NATCHITOCHES – Key components of two programs who enjoyed an on-court renaissance during the 2022-23 season headline the Louisiana Sports Writers Association's All-Louisiana Men's Basketball Teams.
Player of the Year Jordan Brown and Coach of the Year Bob Marlin were the driving forces behind a UL Lafayette squad that made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in nine years while Newcomer of the Year DeMarcus Sharp and Freshman of the Year Jalen Hampton helped push Northwestern State to its first Southland Conference Tournament championship game appearance in a decade.
The superlatives and the three five-player teams were selected by votes of state sports information directors and media members.
Brown, a junior from Roseville, California, averaged 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 57.1 percent from the field to earn the Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award, which goes to the nation's top mid-major player. Brown also was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference honoree, an NABC All-District 23 First Team selection and the Sun Belt Tournament Most Valuable Player. Behind Brown's play, the Cajuns posted a 14-0 record in the Cajundome – the program's first perfect home season since 1972-73.
Sharp, a senior from Charleston, Missouri, led Northwestern State and the Southland Conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game and added five rebounds and five assists per game as the Demons produced a 13-win improvement from the 2021-22 season. The Southland Conference Player of the Year, Sharp also was a first-team NABC All-District honoree, a Southland All-Defensive Team selection and a member of the SLC All-Tournament Team. Sharp had nine top-100 national statistical marks while his 40-point performance at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 25 was NSU's first 40-point game since Billy Reynolds had 42 against Lamar on Dec. 4, 1976.
Hampton, a freshman from St. Louis, led Northwestern State in rebounding at 7.4 per game and ranked 20th nationally in offensive rebounds per game at 3.36. A member of the Southland Conference All-Tournament Team after averaging 12 points and 10.5 rebounds in NSU's two tournament games, Hampton had six double-doubles, ranking third in the Southland Conference.
In his 13th season at the helm of the Ragin' Cajuns, Marlin's squad collected 26 wins – the second-highest single-season total in program history – and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in nine seasons. The Cajuns went 14-0 at the Cajundome and have won 15 straight home games overall. Marlin was a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award and the Hugh Durham Award, which is given to the nation's top mid-major coach.
Brown and Sharp were the top two vote getters on the five-man first team.
Joining them in the top tier are LSU-Shreveport guard Jalen Brooks, a first-team NAIA All-American who averaged 22.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game while leading the Pilots to the NAIA National Tournament; LSU senior forward KJ Williams, whose 583 points and 254 rebounds made him the seventh Tiger since the 1978-79 season to eclipse 575 points and 250 rebounds in a season; and Tulane sophomore guard Jalen Cook, a first-team NABC All-District pick who poured in 19.9 points per game for a Green Wave squad that enjoyed a six-win improvement from the 2021-22 season.
The second team features Southeastern guard Boogie Anderson (14.6 ppg, 4.4 apg, 3.8 rpg), Nicholls guard Caleb Huffman (16.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.1 spg), Loyola forward and second-team NAIA All-American Jalen Galloway (17.7 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 51.4 FG%), Grambling guard and Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year Cameron Christon (13 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.5 apg) and Northwestern State guard Ja'Monta Black (14.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 122 3-pointers).
The third team consists of New Orleans guard Jordan Johnson (18 ppg, 3.8 apg, 48.2 3-point FG%), Tulane forward Jaylen Forbes (18.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.9 spg), Xavier forward Xavier Reaves (13.2 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 2.3 spg), Centenary forward Seth Thomas (15.2 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.7 spg) and McNeese forward Christian Shumate (15.1 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 16 double-doubles).
2022-23 LSWA All-Louisiana Men's Basketball Teams
Player of the Year: Jordan Brown, F, UL Lafayette
Newcomer of the Year: DeMarcus Sharp, Northwestern State
Freshman of the Year: Jalen Hampton, Northwestern State
Coach of the Year: Bob Marlin, UL Lafayette
First Team
Jordan Brown, F, Jr., UL Lafayette, Roseville, California
19.3 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, Lou Henson National Mid-Major Player of the Year
DeMarcus Sharp, G, Sr., Northwestern State, Charleston, Missouri
19.5 points per game, 5.0 assists per game, Southland Conference Player of the Year
Jalen Brooks, G, Sr., LSU-Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana
22.5 points per game, 11.2 rebounds per game, NAIA All-American
KJ Williams, F, Sr., LSU, Cleveland, Mississippi
17.7 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game
Jalen Cook, G, So., Tulane, Walker, Louisiana
19.9 points per game, 4.9 assists per game, Two-Time American Athletic Conference Player of the Week
Second Team
Boogie Anderson, G, Gr., Southeastern, Chandler, Arizona
14.6 points per game, 4.4 assists per game, First-Team All-Southland Conference
Caleb Huffman, G, 5Y, Nicholls, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
16.5 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southland Conference
Jalen Galloway, F, Sr., Loyola, Meridian, Idaho
17.7 points per game, 7.6 rebounds per game, NAIA Second-Team All-American
Cameron Christon, G, Gr., Grambling, Allen, Texas
13.0 points per game, 5.4 rebounds per game, Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year
Ja'Monta Black, G, Sr., Northwestern State, Columbia, Missouri
15.4 points per game, 122 3-pointers made, Second-Team All-Southland Conference
Third Team
Jordan Johnson, G, Jr., New Orleans, Memphis, Tennessee
18 points per game, 48.2 3-point field goal percentage, First-Team NABC All-District 22
Jaylen Forbes, G, Jr., Tulane, Florence, Mississippi
18.5 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference
Xavier Reaves, F, Gr., Xavier, Burtonsville, Maryland
13.2 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game, Red River Athletic Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player
Seth Thomas, F, Sr., Centenary, Kilgore, Texas
15.2 points per game, 7.5 rebounds per game, First-Team All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Christian Shumate, F, So., McNeese, Chicago, Illinois
15.1 points per game, 9.7 rebounds per game, Second-Team All-Southland Conference
Honorable Mention (Appeared on at least 25 percent of ballots)
Isaiah Crawford, F, Jr., Louisiana Tech, Fort Worth, Texas
Kevin Cross, F, Jr., Tulane, Little Rock, Arkansas
Jalen Hampton, F, Fr., Northwestern State, St. Louis, Missouri
Bailey Hardy, G, Sr., Louisiana Christian, Lake Charles, Louisiana
Latrell Jones, G, 5Y, Nicholls, New Orleans, Louisiana
Greg Williams Jr, G, Sr., UL Lafayette, Lafayette, Louisiana
