Junior guard named Class B player of year

BATON ROUGE — Two of Louisiana’s greatest college basketball coaches, along with a former All-American player, were honored tonight at the 31st Annual Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches Awards Banquet held in Baton Rouge.

Inducted into the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame were former coaches Dale Brown of LSU and Bobby Paschal of UL-Lafayette, and former LSU All-American Dick Maile.

The other major honoree was legendary Southern Lab High School coach Joel Hawkins, who won the LABC’s prestigious Mr. Louisiana Basketball award.

This award is given annually to someone who has made a significant, long-term contribution to the game of basketball at any level in the State of Louisiana.

Also recognized at the banquet were Louisiana’s major college, small college, junior college and high school basketball players and coaches of the year, along with the top pro player from the state.

Brown won 448 games and lost 301 during his 25 seasons at LSU, posting ten 20-win seasons and finishing his career as the winningest coach in LSU history and second in regular season wins in Southeastern Conference history.

He led LSU to two NCAA Final Fours, two other NCAA Tournament regional finals, four SEC regular season championships, one SEC Tournament championship, 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and two NIT appearances. He received National Coach of the Year honors in 1981 and was a four-time SEC Coach of the Year and seven-time Louisiana Coach of the Year.

Paschal won 153 games and lost only 85 during his eight seasons at UL-Lafayette (which was then known as Southwestern Louisiana), posting four 20-win seasons. He led UL-Lafayette to the Southland Conference championship in 1982, two NCAA Tournaments and three NIT appearances, including the NIT Final Four in 1984 and the NIT quarterfinals in 1980.

Paschal’s 1982 team won the Great Alaska Shootout. He was named the SLC and NABC District Coach of the Year in 1982 and the Louisiana Coach of the Year in 1980.

Maile played at LSU from 1962-65, garnering Look Magazine All-American honors in 1965. He was a two-time first team All-Southeastern Conference selection, finishing his career as the third leading scorer and rebounder in LSU history, with 1,284 points for a 17.4 average and 722 rebounds for a 10.4 average.

Maile led LSU in scoring and rebounding for three consecutive years, averaging 17.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in 1965, 20.7 points and 10.5 rebounds in 1964, and 14.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in 1963.

Hawkins, who currently coaches at Southern Lab High School in Baton Rouge, has won 1,027 games and lost only 248 during his 39-year high school career.

This year he became the winningest high school basketball coach in Louisiana history, passing the late Leslie Gaudet of Pine Prairie.

Hawkins has had 39 straight winning seasons, 21 district championships and 12 state championships, including 11 out of the past 13 Class A titles. His 2000 team finished the season ranked 18th in the nation in the final USA

Today poll, and in 2004 he was named the National High School Coach of the Year by Student Sports.

The LABC also presented the Pete Maravich Memorial Award, honoring Louisiana’s Major College Player of the Year, to LSU sophomore forward Brandon Bass. This season he was an honorable mention AP All-American selection and was the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He averaged 17.3 points (3rd in SEC), 9.1 rebounds (2nd in SEC), 1.60 blocked shots (4th in SEC) and a league-leading 56.7% from the field. Bass led LSU to the SEC Western Division title and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Coach Billy Kennedy of Southeastern La. was presented the Tommy Joe Eagles Memorial Award as Louisiana’s Major College Coach of the Year for the second straight year. This year he led Southeastern La. to a school-best 24-9 record, including the Southland Conference championship and the first NCAA Division I Tournament berth in school history.

The Bob Pettit Award, which is given to Louisiana’s Professional Player of the Year, was presented to seven-time winner Shaquille O’Neal. This year the former LSU All-American and current Miami Heat superstar averaged 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds (6th in NBA) and 2.34 blocked shots (6th in NBA) and shot a league high 60.1% from the field in leading the Heat to the best record in the NBA’s Eastern Conference at 59-23. He was also a starter in the 2005 NBA All-Star Game.

2005 LABC Award Winners:

Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees: Dale

(See Carter, Page 10A)

(From Page 9A)

Brown, LSU; Bobby Paschal, UL-Lafayette; Dick Maile, LSU

Mr. Louisiana Basketball: Joel Hawkins, Southern Lab High School

Bob Pettit Award for the Louisiana Professional Player of the Year: Shaquille O’Neal, Miami Heat

Pete Maravich Memorial Award for the Louisiana Major College Player of the Year: Brandon Bass, LSU

Tommy Joe Eagles Memorial Award for the Louisiana Major College Coach of the Year: Billy Kennedy, Southeastern La.

Louisiana Small College Player of the Year: Fredericko Payne, LSU-Shreveport

Louisiana Small College Coach of the Year: Chad McDowell, LSU-Shreveport

Louisiana Junior College Player of the Year: Turmaine Rice, Southern-Shreveport

Louisiana Junior College Coach of the Year: David Francis, Southern-Shreveport

Louisiana High School Players of the Year:

Class AAAAA: Tasmin Mitchell, Denham Springs

Class AAAA: Ryan Francis, Glen Oaks

Class AAA: Terry Martin, Jr., Richwood

Class AA: Drew Meyerchick, Varnado

Class A: DeAndre Duncan, Southern Lab

Class B: Demond Carter, Reserve Christian

Class C: Lionel Mosby, Jr., Excelsior Christian

Louisiana High School Coaches of the Year:

Class AAAAA: John Lavie, Brother Martin

Class AAAA: Chris White, Bossier

Class AAA: Duke Allgood, Marksville

Class AA: Todd Viator, Jeanerette

Class A: Donald Calloway, Ringgold

Class B: Keith Waddell, Anacoco

Class C: Marcus Jackson, Athens