Terence Bonhomme, 23, may be the oldest freshman on the men’s basketball team, but his court experience matches his age.
Bonhomme fell in love with basketball watching his older brother play ball outside when they were growing up in St. Martinsville, La.
Bonhomme attended St. Martinsville High School in St. Martinsville, La., where he earned four varsity letters and averaged 17 points, four assists and three rebounds per game as a senior. He was a second-team all-state selection and was a three-time all-district performer.
Bonhomme joined the military in 2009, serving for four years in the Army at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Even while serving in the armed forces, Bonhomme kept playing basketball, winning the 2013 Military National Championship, where OCU Head Coach Dionne Phelps scouted him.
“I was able to play a lot of basketball in the army, as there was a 24-hour gym there, which made me realize how much I missed playing basketball,” Bonhomme said.
Though the change in lifestyle from the military to OCU is a big one for Bonhomme, his teammates and Phelps have helped. They supported Bonhomme as he adapted to the more intense play of college-level competition.
“There has been a big change in my talents, but I think that a big part came from the military – from older guys teaching me things and telling me certain things to do,” Bonhomme said. “On the court overall, I’m a much better player now than I was in high school.”
Bonhomme is one of four new faces on the team this year.
The preseason was vital for getting individual players to work together as a team under Phelps’s basketball philosophy. Bonhomme said he sees positives in the team’s first game, a 73-48 loss to the University of Missouri.
“I feel if we would have had a better start, the game would have ended differently,” Bonhomme said.
Bonhomme was the second-leading scorer in the game, contributing 10 points and three rebounds. Despite OCU’s loss, he found much to be excited about, especially in his poise and confidence in front of a large crowd.
“It was my first time in a college game,” Bonhomme said. “Most people would be nervous, but I felt right at home playing in front of 9,000-plus people.”
The men’s team will begin conference play Dec. 5 in Waxahachie, Texas against Southwestern Assemblies of God.
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