'Cats coronated: Texas State wins Sun Belt regular season championship

The answer is very simple to senior forward Quentin Scott.

Yes, interim head coach Terrence Johnson should have the first part of his title removed. Yes, the man who guided the Bobcats through times of extreme uncertainty, including former head coach Danny Kaspar’s departure from the program and a global pandemic, should continue leading them. Yes, the coach who retooled a team that lost its leading two scorers should get to keep calling plays. 

Yes, the architect of the group that defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 58-49, inside Strahan Arena on Friday and won Texas State’s first-ever Sun Belt regular season championship should get the opportunity to try and win a few more rings.

“T.J. needs to be the head coach at Texas State,” Scott said.

“Without a doubt,” senior guard Shelby Adams added.

The maroon and gold had come close to Sun Belt hardware multiple times in recent years. The 2016-17 squad fell just seven points shy of earning the conference tournament crown, losing to Troy in the final round, 59-53. The 2018-19 group went two rounds deep before getting bounced by No. 1-seeded Georgia State, 59-46. And the 2019-20 team had all the momentum in the world on its side heading into the semifinals, beating Appalachian State, 85-68, on March 11, a day before the league canceled the remainder of the tournament due to concerns over COVID-19.

The Bobcats’ trophy case kept collecting dust, though, with no additions to it since they won the Southland Conference regular season championship in 1999.

That changed on Friday. Texas State led from tip-off to buzzer and finally made it over the hump. It was a moment redshirt junior forward Alonzo Sule said he had prayed for since he was a freshman.

What was the main difference this season?

“T.J.,” associate head coach Bennie Seltzer said. “For one, he treats them like men. He holds them accountable. And they believe in him. They believe in him because he believes in them. And so I think when you have a connection like that between your head coach and your players, it's not easy but it makes it a lot more enjoyable. And so, I think just the connection that he has with his team allowed these guys to do what they did tonight.”

Johnson wasn’t in the building to celebrate the team’s accomplishment — the coach is in the midst of a two-week quarantine due to COVID-19 protocols. But he was still a part of the postgame festivities. 

After getting drenched in water splashed on him by teammates, junior guard Mason Harrell sat on the hardwood and FaceTimed with Johnson. After the team cut down the net on the north side of the court, they exited out of the locker room tunnel to find Johnson waiting for them in a navy blue Jeep Grand Cherokee. Johnson laid on his horn as the players swarmed the front of his car.

Mason Harrell FaceTimes head coach Terrence Johnson during the championship celebration @smdrsports pic.twitter.com/sPmIAzgNkH

— Drew King (@drewking0222) February 26, 2021

There were a ton of good moments to post, but none greater than this one. Shoutout to our leader @tjjohnson1010! #ComebackStrong #EatEmUp😼 pic.twitter.com/b30qeG4Bl8

— Texas State MBB (@TXStateMBB) February 27, 2021

“We always bumped into some obstacles and this year we finally just said we're not gonna let anything get in our way,” Adams said. “We came into this year with a little chip on our shoulder to prove to everybody that we really are a good team and the best in the Sun Belt.”

“I feel like this season, we were together way more, and we all wanted it equally as bad,” Scott said. “From head coach on down, we all knew we had a goal.”

There’s more season left to be played. The Bobcats face ULM again in the regular season finale on Saturday at 4 p.m. Texas State will also hold the No. 1 West Division seed in the conference tournament that starts next Friday in Pensacola, Fla. Seltzer said he doesn’t plan to pull any players out of Saturday's game but might cut back on some of their minutes to keep them fresh heading into the postseason.

But no matter what happens Saturday, the team led by an interim head coach and voted to finish 10th in the preseason Sun Belt Coaches Poll is tops in the league.

“I kind of just wanted to say how proud I am, our staff is, Coach Johnson is of this team,” Seltzer said. “All the things that they've gone through this past year has been unprecedented, to say the least. And these guys, these young men were never wavering on how hard they work, how close they were and how connected they were. And it was such a pleasure to be around these guys, to coach these guys because every single day, they brought it. 

“You know, they come together at the end of every practice and our break is ‘family.’ And those guys live by those words, every single day. And so, it doesn't surprise me that they were able to finish it off. But goodness, they've gone through a lot. And we're really, really excited for them because they've worked really hard.”