Men's Basketball Media Guide 06-07.qxp - LaGrange College

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HISTOR ORY OF LAG RANGE History of LaGrange College Basketball – A Tradition Spanning Six Decades The familiar sounds of balls bouncing on the hardwood at Mariotti Gymnasium have been echoing across the LaGrange Campus for well over 50 years. Now spanning six decades, LaGrange’s basketball tradition is one rich in team and individual accomplishments. LaGrange’s basketball history began in the fall of 1954, by a gentleman by the name of Austin Cook, Jr. Cook was the business manager/controller for LaGrange College for 32 years. He was instrumental in the providing of funds for the school’s first basketball team. The sport began College in 1954-55 strictly on an exhibition-game basis. Billy Pike was responsible for putting a team together. The Panthers played four industrial league teams and lost all four games. Since that time, LaGrange has amassed over 600 victories in over 50 years. It was Hiram Reeves who first established the winning tradition at LaGrange as he piloted Panther teams for three seasons (56-59) and introduced the club into the newly-formed Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GIAC), which Reeves had a hand in starting in 1958. LaGrange College would stay in that conference for almost 30 years. In 1957-58, the Panthers won its first 14 of 16 games en route to a 15-8 record. Reeves best season was the following year, as he led the panthers to a 16-5 record and their first-ever conference tournament game, going 12-2 in their first year in the conference. After coaching a year with the Panthers in 1956, Joe Copeland came back to coach from 1960- 62. From there, the history of LaGrange basketball would embark on a new era. Some of the early basketball stars at LaGrange who set many of the first school records included Jerry Carden, Wallace Brown, Ralph Johnson, Harold Jones, Wayne Copeland, Olin Harp, Larry Howell, and Jackie Mayo. In 1962, Al Mariotti became head coach of the men’s basketball program and experienced some of the best years in the history of the program. Coach Mariotti came to LaGrange College after a highly-successful career at The 1961-62 basetball team RANGE BASKETBALL DECADES ALL - A T RADITION LaGrange High School. Mariotti coached for a dozen seasons and put the Panthers on the small college basketball map with a series of championship teams. In 1965-66, Mariotti’s team won a then schoolrecord 17 games behind the talents of Hugh Corless who set all the Panther career scoring records before he graduated. Corless (63-66) became the school’s first big name in the sport. He was the school’s first 1,000 point scorer, pouring in over 1,600 points. Another player to be mentioned is Joe Phillips (64-67), who left as the school’s all-time leading rebounder (942). The next four years (1966-70), the program experienced a slight decline with only one winning season during that span. The Mack and Williams Era and the Dominance in the 1970’s . LaGrange’s had arguably the best period of hardwood glory from 1970-75. The 1970’s was the most accomplished decade in the program’s history, making six NAIA Tournaments, claiming three conference championships, four 20-win seasons, five seasons with 10-win seasons in the GIAC and finished the decade with an impressive 172-127 record. LaGrange showed their dominance in the GIAC with a record was 91-48. From 1970-75, Floyd Mack and Calvin Williams took the college program by storm. In the span five years, they compiled a record of 101-52. The two LC greats led the Panthers to three consecutive 20+ win seasons, back to back GLIAC Championships, a GIAC Tournament Championship, four NAIA Tournament berths and a five year conference record of 51-14. The 1971-72 team was conference tri-champion with West Georgia and Valdosta State before losing in a playoff for the title. A year later, the LC squad swept to the first conference crown in LC history, propelled by a pair of shocking wins over West Georgia. LC whipped the Braves 75-73 at home then 88-81 at Carrollton during the regular season. At that time, the LaGrange-West Georgia series represented the hottest small-college basketball rivalry in the state and perhaps the southeast as well as the games featured turn-away crows on every occasion. But they experienced a rough start at 3-5, which included a three-game losing streak. Their last defeat, a 23-point setback to Jacksonville State was the worst of the season. RADITION SPANNINGANNING SIX From there, the Panthers never looked back. LC went on a 17-game winning streak, defeating three of the five schools that they succumbed to earlier that season. The Panthers would cruise through the GIAC, finishing with a school-best 13-1 record and the conference championship. It would send them to the NAIA District 25 Play-offs. They would beat Armstrong State in the first round, but lost to Valdosta State in the second round. It was the furthest a LC team had advanced in the NAIA tournament at that time. Ken Boatright Played for the Panthers in the 1970’s and is a Trustee of the College Mariotti’s final team, the 1974 squad, captured its second consecutive conference title behind the talents of record setters Calvin Williams and Floyd Mack, who along with Corless are the only Panthers to own retired jerseys. They finished 20-10 including yet another NAIA District 25 berth. Mariotti’s teams made the District 25 tournament three of his last four years and barely missed a trip to the national tournament after getting to the District final in 1973 before losing to Valdosta State. He would finish his career with 186 wins, the most as a head coach at LaGrange. His final season was indeed a success, finishing with yet another 20-win season and a second straight GIAC Championship. Mariotti’s top performers over the years included Corless, Joe Phillips, Tom Duckett, Earl Holmes, Luther Tyson, Bob Eble, Calvin Williams, Rodney Robinson, Bubba Hill, Scott Major, and Floyd Mack. All are quite visible in the record books at LC. Williams (pictured above) graduated in 1974 as the school’s first basketball All-American, earning NAIA Honorable Mention honors for the 1971-72 season. He was a four-time All-GIAC and All-NAIA All-District 25 selection from 1970-74. Williams was the NAIA District 25
Most Valuable Player during the 1971-72 season. When he graduated, Williams held most of the school’s all-time records. He finished with 2,348 points, averaging 21.9 points per game during his career. Phil “Coach” Williamson came into the scene in the fall of 1974, but has been a part of the campus for about five years. He became head coach and didn’t miss a beat, thanks to Floyd Mack. He led the team in scoring and rebounding as LC went 17-17 and continued their winning tradition by guiding the Panthers to their fourth District tournament appearance in five years as well as winning the conference tournament championship. Mack (pictured above) was a three-time All- GIAC and All-NAIA District 25 selection in basketball from 1973-75. He was the GIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player in 1975. He holds most of the school’s rebounding records, including: most in a game (31), season (432) and career (1,584). He also holds the school record for field goals in a season (309). The 1978-79 team was another talented group, winning 21 games, the most since 1973. They were 21-8, and then lost their final four games to finish 21-12. Williamson led the Panthers to its second straight NAIA berth. The 1980’s was a transitional era, with Coach Williamson stepping down after seven years in 1981, bringing in former Panther great Hugh Corless. Williamson’s 7-year career brought more successes to LaGrange such as a 20-12 record in 1977-78 and 21-12 the next year. Williamson completed his tenure with a 102- 115 record, posting the second most wins behind Mariotti’s 186 wins and 141 losses. In 1980-81, LC started playing in the District 25, which was one of the toughest in the country. They were in a rebuilding process and fell to 3-25. The program needed a boost quickly. In come the Cotton era. LaGrange’s second sustained period of excellence was in the early 1980’s. Jeff (pictured) and Sam Cotton became a mainstay in the starting lineup for two seasons as the program enjoyed a seven win turnaround in 1981-82. It was a year of potential and promise for the following year, as the Panthers reemerged from a disappointing 4-11 record to start the season. They would make the NAIA Tournament after winning five of six games down the stretch. Consecutive two point setbacks at the end of the year would determine their final record of 10-15. They also had a nine-win improvement in the conference (10-6). The 1982-83 season was full of excitement as the LC basketball program enjoyed their return to dominance in the GIAC. It was a tale of two seasons. They started slow at 8-7 in the first half of the year, but then surged on a 12- game winning streak. They finished first in the conference with a 16-3 record (tied with North Georgia) and its 20-8 overall finish included a 2-1 record in the NAIA District 25 playoffs. They received their second-straight NAIA berth and advanced to the third round, missing the national tourney by a 70-65 loss to North Georgia in an overtime thriller. The two teams squared off three times, with LC going 1-2 with both losses coming ironically, in overtime. The third round of the NAIA’s was the farthest the program advanced in school history. Coach Corless’ successes last season earned him GIAC and District 25 Coach-of-the-Year honors. Jeff Cotton received All-GIAC, All-NAIA Distrcit 25 and NAIA All-America honors. After two sub-par seasons, Corless was gone and Samford University great, Steve Barker was named head coach in 1985. In the last year as a member of the GIAC (85-86), Barker’s team finished 15-12 and 13-5 in the conference and received an NAIA berth. The Panthers would experience two more NAIA berths in ’87 and ’88, but the final two years would be a steep decline, a 12-57 record during that period. In 1991, Randy Unger became the eighth head coach and would have a rough first year, finishing 3-30, but would enjoy the following two years. The 1991-92 season featured a LC great, Deantre Traylor (pictured), who would go on to lead the Panthers to a 19-14 record, the biggest turnaround (16-games) in school history. It was their first winning season since 1986. The following year would be even better as LaGrange enjoyed its first 20-win season in 10 years and the most wins since 1979. Traylor set a school record that season, averaging 27.9 points per game. He finished third nationally in scoring that season in NAIA. They had a fantastic start, winning 12 of their first 13 games, en route to a 21-11 record and a NAIA berth for the first time in five years. It would be their last. Traylor (1991-94) is the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball, scoring 2,410 points playing in just three years. Traylor is one of three Panther basketball players to earn All-American mention. He was an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American after the 1992-93 season. Traylor was also a NAIA District 25 all-district selection. He finished his career with a 25.3 points per game average. The Panthers would go on to win 14 games in ’94, but a 6-25 record ended Unger’s reign as head coach. Joel Wooten would come in to take over in 1995 and would be known as the “Dark Years” of the program. His three-year stint at LaGrange was a struggle. His record was a dismal 16-73, including 0-33 in 1997-98. Joe Cambron took the title in 1998 and remained until 2002. During his four year stay, LaGrange would be in a transformation process. The college left the NAIA in 1999 and joined the NCAA at the Division III level, which offers no scholarships. It also joined the Great South Athletic Conference in 2000. Once joining the GSAC and NCAA DIII, the program started its uphill climb, but with a new coach, Warren Haynes. In 2004, he led the Panthers to it’s first winning season in 11 years and it’s first since joining both ranks (NCAA and GSAC). Recent Success Warren Haynes has been involved with the Panthers’ program since 1996, as a player and his in his fifth year as head coach. Since 1970, LaGrange basketball has achieved high levels of excellence with 3 conference championships including a tournament crown in 1975. They school has enjoyed six 20-win seasons and 10-win seasons in the GIAC while in the NAIA. In addition, LaGrange has had
Page 1 and 2: LAGRANGE COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL
Page 3 and 4: From the President On behalf of the
Page 5 and 6: Athletics Staff Directory Administr
Page 7 and 8: Assistant Coach h - Dale Lomax (LaG
Page 9: Season Preview Cont’d as forward
Page 13 and 14: 2005-06 GSAC RECAP About the Great
Page 15 and 16: 25 JUSTIN HODGES 5-11 • 160 Senio
Page 17 and 18: 4 MIKE PATTERSON 6-3 • 210 Senior
Page 19 and 20: 55 DEMETRIS RENDER 6-3 • 190 Juni
Page 21 and 22: 33 JORDAN NUTT 6-5 • 170 • Soph
Page 23 and 24: N.C. WESLEYAN Nov. 17, 6 p.m. Neutr
Page 25 and 26: Records TEAM Single Game Most Point
Page 27 and 28: LAGRANGE COLLEGE BASKETBALL ALL-TIM
Page 31 and 32: GIAC Tournament ResultsR 1959 LaGra
Page 37 and 38: MENS BASKETBALL ALLTIME ROSTERS 195
Page 39 and 40: LaGrange College A school on a miss
Page 41: LAGRANGE COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL

Men's Basketball Media Guide 06-07.qxp - LaGrange College

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