By Jason Pugh
Written for the LSWA
Natchitoches, La. - Two of the key members of McNeese's record-setting men's basketball turnaround season took home top honors on the Louisiana Sports Writers Association's 2023-24 All-Louisiana Men's Basketball Team.
Senior guard Shahada Wells, a transfer from TCU, took home both Player and Newcomer of the Year honors to add to his plethora of individual awards at the conference and national level while Will Wade was named Coach of the Year after leading the Cowboys to a 30-4 record and the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships.
Bossier Parish Community College guard John Awoke rounded out the individual award winners, taking home Freshman of the Year acclaim after averaging 15 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Wells, the Southland Conference Player of the Year and a Major Madness First-Team All-American, was the only player in the NCAA to average at least 17 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and three steals per game. An Amarillo, Texas, native, Wells led the Cowboys in scoring (17.8 ppg) while dishing out 4.7 assists per game, grabbing 4.5 rebounds per game and swiping three steals per contest.
A Lou Henson and Lute Olson All-American, Wells has 36 points in a win at UAB and 30 in McNeese's win at Michigan in non-conference action among his 29 double-figure scoring efforts, which included a career-high 37 at Western Carolina.
Wade helped engineer McNeese's NCAA Division I-record-tying 19-game turnaround from a season ago, helping the Cowboys become one of just seven teams to win 30 games or more in Division I this season. The Cowboys' first NCAA Tournament trip in 22 years also came in a season where McNeese garnered votes in the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Top 25 for the first time in school history. McNeese went 18-0 inside the Legacy Center and ranked in the top five nationally in five categories – scoring margin (plus-17.7, 2nd), turnover margin (plus-6.7, 3rd), winning percentage (88.2, 3rd), field goal percentage defense (38.9, 4th) and steals per game (10.3, 5th).
Joining Wells on the first team are Louisiana Tech teammates Isaiah Crawford and Daniel Batcho, Nicholls' Diante Smith and LSU's Jordan Wright.
Crawford was named Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 16.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. A first-team NABC All-District selection from Fort Worth, Texas, Crawford had 27 double-figure scoring games and was the only NCAA player to have 60 or more steals (68) and 50 or more blocks (55) this season. He ranked second in CUSA in field goal percentage (48.5) and shot a team-best 41.4 percent from 3-point range while his 2.13 steals per game ranked 31st nationally, and his 68 total steals placed him fourth in Louisiana Tech single-season history.
A Texas Tech transfer, Batcho was the leading rebounder in Conference USA (9.8 per game, 25th nationally) and paced C-USA in double-doubles with 11. A redshirt junior from Paris, France, Batcho had six 20-plus point games among his 24 double-figure scoring games and led CUSA in field goal percentage at 59 percent. His 67 blocks led CUSA and ranked 11th in school single-season history.
Smith was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection and a second-team NABC All-District pick after helping Nichols finish third in the league and reach the SLC Tournament title game. A two-time SLC Player of the Week and an LSWA Player of the Week honoree, he averaged 16 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while ranking third in the league in 3-point shooting (39.1 percent). A versatile forward from Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Smith ranked in the top 10 in the Southland in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, 3-point percentage, assists and steals.
Wright, a graduate student from Waggaman, transferred back home and helped LSU earn a berth in the NIT by averaging 15.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game. A transfer from Vanderbilt, Wright's streak of 18 straight games in double figures was LSU's longest since Cam Thomas did so in 19 straight in 2021, and he became just the third LSU player in the past 25 years to have a game of at least 25 points, five rebounds, five steals and five assists when he posted 27 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and five assists against Ole Miss.
The second team features UL Lafayette's Kobe Julien (17.3 points, 4.8 rebounds per game), Tulane's Kevin Cross (17.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 4.6 apg), McNeese's Christian Shumate (12.1 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 1.4 bpg), Southeastern Louisiana's Nick Caldwell (15.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg), and Grambling's Kintavious Dozier (13 ppg, 3 rpg).
The third team consists of LSU-Alexandria's Kashie Natt (17.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg), New Orleans' Jordan Johnson (21.3 ppg, 3.8 apg), SUNO's Jamal Gibson (21 ppg, 15.8 rpg), McNeese's DJ Richards (11.4 ppg, 45.1 3PT FG%), Centenary's Seth Thomas (16.2 ppg, 7.9 rpg) and Xavier's TJ Jones (14 ppg, 4.8 apg).
The 2023-24 LSWA All-Louisiana Men's Basketball teams were selected by a statewide vote of school sports information directors and media members.
2023-24 LSWA All-Louisiana Men's Basketball Teams
Player of the Year: Shahada Wells, G, McNeese
Newcomer of the Year: Shahada Wells, G, McNeese
Freshman of the Year: John Awoke, Bossier Parish Community College
Coach of the Year: Will Wade, McNeese
First Team
Shahada Wells, G, Gr., McNeese, Fort Worth, Texas
17.8 points per game, 4.7 assists per game, Southland Conference Player of the Year, SLC Newcomer of the Year, Major Madness First-Team All-American
Isaiah Crawford, F, Gr., Louisiana Tech, Fort Worth, Texas
16.3 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, Conference USA Player of the Year, CUSA Defensive Player of the Year, NABC All-District First Team
Daniel Batcho, F, R-Jr., Louisiana Tech, Paris, France
15.2 points per game, 9.8 rebounds per game, Conference USA Newcomer of the Year
Diante Smith, F, Sr., Nicholls, Fort Walton Beach, Florida
16.0 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southland Conference
Jordan Wright, F, Gr., LSU, Waggaman, Louisiana
15.1 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game
Second Team
Kobe Julien, F, R-Jr., UL Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
17.3 points per game, 4.8 rebounds per game, Second-Team All-Sun Belt
Kevin Cross, F, Sr., Tulane, Little Rock, Arkansas
17.5 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, Third-Team All-American Athletic Conference
Christian Shumate, F, Jr., McNeese, Chicago, Illinois
12. 1points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Year
Nick Caldwell, G/F, Sr., Southeastern Louisiana, Prairieville, Louisiana
15.4 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southland Conference
Kintavious Dozier, G, Jr., Grambling, Lanett, Alabama
13.0 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference
Third Team
Kashie Natt, G, Jr., LSU-Alexandria, Rayville, Louisiana
17.4 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game, Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Year
Jordan Johnson, G, Sr., New Orleans, Memphis, Tennessee
21.3 points per game, 3.8 steals per game, Second-Team All-Southland Conference
Jamal Gibson, F, Fr., SUNO, New Orleans, Louisiana
21 points per game, 15.8 rebounds per game, Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year
DJ Richards, F, So., McNeese, Houston, Texas
11.4 points per game, 45.1 3-point shooting percentage, Southland Conference All-Tournament Team
TJ Jones, G, 5Y, Xavier, Opelousas, Louisiana
14.0 points per game, 4.8 assists per game, First-Team All-Red River Athletic Conference
Seth Thomas, F, Sr., Centenary, Kilgore, Texas
16.2 points per game, 7.9 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Honorable Mention (Appeared on at least 25 percent of ballots)
CJ Carpenter, G, Sr., LSU-Shreveport, Natchitoches, Louisiana
Joe Charles, F, Jr., UL Lafayette, Carencro, Louisiana
Tra'Michael Moton, G, Gr., Grambling, Shreveport, Louisiana
Thomas posted another stellar season for the Gents as he cemented himself as one of the top players in Division III program history and was one of the top all-around players in the conference. He earned All-Louisiana honors for the third time in his career and second season in a row. He was named to the Third Team last season and garnered Honorable-Mention honors as a sophomore.
Thomas was named First-team All-SCAC, earning all-conference honors for the fourth-straight season and landed on the First Team for the second time. He helped lead the Gents to the SCAC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth
He helped lead the Gents to the SCAC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth as he averaged 15.7 PPG and 5.7 rebounds in Centenary's three conference tournament contests and added 10 steals, seven assists, and six blocked shots as he was named to the All-Tournament Team. He started all 28 of Centenary's games this season and ranked fifth in the SCAC in scoring, third in rebounding, and second in assists in the regular season.
He reached double figures a staggering 23 times (21 times in the regular season and twice in the conference tournament (and posted five double-doubles. He ranked in the top 15 in the conference during the regular season in assist to turnover ratio, minutes played, defensive rebounds, blocked shots, field goal %, steals, free throw %, and 3-point field goals made during the regular season. He shot 44.3 % from the field, 32.7 % from beyond the arc, and 78.7 % from the FT line. He recorded six double-digit rebounding performances and scored 20+ points eight times highlighted by a career-high 34 points at Dallas on Dec. 2.
Thomas averaged 33.5 minutes/game and played 38 or more five times. He hit multiple 3-point baskets in game 10 times, had two+ steals 19 times, two+ assists 23 times, and two+ blocked shots six times. He made 10 or more free throws in a game six times this season with a season-high of 15 in 18 attempts on Dec. 31 versus Colorado College. Thomas was named the SCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week twice this season.
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