Bulldogs look to get healthy ahead of Georgia Southern

Ten games into the 2024-25 season, Louisiana Tech men’s basketball coach Talvin Hester has a fair assessment of where his Bulldogs (8-2) are with three nonconference games left.

“Banged up,” Hester said at his press conference Tuesday. “We have had pretty much a different team every game except for maybe the first three games of the year. But we’ve shown fight. We’ve shown resilience to pull through some tough situations and we’ve had different guys step up when other guys have been out. But I would like for these next few games for us to get some consistency in who we have and who we’re able to utilize. I’m happy for where we are with the circumstances we’ve had at this point.”

He’s right. Will Jeffress, a starting forward with positional versality, is already out for the season after having knee surgery on Nov. 20. And after Sunday’s 69-58 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, the Bulldogs may be without Devin Ree, another active stretchfour, for their upcoming matchup with Georgia Southern on Friday.

Ree was unable to go in the second half of Sunday’s contest, forcing Hester to turn to true freshman guard AJ Bates to play most of the second half. Thankfully for Tech, Bates was calm under pressure as he, along with Daniel Batcho, Sean Newman Jr. and Kaden Cooper, helped secure the win.

Bates finished with 7 points off the bench, 3 rebounds, a steal and no turnovers in a seasonhigh 17 minutes.

It was a big moment for the young guard’s development, proving to Hester he may have to turn to the freshman over the next couple games if roster health doesn’t improve quick enough.

“Unbelievable,” Hester said of Bates’ play against ULL. “ I’ll be honest, he prepares like that every day. I always tell players, ‘Your chance is going to come where you can prove to me you deserve to get more minutes and be in the game and you’re able to handle a tough environment. And it’s your job to stay ready.’ He stayed ready.”

Bates may have to be ready to play Friday with Hester unsure of Ree’s status as of Tuesday afternoon.

“I don’t know,” Hester said of Ree’s playing status for Friday. “I thought about that last night when I got in bed. We talked about health, but I didn’t ask about Devin. He was doing some stuff in the training room when I went in yesterday, so I’ll find out as soon as I leave here what’s going on.”

Ree has played in all 10 games this season, averaging 5.3 points and 2.8 rebounds while shooting 48% from three on 25 attempts.

Health concerns also continue with junior forward Sean Elkinton, who hasn’t played since Nov. 13 against UMass with an ankle injury.

Elkinton, a transfer from St. Edwards, is a big presence (6-foot-8, 235 pounds) missing off the bench for the Bulldogs at a time when rebounding and backup rim protection are needed.

Hester hopes he’ll be able to play soon but didn’t have an exact window of his return.

“I’m hoping any day now,” Hester said of when to expect Elkinton back. “I’m hoping today (Tuesday) at practice. He should be getting back to the point where he can get back. You’re never 100% when you come back from an ankle sprain. It’s gonna be sore when he first comes back, so hopefully he can log some practice days and get that soreness out and be prepared for Friday.”

Tech hosts Georgia Southern (6-4) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Thomas Assembly Center.