As we approach March Madness, a team from the Pelican State could qualify for the Big Dance or the NIT. Postseason play is still in reach for other colleges and universities throughout the state.
I thought this would be an ideal time to recognize players who have enjoyed terrific seasons so far. Overall, I want to highlight just some of the best men’s hoopers in the state. I cannot come close to profiling all of them.
I have identified my First Team and Second Team, which was no easy task. Names like Christian Shumate, Javohn Garcia and more miss the cut here but will make the lists of many others. It just speaks to how good and underrated Louisiana college basketball really is.
First Team
LSU Shreveport – Taj Anderson (6-1, 171, senior)
Averaging 20.2 points per game while shooting 51.9% from the field and 44.7% from long range. His season high was a remarkable 53-point performance against Paul Quinn College.
Louisiana Tech – Daniel Batcho (6-11, 235, senior)
The sixth-leading scorer in CUSA, averaging 15.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He has blocked 59 shots this season (2.1 per game) and leads his team with a 68.4% shooting percentage from the floor.
Southeastern Louisiana – Jakevion Buckley (6-1, 175, senior)
One of the top overall players in the Southland Conference, averaging 14.7 points, 4.2 assists, and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. He recorded season highs of 27 points against Incarnate Word and 25 points against both McNeese and Houston Christian.
LSU – Cam Carter (6-3, 185, senior)
Averaging 16.7 points per game (9th in the SEC) while shooting 43.1% from the field. He also contributes 2.6 assists per game. Carter scored 29 points against Oklahoma and 27 against Arkansas. He has recorded 10 games with 20 or more points this season.
Tulane – Rowan Brumbaugh (6-4, 190, sophomore)
A Washington, D.C. native, Brumbaugh averages 15.8 points per game, shooting 42.3% from the field. He ranks second in the AAC with 4.6 assists per game and has recorded eight games with 20 or more points.
Second Team
Louisiana Tech – Sean Newman (6-1, 160, junior)
Leading CUSA in assists (8.1 per game), Newman ranks third nationally. He also ranks second in the conference in free-throw shooting at 85.4%. Newman also scored 27 points against Liberty and 25 against Grand Canyon.
Tulane – Kaleb Banks (6-8, 210, junior)
Averaging 15.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game, along with 1.3 blocks per contest. He ranks third in the AAC with a 51% shooting percentage. The Hampton, Georgia, native posted a monster game against Florida State, scoring 33 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. He has recorded seven double-digit rebounding games and nine 20-point performances this season.
Southeastern Louisiana – Sam Hines (6-6, 220, senior)
Leads the conference in scoring at 16.7 points per game while shooting 49.7%. He also averages 6.2 rebounds per game. Hines had a 30-point, 11-rebound performance against UNO. The South Florida transfer has recorded four double-digit rebounding games and eight 20-point games.
UNO – MJ Thomas (6-8, 205, freshman)
A promising young player for the Privateers, the Denton, Texas native leads the Southland Conference with 7.9 rebounds per game while also averaging 11.0 points. He recently lit up Incarnate Word for 32 points, the most by a freshman this season in the Southland. His strength is on the boards, where he pulled down 18 rebounds against East Texas A&M and 17 against Nicholls. Thomas has nine double-digit rebounding games.
McNeese – Quadir Copeland (6-6, 200, junior)
The Philadelphia, Pa. product leads the 23-6 Cowboys. He averages 8.8 points per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Copeland ranks second in the conference with 4.4 assists per game, dishing out 11 assists against both LeTourneau and Northwestern State, and 10 against UNO.
Louisiana Coach of the Year: McNeese’s Will Wade has done it again in Lake Charles. You could make a case for most of his rotation deserving all-state acclaim but I went with the big point guard Copeland to represent all of his Bayou Bandits.
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