Jump to content

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
2024–25 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team
UniversityLouisiana Tech
First season1909–10
Head coachTalvin Hester (3rd season)
ConferenceC-USA
LocationRuston, Louisiana
ArenaThomas Assembly Center
(capacity: 8,000)
NicknameDunkin' Dogs
ColorsBlue and red[1]
   
Uniforms
Home jersey
Team colours
Home
Away jersey
Team colours
Away
Alternate jersey
Team colours
Alternate
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1967*, 1985
NCAA tournament round of 32
1967*, 1971*, 1984, 1985, 1989
NCAA tournament appearances
1967*, 1971*, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1991
*at Division II level
Conference tournament champions
Southland: 1984, 1985, 1987
American South: 1988, 1989, 1991
Conference regular season champions
LSIAA: 1910
SIAA: 1927, 1928, 1934
Louisiana Intercollegiate: 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948
Gulf States: 1953, 1955, 1959, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1971
Southland: 1976, 1985, 1987
American South: 1988, 1990
Sun Belt: 1992, 1999
WAC: 2013
C-USA: 2014, 2015
Conference division season champions
2021

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball program, nicknamed the Dunkin' Dogs, represents intercollegiate men's basketball at Louisiana Tech University.[2] The program competes in Conference USA in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and plays home games at the Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana. Talvin Hester is in his second season as the Bulldogs' head coach.

History

[edit]

Conference affiliations

[edit]

Championships

[edit]

Conference regular season championships

[edit]
Season Conference Record Head coach
1909–10 Louisiana State Intercollegiate Athletic Association N/A Percy S. Prince
1926–27 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Robert S. Wynn
1927–28
1933–34 Hal Lee
1941–42 Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference Cecil Crowley
1945–46
1946–47
1947–48
1952–53 Gulf States Conference
1954–55
1958–59
1963–64
1966–67 11–1 Scotty Robertson
1969–70 9–3
1970–71 10–0
1975–76 Southland Conference 9–1 Emmett Hendricks
1984–85 11–1 Andy Russo
1986–87 9–1 Tommy Joe Eagles
1987–88 American South Conference 7–3
1989–90 8–2 Jerry Loyd
1991–92 Sun Belt Conference 13–3
1998–99 10–4 Keith Richard
2012–13 Western Athletic Conference 16–2 Michael White
2013–14 Conference USA 13–3
2014–15 Conference USA 15–3
2020–21 Conference USA (West) 12–4 Eric Konkol

Conference tournament championships

[edit]
Year Conference Champion Score Runner-up Most Valuable Player Site
1984 Southland Louisiana Tech 68–65 Lamar Willie Simmons Beaumont Civic Center; Beaumont, Texas
1985 Southland Louisiana Tech 70–69 Lamar Jerry Everett Thomas Assembly Center; Ruston, Louisiana
1987 Southland Louisiana Tech 58–51 Arkansas State Robert Godbolt Thomas Assembly Center; Ruston, Louisiana
1988 American South Louisiana Tech 69–66 New Orleans Montagne Center; Beaumont, Texas
1989 American South Louisiana Tech 84–62 New Orleans Cajundome; Lafayette, Louisiana
1991 American South Louisiana Tech 61–56 New Orleans Lakefront Arena; New Orleans, Louisiana

Postseason

[edit]

NCAA Division I Tournament results

[edit]

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament five times. Their combined record is 4–5.

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1984 #10 Round of 48
Round of 32
#7 Fresno State
#2 Houston
W 66–56
L 69–77
1985 #5 Round of 64
Round of 32
Sweet Sixteen
#12 Pittsburgh
#4 Ohio State
#1 Oklahoma
W 78–54
W 79–67
L 84–86
1987 #14 Round of 64 #3 DePaul L 62–76
1989 #9 Round of 64
Round of 32
#8 La Salle
#1 Oklahoma
W 83–74
L 81–124
1991 #12 Round of 64 #5 Wake Forest L 65–71

NCAA Division II Tournament results

[edit]

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament two times. Their combined record is 2–2.

Year Round Opponent Result
1967 Regional semifinals
Regional Final
North Dakota
Illinois State
W 86–77
L 66–89
1971 Regional semifinals
Regional Third Place
Tennessee State
New Orleans
L 90–91
W 107–88

NIT results

[edit]

Louisiana Tech has appeared in ten National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 15–10.

Year Round Opponent Result
1986 First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Third Place
Northern Arizona
McNeese State
Providence
Ohio State
Florida
W 67–61
W 77–61
W 64–63
L 66–79
W 67–62
1988 First round
Second Round
Arkansas–Little Rock
Connecticut
W 66–56
L 59–65
1990 First round Vanderbilt L 90–98OT
1992 First round New Mexico L 84–90
2002 Opening Round
First round
Second Round
Louisiana–Lafayette
Vanderbilt
Villanova
W 83–63
W 83–68
L 64–67
2006 First round Clemson L 53–69
2013 First round
Second Round
Florida State
Southern Miss
W 71–66
L 52–63
2014 First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Iona
Georgia
Florida State
W 89–88
W 79–71
L 75–78
2015 First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Central Michigan
Texas A&M
Temple
W 89–79
W 84–72
L 59–77
2021 First round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Third Place
Ole Miss
Western Kentucky
Mississippi State
Colorado State
W 70–61
W 72–65
L 62–84
W 76–74

Vegas 16 results

[edit]

The Bulldogs have appeared in one Vegas 16. Their record is 0–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2016 Quarterfinals East Tennessee State L 83–88

CIT results

[edit]

Louisiana Tech has appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Tournament. Their combined record is 1–1.

Year Round Opponent Result
2010 First round
Quarterfinals
Southern Miss
Missouri State
W 66–57
L 40–69

NAIA tournament results

[edit]

The Bulldogs have appeared in the NAIA tournament four times. Their combined record is 1–4.

Year Round Opponent Result
1942 First round Texas Tech L 47–59
1946 First round Eastern Washington State L 44–66
1953 First round Hamline L 80–89
1955 First round
Second Round
Coe
Steubenville
W 94–65
L 65–90

Home venues

[edit]

Men's Gymnasium (1925-1952)

[edit]

The Men's Gymnasium was located on Mayfield Avenue, directly north of the northwest corner of Hale Hall and across the street from the eventual site of Memorial Gymnasium. It was located north of the original Tech Stadium football field, and was demolished around 1984 to create more parking adjacent to Hale Hall.[3]

Memorial Gymnasium (1952–1982)

[edit]
Memorial Gymnasium

In 1952, Memorial Gymnasium was a 4,800-seat gymnasium constructed on the Louisiana Tech University campus in Ruston to serve as the home of the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs basketball team. Today Memorial Gym serves as a practice facility for the basketball team.

Thomas Assembly Center (1982–present)

[edit]
Thomas Assembly Center

The Thomas Assembly Center is an 8,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Ruston, Louisiana. The arena, named for its benefactor and businessman Samuel M. Thomas, is home to the Division I NCAA Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs men's basketball team.

Traditions

[edit]

Dunkin' Dogs

[edit]

The Dunkin' Dogs nickname emerged during the 1982–83 season led by Karl Malone and Willie Simmons making highlight reel dunks. The tradition has continued through time as the current Dunkin' Dogs led by Raheem Appleby, Michale Kyser, and Alex Hamilton have made several dunks featured nationally on ESPN's SportsCenter Top Plays and Fox Sports Live's The 1.

Hoop Troop

[edit]

Hoop Troop is the official basketball pep band at Louisiana Tech University. The Hoop Troop performs at most men's basketball home games and travels to select road basketball games. The band also usually travels to all post-season games played by the Bulldogs, and is known nationally as one of the best basketball bands in college basketball. In the 2005 post-season, the Hoop Troop was featured in a Sports Illustrated's College Edition article, "65 Things We Want to See During March Madness" in which states, "30) The Louisiana Tech pep band, a.k.a. the Hoop Troop, the funniest band in the land."[4] The Hoop Troop was the only basketball band to be listed.

Players

[edit]

Basketball Hall of Fame

[edit]

Retired numbers

[edit]
Karl Malone, whose no. 32 was retired by Louisiana
No. Player Tenure Ref.
12 Leon Barmore 1965–1967 [5]
32 Karl Malone 1982–1985
44 Jackie Moreland 1957–1960

All-Americans

[edit]

Conference Player of the Year

[edit]

Conference Freshman of the Year

  • Antonio Meeking - 2000 (Sun Belt)
  • Paul Millsap - 2004 (WAC)
  • Raheem Appleby - 2012 (WAC)
  • DaQuan Bracey - 2017 (C-USA)
  • Kenneth Lofton, Jr. - 2021 (C-USA)

Leading scorers

[edit]
Rank Player Years Played Points
1 Mike Green 1969–1973 2,340
2 Mike McConathy 1973–1977 2,033
3 Alex Hamilton 2012–2016 1,986
4 Randy White 1985–1989 1,947
5 Anthony Dade 1988–1992 1,867
6 Gerrod Henderson 1998–2002 1,829
7 Raheem Appleby 2011–2015 1,770
8 Karl Malone 1982–1985 1,716
9 Paul Millsap 2003–2006 1,708
10 Kyle Gibson 2006–2010 1,677

NBA draftees

[edit]
P. J. Brown

The Bulldogs have had 14 players selected in the NBA draft, including 4 first round picks. Twice the Bulldogs have had multiple players taken in the same draft year (1985 and 1992).

Year Round Pick Overall Pick Player NBA Club
1960 1 4 4 Jackie Moreland Detroit Pistons
1967 15 10 148 Rich Peek Baltimore Bullets
1970 6 5 90 Charlie Bishop Cincinnati Royals
1973 1 4 4 Mike Green Seattle SuperSonics
1977 4 13 79 Mike McConathy Chicago Bulls
1979 2 17 39 Victor King Los Angeles Lakers
1984 6 19 135 Rennie Bailey Detroit Pistons
1985 4 6 76 Willie Simmons Sacramento Kings
1985 1 13 13 Karl Malone Utah Jazz
1989 1 8 8 Randy White Dallas Mavericks
1992 2 22 49 Ron Ellis Phoenix Suns
1992 2 2 29 P. J. Brown New Jersey Nets
2004 2 17 47 Paul Millsap Utah Jazz
2010 2 21 51 Magnum Rolle Oklahoma City Thunder
2020 2 29 59 Jalen Harris Toronto Raptors

Other Bulldogs in the NBA

[edit]

Other Bulldogs overseas

[edit]

Coaches

[edit]

Head coaches

[edit]
Coach Years Seasons Games Win Loss Pct. Notes
Percy S. Prince 1909–1911 2 9 5 4 .556 LSIAA regular season champions (1910)
Ralph C. Kenney 1925–1926 1 14 7 7 .500
Robert S. Wynn 1926–1931 5 116 61 55 .526 SIAA regular season champions (1927, 1928)
Hal Lee 1931–1934 3 43 24 19 .558
Eddie McLane 1934–1936 2 38 26 12 .684 SIAA regular season champions (1934)
Herb Duggins 1936–1940 4 73 27 46 .370
Cecil Crowley 1940–1942, 1945–1964 21 490 269 221 .549 Gulf States Coach of the Year (1953, 1955, 1964)
Gulf States regular season champions (1953, 1955)
Louisiana Intercollegiate regular season champions (1942, 1946, 1947, 1948)
Joe Aillet 1944–1945 1 17 5 12 .294
Scotty Robertson 1964–1974 10 247 161 86 .652 Gulf States Coach of the Year (1967, 1971)
Gulf States regular season champions (1964, 1967, 1970, 1971)
Emmett Hendricks 1974–1977 3 77 40 37 .519 Southland Coach of the Year (1975, 1976)
J.D. Barnett 1977–1979 2 52 23 29 .442 Southland Coach of the Year (1979)
Andy Russo 1979–1985 6 177 122 55 .689 Southland Coach of the Year (1983, 1985)
Tommy Joe Eagles 1985–1989 4 127 87 40 .685 Southland Coach of the Year (1987, 1988)
Jerry Loyd 1989–1994 5 145 73 72 .503 American South regular season champions (1988, 1990)
Sun Belt regular season champions (1992)
Jim Wooldridge 1994–1998 4 111 52 59 .468
Keith Richard 1998–2007 9 267 150 117 .562 Sun Belt Coach of the Year (1999)
Sun Belt regular season champions (1999)
Kerry Rupp 2007–2011 4 130 57 73 .438
Michael White 2011–2015 4 141 101 40 .716 C-USA Coach of the Year (2013, 2015)
C-USA regular season champions (2014, 2015)
WAC regular season champions (2013)
Eric Konkol 2015–2022 6 194 129 65 .665 C-USA Coach of the Year ( 2021)
C-USA Conference Division Season Champions (2021)
Talvin Hester 2022-Present 1 2 1 1 .500
Total 97 2,470 1,420 1,050 .575
1942–1943, 1943–1944: Basketball discontinued due to World War II

Bulldogs in coaching

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Louisiana Tech University Identity Standards. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "Louisiana Tech Bulldogs men's basketball". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2018-04-18.
  3. ^ "Louisiana Tech University: Historic Images & Photos". Louisiana Destinations. Louisiana-Destinations.com. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  4. ^ "SI.com - SI on Campus - 65 Things We Want to See During March Madness - Wednesday March 9, 2005 10:12AM". Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  5. ^ Barmore to Join Fifth HOF, 15 Aug 2008
[edit]