JOURNAL SPORTS
Northwestern State standout and Captain Shreve product Kendal Coleman, Louisiana Tech’s Kenneth Lofton Jr. and Leondre Washington of LSUS all were in the 2021-22 All-Louisiana Collegiate Men’s Basketball Team chosen by the state’s sports writers and sports information directors, and recently posted by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Lofton was a repeat first-team selection after another dominant season for the Bulldogs. He entered the NBA Draft pool but was not selected, and he also entered the transfer portal. He remains on the Tech roster entering his junior season.
Coleman, a Shreveport native, transferred to LSU this spring where he’ll have three seasons of eligibility left following a breakout freshman season for Mike McConathy’s Demons.
Washington led the Pilots to an NAIA national tournament appearance and was an honorable mention selection on the All-Louisiana roster.
Coleman compiled 17 double-doubles to rank 10th nationally in the category, averaging a double-double with 15.4 points and 10.1 rebounds.
Sixteen of his double doubles came in the last 23 games with 12 of those coming against Southland Conference opponents, which propelled him to an All-SLC First Team nod. He was also voted to the All-Defense Team with a team-high 40 blocks with 30 steals.
Coleman was efficient offensively, shooting 55 percent from the field to rank 40th nationally.
Many of his most explosive offensive games occurred against high-major opponents. He scored at least 19 points against Oklahoma, SMU and Tulsa with double doubles against LSU and Texas A&M.
Coleman posted a career-high 25 points in a win over Incarnate Word.
Lofton averaged16.5 points per game (fifth most in Conference USA), having recorded 28 double-digit scoring games as well as 10 20-point performances while shooting 53.9 percent from the field (second best in Conference USA).
His top scoring games came in non-conference contests when he tallied a career-high 36 points at North Carolina State and followed that two games later with 31 points in a victory at Santa Clara. .
He also averaged a league-best 10.5 rebounds per game, which ranks 10th in the country. He totaled 17 double-doubles, eighth most in the country and the most by a Bulldog since Paul Millsap (2005-06).
Lofton ranked 20th in the country in player efficiency, and amassed 347 rebounds on the season, the 10th most in program history. He finished with the second-most assists (91) and steals (38) on the Tech team while also anchoring the squad with 24 blocks.
LSWA All-Louisiana Men’s Basketball Collegiate Teams
FIRST TEAM
Tari Eason, LSU
Jordan Brown, Louisiana-Lafayette
Kenneth Lofton, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Ty Gordon, Nicholls
Zach Wrightsil, Loyola
SECOND TEAM
Kae’Ron Baker, Louisiana Christian
Kendal Coleman, Northwestern State
Jalen Cook, Tulane
Darius Days, LSU
Troy Green, New Orleans
THIRD TEAM
Myles Burns, Loyola
Jaylen Forbes, Tulane
Jalyn Hinton, Southeastern
Andre Jones, ULM
Derek St. Hilaire, New Orleans
Honorable Mention
Gus Okafor, Southeastern
Makye Richard, Xavier
Leondre Washington, LSU Shreveport
Player of the Year – Tari Eason, LSU
Newcomer of the Year – Tari Eason, LSU
Freshman of the Year – Brandon Murray, LSU
Coach of the Year – Stacy Hollowell, Loyola (won NAIA national championship)
Photo by CHRIS REICH, Northwestern State