Cinderella has a new name this March.

It’s one that few in the nation have heard before. 

She doesn’t come wearing any glass slippers and looks nothing like the ones in the past.

This Cinderella wears high tops of varying colors and hard hats to work. It is led by a short team manager who blasts music from a giant boombox around his neck.

This Cinderella? She calls Lake Charles, Louisiana home. It’s hardly a hot spot.

Welcome to the ball for the first time in your 52 years, McNeese State. We’ve missed you. 

“This still feels like a dream right now,” said forward Christian Shumate.

When he and his teammates awake, they are in the second round, and everybody is talking about them. They pulled off the first big upset of this tournament when, from the 12th seed, they knocked off No. 5 Clemson in the Midwest Regional opener Thursday. 

You could hear the cheers from Mr. Bill’s across from campus all the way to Amica Mutual Pavilion here in Providence, R.I.

If you don’t think this was a big deal, head coach Will Wade leaped into the arms of his Athletic Director Heath Schroyer seconds after the final buzzer sounded. 

This midnight didn’t turn anybody into a pumpkin. Instead, they all became heroes.

Fittingly, this night was born out of frustration and embarrassment. 

One year ago, in Salt Lake City, a group of depressed Cowboys, including Wade, sat and answered questions about their loss to Gonzaga 86-65 in the first round. They were 30-4 but were run out of the gym by one of the big boys.

Not this time. This was their time. This was what they had worked so hard for. 

“I went to war with these guys starting last summer,” guard Quadir Copeland said. “We went to work for this moment. This is what we worked for.”

Now they move on as the team everybody wants to watch and root for, the little guy who can take down a bully.

It’s what last season was supposed to be.

Going into last year’s tourney, McNeese was the hot upset pick, the one everybody wanted to jump on and ride to the big upsets. They were supposed to be bracket busters. Instead, they got busted themselves.

Back came a group of old and new, fresh faces to join the dream. Fifty-one of their points came from players who were elsewhere last year when the Cowboys got dumped by the Zags.

This was not a game for the flashy. This dig-down, deep defensive effort would have made any old-style coach proud.

They allowed just 13 first-half points while racing to an 18-point lead, then held on just enough for their moment in the sun. 

Or before their head coach rides off into the sunset, if you prefer. 

This princess gets a second waltz at this year’s dance, something that has never happened before in school history.

Nobody knows what their future holds, but one thing is for sure: They will play again, and most of the country will be watching. 

After 52 years of playing basketball in the darkness, the new princess of this dance is in the spotlight.

Jim Gazzolo is a freelance writer who covers McNeese State athletics for the American Press. Email him at jimgazzolo@yahoo.com