re: Was Louisiana&#39;s greatest high school BB player

Posted by Hat Tricks

Member since Oct 2003

28636 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 6:48 am to Zach

quote:
rocell played against very weak competition in a small school classification. His mediocrity as a player is evidenced by the fact that no decent colleges wanted him.
Robert Parish played in the largest school classification and dominated. Every college in the US offered him a scholarship. The ABA also wanted him to sign right out of HS. When the NCAA put Centenary on probation they offered Parish the opportunity to transfer anywhere without losing a year. Bobby Knight begged him to come to Indiana (yep the team that went undefeated). Parish declined.

The Negreet tournament used to be a huge event back then. My old man tells me all the time about how these big schools, including Robert Parish and Woodlawn, came down to play in the Negreet tournament. Greg Procell and Ebarb sent their asses packing and back home.

Posted by cheapseat

Louisiana

Member since Mar 2004

6288 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 7:33 am to Old Smokey

quote:
Greg Procell

Yeah a small school legend, procell and tootsie Roll.

Posted by ike221

Loo A Vul

Member since Aug 2006

13710 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 7:38 am to Old Smokey

Bill Russell

If only he didn't move to Oakland

Posted by LongBonesJones

Member since Oct 2007

1735 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 8:53 am to jaybirdlsu

I don't know about anybody from before the 90s, but I played against Livingston and Earl (and Powell, several times in HS and AAU), and Livingston was a LOT better than Earl. He was so polished and so under control. He could do it all, and was classy as well. Earl was big and could dunk, but he was not as dominant. (I even D'd him up a couple times :)

I don't know where he falls in terms of stats, but Neil Reed out of East Jeff was a beast in those days as well. Went to Indiana and got abused by Knight, initially.

Posted by ulmtiger

Member since Jan 2008

1905 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 10:33 am to LongBonesJones

Mike sanders should be considered . He played many years in pros following success in College at UCLA. He beat Hi-C in one on one while in High School. Deridder was a power while he was in H.S.

Posted by AMS13

Louisiana

Member since Oct 2008

213 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 2:10 pm to ulmtiger

Randy Livingston was the man! But I do remember playing Lester Earl several times, he couldn't shoot but still was a beast. For any of you who played AAU ball in the mid to late 90's you may recall the Louisiana Breeze. They were coached by Sid Edwards. They ended up winning the AAU National Championship in Vegas. This team was absolutely loaded! Everyone on that team (13 players) signed D1 scholly. Lester Earl, Corey Powell, Tiger Womack, Kendrick Sprull (sp?), Derrick Jones. They were ridiculous. I wish I could remember who else was on that squad. I remember every time we played them or were in the same tournament the crowd was just full of scouts. It was really cool to watch them play, or to play against them, lol!

2 ...

Posted by River City Cop

Natchitoches La

Member since Dec 2004

69 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 2:52 pm to geauxjudge

Sabine Parish is indeed the hotbed of basketball in Louisiana - most of the schools are class C or B and do not play basketball.

Greg Procell is a legend there. There has never been anyone better.

The reason LSU doesn't look at Sabine Parish for recurits is because most of the kids are small in the 5-8 to 6-2 range and are not physically able to play basketball at the SEC level.

Posted by River City Cop

Natchitoches La

Member since Dec 2004

69 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 2:57 pm to River City Cop

Procell signed with the Ragin Cajuns out of high school there. At the time USL was a powerhouse and could easily defeat LSU. For whatever reason Greg transferred after two years to NSU in Natchitoches where he finished out his college career. He was an assistant coach at Natchitoches Central for a few years while he was waiting for his wife to graduate. He then coached at Huntington High School in Shreveport, became an assistant principal and later retired. Today he is working with his father-in-law selling oil field tools and is quite successful. I see Greg occassionally and he tells me he spends a lot of time playing golf with customers.

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Posted by River City Cop

Natchitoches La

Member since Dec 2004

69 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 2:59 pm to River City Cop

I go a long ways back when it comes to high school basketball in Louisiana. One of the best was Louis Dunbar from Webster High School. He was 6-10 and played guard at the University of Houston. Later Lou was the main attraction for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Posted by cheapseat

Louisiana

Member since Mar 2004

6288 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 3:11 pm to Old Smokey

Sparky Wade , not the best, just thought he should have his named mentioned though

Posted by pennysnturf

Baton Rouge

Member since Oct 2008

151 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 3:59 pm to cheapseat

Willis Reed, Elvin Hays, Robert Parish, Louis Dunbar, Karl Malone, Randy Livingston...these big men all came from a rather small geographical area along I 20 corridor.

Posted by bayareatiger

*Corndog West* Fremont, Cali

Member since Mar 2004

149 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 4:58 pm to pennysnturf

Randy Livingston hands down. He was not only a first team Parade All American in both '92 and '93, he was also Player of the Year both years as well. Not sure if anybody else has ever done that twice nationally. LHSAA All Americans

Posted by S

RIP Wayde

Member since Jan 2007

156245 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 5:01 pm to bayareatiger

if its coming down to the modern era between randy livingston and lester earl, its livingston by a mile

Posted by Zach

Gizmonic Institute

Member since May 2005

112786 posts

Posted on 1/4/09 at 5:08 pm to River City Cop

quote:
Procell signed with the Ragin Cajuns out of high school there. At the time USL was a powerhouse and could easily defeat LSU. For whatever reason Greg transferred after two years to NSU in Natchitoches

You are correct that USL was a national power in those days. The reason Procell transferred to NSU is because he wasn't good enough to play. BTW, I saw him play for NSU against Centenary. He was completely shut down. Too short, too slow.