PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Junior college can be used step toward a four-year university but some athletes may see it as an opportunity to evaluate their athletic career.
"There is a stigma about junior college," Seahawk basketball assistant coach Brock Thewman said. "There could be some misfits at this level, or guys that weren't good enough or people who didn't make the cut at their other school, but really, you know, a lot of the times this is just a second chance and just one of the many chapters in their story in their book of life."
For sophomore guard Avontez Ledet, Lamar State College-Port Arthur is chapter two of his college basketball career. His story originally began at Lamar University.
"When I left Lamar University I had entered the transfer portal and I was hoping to get some more division one looks, but unfortunately, the best I had got was division two, and I had many JUCO, so I decided just to take the route and go JUCO, try to get higher division one offers," Ledet said. "Work on my craft."
Ledet says he didn't feel prepared for a division one program after high school, so he became a Seahawk to make sure wherever he goes next, he's ready.
"It was just when I got to Lamar, it was just a lot of angles, screening, just a lot of stuff about basketball I didn't know that I needed to learn," Ledet said. "Over here, it's a small school, but I have my resources that I need to do what I need to do. So, I just felt like I take some time off, focus on myself, get better while I can, and then when the year start over, I'll be bigger, stronger, and ready."
However, being a Seahawk isn't just about a player's stat sheet, but also the person behind it.
"They can develop here and they can enhance their tools and not only in the game of basketball, they can have some personal development, " Thewman said.
So, Ledet's second chapter may just be the start of a whole different story thanks to Seahawk basketball.