Jim Gazzolo column: Thanking Richards, Garcia

Published 12:38 pm Thursday, February 19, 2026

McNeese State will celebrate its Senior Night on Monday. It won’t be the end of an era, but rather the celebration of one.

Cowboys fans will get an opportunity to thank two players who have done a lot for the men’s basketball program over the last three seasons.

Javohn Garcia and D.J. Richards are nothing alike, but they are forever linked by a friendship that has been fueled by wins.

The two players came to McNeese to reestablish their college careers and build a winning tradition.

They bought into the vision of Will Wade, who convinced them separately that a championship program was just around the corner. Then they stayed when Wade left. They would finish what they started.

Since their arrival, McNeese has won 80 games, two regular-season Southland Conference championships and two postseason tournament titles. The duo were also a part of the first NCAA Tournament victory last spring.

Not bad for a pair of kids who didn’t know anything about the university before arriving in town.

In an era of player movement, the fact that both will finish their careers at McNeese is rare. They follow in the footsteps of Christian Shumate, who finished his career last season as a three-year Cowboy.

No doubt Shumate’s jersey will one day hang from the rafters over Joe Dumars Court, with Garcia’s likely joining. Richards could have his shirt hanging up there as well.

The two friends, who are roommates on the road, will leave McNeese as the winningest players in school history. Garcia, a quiet, calm guy who makes all the big plays, and Richards, a brash talker who is as much a personality as a jump shooter.

Each took his own unique road to McNeese: Richards came over from Texas, and Garcia from a junior college in California, by way of UMass. With basketball as their common link, the two forged a partnership that has helped carry the program to heights unthinkable four years ago.

Around them, others have come and gone, most one-season wonders. It’s how the college games are played today. We hardly got to know those other guys before they were gone.

Several in this season’s group will most likely do the same.

That’s what makes Garcia and Richards different: we got to know them, watch them grow, and become a part of their journey.

We saw them lose their first NCAA Tournament game, only to vowed they would be back and win. And we got to see them do that when they knocked off Clemson last season — a win that broke McNeese’s website.

A lot has changed since that game in Providence, Rhode Island. There are a host of new players, an entirely new coaching staff, and a very good women’s basketball team.

When they leave, we will miss the two guys who were here when it all started. They played a role in making McNeese basketball what it is today.

Garcia and Richards have just a few games left in their Cowboys jerseys before they ride off into the sunset, their likes never to be seen here again, perhaps.

They’re the final two of the original Bayou Bandits, a group of guys who changed the direction of a program and a school.

And, while none of us know how long this run of McNeese’s will last, Garcia and Richards will have their chapters in this story.

If you have any doubts, just ask D.J.

He’d be more than happy to tell you all about it.

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