HAMMOND – There is the general progression of how most freshman develop in their first collegiate basketball seasons.
 
It is one Carvell Teasett had followed pretty much to the letter for the first 14 games of his Northwestern State career. Then, almost as quickly as he can pull out his trademark Eurostep in the lane, Teasett's trajectory went into overdrive.
 
Teasett and the Demons (2-14, 1-4) face Southeastern Louisiana (4-10, 2-3) at 4 p.m. Saturday inside the University Center to wrap up a two-game Southland Conference road trip.
 
The game will air on ESPN+ and can be heard on 95.9 FM and the Demon Sports Network. Free streaming audio is available on www.NSUDemons.com and through the Northwestern State Athletics mobile app, which can be downloaded free through the Apple store or Google Play.
 
A freshman from Baton Rouge, Teasett enters the game having dished out 16 assists in his past two games. Part of that has coincided with more minutes playing point guard while another part has come from adjusting to the collegiate game.
 
"I'm learning a little more," said Teasett, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound Scotlandville High School product. "At practice, I usually play the two, but the coaches have been letting me expand my game at the point. I'm more comfortable going up the court, getting people involved, talking to them. At first, I wasn't very vocal on the court. That's one thing that's changed. I'm getting more vocal, and it's helping us."
 
Teasett certainly has let his burgeoning distribution skills speak the past two games.
 
After setting a then-career-high with five assists against Nicholls on Jan. 13, he more than doubled that against Stephen F. Austin this past Wednesday, handing out 11 assists against the Lumberjacks.
 
The 11 assists marked the first double-figure assist game for a Demon this season and were the most since CJ Jones posted the same number against McNeese on Jan. 11, 2020. The 16 assists more than outpaced Teasett's season total (14) from the first 14 games of the season.
 
Alongside his eight assists per game in the past two outings, Teasett has scored nine points in each of those contests.
 
"One of the things he's realized is that if he can get other people involved, it means he'll get better shots," 22^nd-year head coach Mike McConathy said. "Traditionally, he's a pretty good 3-point shooter. He knows it will come back to him if he gets people going."
 
At Scotlandville, Teasett played alongside one of the nation's top point guard recruits, Reece Beekman, who is now at Virginia. Teasett did play some point guard for the Hornets and on the AAU circuit, but his point guard education truly began when he arrived in Natchitoches.
 
Teasett's scoring ability was not in question early in his freshman season, starting with an 18-point performance against Champion Christian that set in motion a run of four straight double-figure scoring games, capped by a 16-point outing at No. 1 Gonzaga on Dec. 21 in which Teasett shot 6 for 10 from the field.
 
When injuries shrunk the Demons' point guard pool, McConathy and his staff began to take an even closer look at Teasett's ability to run the offense.
 
Thankfully for Teasett, he has not only a veteran coaching staff to aid him but also a pair of veteran point guards who have spent a combined seven years in McConathy's system on the roster.
 
"I ask (CJ Jones and Brian White) questions every time I come off the court at practice," Teasett said. "What did I do wrong? What do I need to do? They help me and give me good advice."
 
Teasett's 11 assists against Stephen F. Austin marked the most by a Demon freshman since Jalan West dished out 12 against Sam Houston on March 9, 2013.
 
While Teasett has not played the point as much as West did during the latter's freshman season, McConathy said he sees glimpses of several of his former point guards from West to Shamir Davis to Kennan Jones to Tyrone Mitchell to Josh Hancock.
 
"One thing about Carvell, he's got a bigger body," McConathy said. "He can get inside. He's not a blur. Jalan at times was a blur, but they have a similar gait. Jalan had a great pace to his game. He could stop and go, stop and go, and Carvell's got a little bit of that."