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

Hall of Fame Players and Coaches
Floyd Mack, Sr.- Mack 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). He is now a high school head basketball coach
and athletic director. His teams have won back-toback
Georgia Class AAAA state championships in
2003 and 2004.
Al Mariotti- Mariotti was the school's basketball
coach from 1962 until 1974. During this 12 year span,
Mariotti posted a 186-141 record. He retired as the
school's all-time career leader in wins. Mariotti's
1972-73 team set a school record for wins with 23,
including a record 17-game winning streak. The 72-
73 team also won the GIAC championship and was
runner-up in NAIA District 25. During his last three
years as coach, the Panthers posted three-straight
20-win seasons and lost only four conference games
during that time. The Al Mariotti Gymnasium is named in his honor.
Calvin L. Williams- Williams was 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 scoring record. He finished with
2,348 points, averaging 21.9 points per game during
his career.
Phillip Ray Williamson- Williamson is the current
athletics director at LaGrange College and has been
at the school since 1969. He has been the head
coach for baseball, basketball and tennis. He was
head basketball coach from 1974-81, winning a GIAC
title and being named GIAC Coach of the Year. He
began the baseball program in 1983 and was the
head coach until 1996. Under his leadership as athletics
director, the number of teams fielded by the college
has grown from three to 15, with football starting
in 2006.
Jeff Anderson was the Panthers "Iron Man" in basketball
from 1974 to 1978. He started all 125 games
in his career. Anderson scored 1,306 points and
pulled down 902 rebounds during his career. He averaged
10.4 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per
game during his career. Anderson was the GIAC
Freshman of the Year and a member of the Panthers'
GIAC Tournament Championship team for the 1974-
75 season. He is a senior parole officer for the
Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles in LaGrange.
Anderson was a participant at the 2004 G-8 summit at Sea Island. He is
the trustee chairman for Warren Temple Methodist Church, along with
being a member of the Methodist Men and a youth Sunday school
teacher.
career with 1,044 points. He is president of Certified Plumbing &
Sprinkler, Inc. of LaGrange and member of First Methodist Church.
Deante Traylor is the school's all-time leading scorer
in basketball. During his career at LaGrange College,
he scored 2,410 points. 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 set a school record that season,
averaging 27.9 points per game. He finished third
nationally in scoring that season in NAIA. Traylor was
also a NAIA District 25 all-district selection. He finished
his career with a 25.3 points per game average. Traylor
is a senior associate with the KPMG corporation.
Major Thomas Duckett- Duckett was a four-year letterman in basketball
for the Panthers from 1964-68. He averaged 10 points per game
and a team-leading nine rebounds per game his senior year. After graduating,
Duckett served in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot in Vietnam. He is
listed as a P.O.W./M.I.A. The Tom Duckett Golf Tournament held annually
at Homecoming is named in his honor.
Robert Eble- Eble finished his four-year career as one
of LaGrange College's all-time basketball scoring and
rebounding leaders. He was the leading scorer on the
record-setting 1972-73 team. The team set a school
record with 23 wins, won the GIAC championship and
was the NAIA District 25 runner-up. Eble finished his
career with 1,817 points and 1,021 rebounds.
Joe Copeland- Copeland came to LaGrange College
after transferring from Young Harris Junior College.
Copeland served as student coach for a season and became the
school's first full-time basketball coach from 1959 to 1962. He had a
record of 31-39, which included the season he served as student-coach.
Copeland left LaGrange College to work with the FBI. He retired as a
special agent after 22 years. Copeland worked on the John F. Kennedy
assassination for three years.
Hiram Reeves- Reeves was LaGrange College's first basketball coach
from 1956 to 1959. He had a three-year record of 38-21, including a 16-
5 mark during the 1958-59 season. The Hiram Reeves Dedication
Award is given annually to a men's basketball player. Before coaching at
LaGrange College, Reeves was the head coach at Rosemont High
School. He won a state championship there in 1954. Reeves operated a
successful produce business until his death in 1981.
Dr. Todd Whitsitt- Dr. Whitsitt was a four-year letterman in basketball.
He played in 95 games, averaging 8.0 points per game and finishing
with 173 career assists. Dr. Whitsitt led the team in assists for two
years. He was the NAIA National Scholar/Athlete in 1979, also receiving
the Glen Simpson Leadership Award and the President's Award. He
is now a cardiologist residing in Colorado. Dr. Whitsitt was named to the
school's Wall of Outstanding Alumni in 1996.
Ralph T. Johnson- Johnson played basketball for LaGrange College for
two seasons after transferring from Young Harris College. He scored
more than 50 points in a game, a record that stood for over 30 years.
Johnson went on to a long career in education, coaching basketball,
then becoming principal locally at Troup County High School.
Luke "Bubba" Hill was a four-year letterman in basketball
for the Panthers from 1970 to 1974. He was a
member of the Panthers' GIAC championship team of
1973. Hill is the fourth member off that team to be
inducted into the LaGrange College Athletic Hall of
Fame, joining Bob Eble, Floyd Mack and Calvin
Williams. As a junior, he was named to the GIAC second-team
all-conference team after averaging a
career-best 11.2 points per game. Hill finished his