Rick Cabrera era set to begin at Northwestern State

NATCHITOCHES, La. (KALB) - If you were to poll a majority of collegiate athletic directors and ask what is the most important feature when hiring a new coach, they would likely say the ability to recruit, especially out of the transfer portal.

That was the exact mindset when NSU Athletic Director Kevin Bostian hired Tallahassee Community College’s Rick Cabrera to be the Demons’ next head basketball coach.

“He’s got his own philosophy on how he wants to recruit and that’s kind of why we hired him,” said Bostian.

Restoring the roster will be a major focus for the new Demons’ head coach after they lost the majority of the roster, including the starting five, to the transfer portal earlier in the week. As a JUCO coach, Cabrera knows a thing or two about replenishing a roster.

At the JUCO level, there is roster turnover every season, but Cabrera has managed to continue a winning culture. In six seasons as a head coach, Cabrera is 151-44 as a coach, including a 30-5 record this season at TCC. After his team finishes their run in the NJCAA Championships, Cabrera will turn his focus to the Demons’ roster.

Northwestern State (22-11) is coming off its best season in a decade that included making the Southland Tournament Championship game and producing the conference player of the year in Demarcus Sharp. Sharp is one of the five starters that entered the portal.

“He asked me who he felt was going into the portal and who was going to stay,” said Bostian. “A lot of time coaches want to bring their own kids. That’s what Corey (Gipson) did, and he did an excellent job. We needed an upgrade in talent, and he did that. Now that Coach Cabrera is here, he is going to do the same.”

Bostian said he does believe several players from TCC may follow Coach Cabrera to Natchitoches. While the new Demons’ coach is not on campus yet, he will officially join NSU following the NJCAA Championships.

An introductory press conference is expected next week.

Click here to report a typo. Please provide the title of the article in your email.

Copyright 2023 KALB. All rights reserved.