LSUS lands two on the NAIA All-American Team
May 10, 2006
Just 3 years into the program and LSUS has put themselves on the national map in men’s basketball. The Pilots have garnered several individual awards in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference including the Newcomer of the Year three times in a row and the two-time Player of the Year. The Pilots have won back-to-back GCAC Regular Season Championships and a GCAC Tournament Championship as well. The list goes on and on about the accomplishments of this young program in such a short period of time which includes a #1 ranking nationally this year. The Pilots were awarded the inaugural NAIA Champions of Character Team Award less than a month ago at the national meeting held at the NCAA Final Four each season. Again, one could easily miss reporting every individual and/or team award for the Pilots as it seems they have been steadily racking up on both of them since the program was brought back three years ago.
That’s exactly what happened this season upon the Pilots return from the NAIA National Tournament. Every year, the NAIA All-American team is selected at the National tournament and the announcement comes shortly after which was several weeks ago. In the recovery mode from such a great season, the NAIA All-American tea A lot of the reason for the many team accomplishments is the stellar play of several individuals and LSUS landed two of those guys on the NAIA All-American Team. Josh Porter, a junior NCAA DI transfer from Stephen F. Austin, averaged 19.1 points per game and 4.9 rebounds and was named the GCAC Newcomer of the Year as well as an All-Conference selection. For his great performance throughout the year, Josh Porter capped of his season with one last award and was named to the NAIA All-American third team. The next selection belongs to Fredericko Payne. Payne was the first Pilot last year to be selected to the NAIA All-American team and he is now the only Pilot to become a back-to-back All-American first team selection. Payne, a 5’10 transfer from Northwestern State University, has rewritten the LSUS record book averaging over 22 points a game for his career and garnering several awards. His latest award, although probably not his last, is the selection to the NAIA All-American 1st team for the second consecutive season. The play of these two individuals along with the rest of the team gave the University and the community something to remember for a long time this season and gives all the Pilot fans something to look forward to next season. Congratulations to Josh and Rico for their selection to the NAIA All-American team.
