming into a program that was starting to build. Everyone doubted us,” Cadot said. “I wanted to come in and be a part of the change, and I felt like we accomplished that this season.”
This season, Cadot has averaged 10.9 points per game while easily leading TCU in rebounding. The senior from Nassau, Bahamas, has averaged seven rebounds per contest.
“I am happy that I can hold my head up and walk out of here, and call my teammates up and say that we did it,” Cadot said.
The Frogs have capped off their first winning season since 2004-05 with back-to-back victories at home against ranked opponents for the first time in over a decade.
Thorns, Williams and Kone also will be playing in their final home game. Cadot said he would be friends with them for the rest of his life.
“I have built really strong friendships with these guys. When we leave TCU, our friendship will continue to grow until the end of our life because honestly, I have built a brotherhood-like friendship with those guys,” Cadot said. “I look forward to those guys standing at my wedding and vice versa.”
Thorns averaged 13 points per game this season while totaling 135 assists on the year as well. Thorns’ biggest night came when the Frogs knocked off his hometown team UNLV behind a career high 32 points for him.
Williams is a transfer from Temple who started 12 games this season for the Frogs. Williams has averaged 7.9 points per game. For one of the few times in his college career, Williams was able to play in front of his family earlier this season when TCU took part in the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Williams’ home country.
Kone, a native of Bamako, Mali, has appeared in five games this season for the Frogs, averaging 1.2 points per game. Two knee surgeries slowed Kone’s progress, but he was able to graduate a semester early in December with a degree in communication studies.
Cadot and his fellow seniors will be looking to finish out the season with a win against the Aztecs.
“It will be huge,” Cadot said. “It would be the fourth ranked team for us to beat this season. Getting a win like that and finishing out perfect in the conference at home will be a great thing for us and will give us a boost going into the conference tournament.”
A win tomorrow against San Diego State would give TCU six wins against the RPI top 75 this season as the Frogs push for their first postseason since 2005.
