McNeese MBB head coach John Aiken addresses future

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - After McNeese’s season came to an end on Tuesday night with a loss to Texas A&M - Corpus Christi in the Southland Conference Tournament semi-finals, Cowboys’ head coach John Aiken addressed the rumors about his future in Lake Charles.

“I’ve not heard anything, I’ve heard rumors and rumors are rumors, I shared that with our guys before the tournament, I said guys, I don’t want you to be blindsided by anything, so rumors are rumors, and we’re going to enjoy every moment that we have together,” said coach Aiken. “I would love to continue to coach here, I appreciate the opportunity that I’ve had, it’s been two of the best years, two of the hardest years of my life, but two of the best years, I hope I got more days in me, but I understand what the measurement is here, I understand what they want, and so that’s way above my head, and not something I’m going to stress out about too much.”

In two years under John Aiken, the McNeese Cowboys had nearly identical seasons, going 11-22 in 2021-22, with a 4-10 record against conference opponents, and losing in the second round of the Southland Conference Tournament, following an 80-67 win over Northwestern State in the first round. In 2022-23, the Cowboys finished with a record of 11-23, with a conference record of 6-12, and their season came to an end in the semi-finals of the Southland Conference Tournament with an 80-63 loss to top-seed Texas A&M - Corpus Christi.

The Cowboys’ trip to the semi-finals in 2023 marked the first time they reached the semi-finals of the Southland Conference Tournament since 2012, when they fell in the championship game to Lamar.

Aiken also added in his press conference that he expects to know about his future with McNeese within the next 24-48 hours, meaning he expects to know by Thursday night at the latest.

For the most up to date updates on Coach Aiken, McNeese Athletics, and more follow KPLC 7 Sports on Facebook and Twitter, plus 7 Sports Director Matthew Travis.

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