Pilots rack up on GCAC honors
March 09, 2005
In just two years of re-instating their men’s basketball program at LSUS, the Pilots have made their presence felt in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. They accumulated seven awards last week when the All-Conference team was released.
For the second year in a row, head coach Chad McDowell, has been named as the GCAC Men’s Coach of the Year. He has led the Pilots to a regular season championship and a # 7 ranking nationally. The Pilots are preparing this week for the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City, Mo. The bracket will be released Wednesday, March 9, 2005, at 6 p.m.
The rest of the nominations for the conference was dominated by LSUS Pilots as well. They placed four members on the All-Conference team and also earned Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year Awards.
Justin Collins, a 5’10 senior point guard from Bossier City’s Airline High School, was named to the all-conference team. Justin was the seventh leading scorer in the conference averaging 14 points. He was 3rd in the conference in both assists and free throw percentage.
Derrick Rogers, a 6’5 senior shooting guard from Shreveport’s Huntington High School, was another Pilot selected to the all-conference team. Derrick was the 3rd leading scorer in the conference averaging over 17 points a game and shooting over 40% from behind the arc.
Derrick Hill, a 6’8 transfer from Midwestern State University, earned two honors this season for his outstanding play. Derrick Hill led both the conference and the nation in blocked shots averaging 4.5 a game. He also led the conference in rebounding averaging 11 boards a game. This stat was good enough to rank him 5th in the country. For these numbers, Derrick was named to the All-Conference team and was selected as the GCAC Newcomer of the Year.
Fredericko Payne, a 5’10 junior shooting guard, transferred from Northwestern State University last season and has garnered many awards since arriving on LSUS’ campus. Payne was named the GCAC Player of the Year this season and has the numbers to be considered for NAIA National Player of the Year. Payne is leading the nation in scoring averaging 25.8 points a game and is 4th in steals with an average of 3 per game. Fredericko has been named the GCAC Player of the Week on three different occasions this year alone. Last year, Payne was selected as an NAIA honorable mention All-American.
