They call them “juco kids” for short.

The term isn’t negative, but it isn’t positive, either. It’s just an identification tool used to describe players who have transferred from a junior college to a four-year institution.

For one reason or another, these players didn’t start their careers at schools like Ohio State, Memphis or NIU. However, all of these programs are now home to former junior college athletes.

There’s nothing junior about these athletes, as proven by NIU’s 87-70 victory against Aurora on Friday night.

Of the five top scorers, three were juco players. Guard Jarvis Nichols and forward Shaun Logan both led the team with 14 points apiece, while forward Sean Smith added another 11 points in the victory.

While Logan got a chance to compete with the Huskies last season, Nichols had to wait another year for his turn. The Carol Stream native redshirted last season.

Smith also had yet to play in front of a Division I crowd until Friday, as he just finished his junior college career.

Now on the hardwood of the Convocation Center, these players are loving every minute of their Division I experience.

“I’m just happy to be playing this year,” Nichols said. “It feels good.”

But feeling good is an understatement in the eyes of Nichols’ teammate Logan. The senior was impressed by a group of players who had just competed in their first Division I game.

Nichols not only put up 14 points, but he went a perfect 3-3 from behind the arc. Smith played every facet of the game. To his 11 points he added three rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal in the win.

“I was really impressed with the guys tonight, especially for their first game,” the forward said. “They did an amazing job.”

Logan also added to the amazing job done by the former juco players. Besides being the team’s leading scorer along with Nichols, Logan also led the Huskies in rebounding. The Eldridge, Iowa, native grabbed nine rebounds, including three offensive boards.

If Friday night was any insight into the rest of the season for the men’s basketball team, it might have shown us that this year may be the year of the juco players.