Tevon Saddler said he doesn’t want to make it personal, but it is.

Nicholls State comes to Lake Charles Thursday night for a Southland Conference showdown against the Cowboys. It’s a game that tugs at Saddler’s heart.

The first-year McNeese State assistant coach doesn’t want to be in the spotlight, but he will be front and center in what is becoming a basketball rivalry.

“This isn’t about Tevon Saddler, it is about McNeese State,” Saddler said. “It is about the players on both teams.”

Saddler can’t help but be caught in the middle of the game. He played for Nicholls, helping turn the Colonels into a conference power. The last two seasons he was a member of the program, serving as the director of basketball operations.

As a player he helped Nicholls win the SLC regular-season title in 2018, and as the head of ops last year the Colonels did the same thing.

“We helped change the culture down there,” Saddler said. “I still have a lot of ties there. I shared a lot of blood and sweat with those guys.”

Even with those deep ties to Nicholls he jumped at the chance to sit on the McNeese bench.

“This was a great opportunity here,” he said. “I believe in (head coach) John Aiken and (Athletic Director) Heath Schroyer and what they are doing here. I think this is the best job in the Southland.”

The Cowboys will enter Thursday’s home game with an 8-12 record, 2-1 in the SLC. Nicholls, the preseason league favorite, is 11-9, 1-2.

“Tevon was a player that I recruited when I was at Nicholls, took a chance on me and our program, and ultimately helped us win a championship,” Aiken said. “He has been a huge part of my life for the last five years as I’ve watched him grow as a young man. He is the ultimate winning guy.”

But Saddler knows he will have mixed emotions come game time.

“It will be difficult,” he admitted. “I will have a lot of emotions. I have to keep them out of it once the game begins.”

He says he’s stayed in contact with some folks at Nicholls and has heard both positive and negative responses about his move.

“Some people understand it is about the business,” Saddler said. “Some people questioned why I would do it.”

Ultimately, Saddler made a decision he said was best for his career. Thursday night he will find out just how emotional that decision was.

“My goal is for us to go 2-0 this week,” Saddler said. “I know we can’t do that if we don’t go 1-0. That is my job, to help us win.”

For that he must make his old school lose.

That makes the game personal for all, especially Saddler.