McDowell, Payne received state coaches’ top honors
04/12/05

The Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches has selected LSUS Pilots Head Basketball Coach Chad McDowell as Louisiana Small College Coach of the Year and junior guard Fredericko Payne as Louisiana Small College Player of the Year.

It is the second consecutive year the small college coaching award has gone to McDowell, who has coached at the college level for only two years. Payne, who was the NAIA leading scorer in the nation with a 25-points-per-game average, shared the top small college honor with a player from Southern University in New Orleans last year.

McDowell, a standout in his mid-1990s playing days at LSUS, led his 2004-05 squad to a 27-9 record and a first-ever trip to the NAIA National Championship Tournament. The Pilots made it to the Sweet Sixteen, where they were narrowly defeated by the eventual national champion, John Brown University.

Payne, who was recently name an NAIA First Team All-America, was ranked third nationally in steals for the season with 3 per game. He was an NAIA Honorable Mention All-America last year, and is the first Pilot in the history of LSUS basketball to receive All-America honors.