2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 52
Photos by Savanna Orgeron
It’s hard to think about the LSU men’s basketball
program’s storied history without thinking of the legendary
former coach Dale Brown, and on Friday, Sept. 10, Brown
finally got the recognition many believed he deserved.
The LSU Board of Supervisors approved plans to name
LSU’s basketball court after Dale Brown. This decision
came after a 12-3 vote and years of debate over whether
Brown was deserving of this honor. Despite years of
controversy over the proposed plans, many people showed
their support for him, and ultimately, the name change was
approved.
One of the most local supporters of the name change was
Board of Supervisors member and former LSU basketball
player Collis Temple. Temple was the first Black player of
the program, and said that Brown played a huge part in
supporting Black collegiate athletes during his coaching
career.
“He changed the trajectory of the state of Louisiana and
the mindset of all stereotypical negatives,” Temple said.
Brown had always been a coach who did what was best
for his players, resulting in many of his former players
vouching for him to have the court renamed in his honor.
Alongside Temple, Durand “Rudy” Macklin, Ricky Blanton
and Jordy Hultberg were all former players of Brown who
publicly advocated for the name change before the vote and
ultimately made a huge impact in getting the name change
approved.
There was some pushback, however, as there were
some who believed that legendary former LSU women’s
basketball coach Sue Gunter, who has a statue inside
the Pete Maravich Assembly center, deserved to share
the recognition with Brown. Gunter coached the team
from 1982-2004 and led them to 14 NCAA Tournament
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appearances and a Final Four appearance in 2004. Multiple
board members pushed for the court to be named “GunterBrown Court,” but that idea fell through after a 12-3 vote
against the name.
Over the years there had also been plenty of hesitation
for the naming due to Brown’s history with the NCAA.
Brown had often been critical of the NCAA, and in
1998 LSU basketball was placed on probation over a claim
that an LSU assistant coach offered then-player Lester
Earl $5,000 while he was attending LSU. The claim came
from Earl himself and was never proven, leading many to
believe that the NCAA came down hard on Brown due to
his history with the NCAA. In 2007 Earl publicly admitted
that he lied about the claim and apologized to Brown which
helped clean his reputation. It was a step in the long process
of the ruling to rename the basketball court that was
approved last week.
For many reasons, it feels fitting that now is the time that
the great Dale Brown finally got his recognition in the form
of having the court named after him.
In a year where student athletes are finally able to profit
off their name, image and likeness, and off the back of a
year filled with nationwide protests of racial injustice, it is
fitting that a man like Dale Brown got the recognition that
many believed he should’ve received a long time ago.
There will always be debates over whether the process
was handled the right way, or whether other ways to honor
Brown could’ve been considered.
One thing that is for certain now, however, is that every
time an LSU basketball player steps on the court at the Pete
Maravich Assembly Center, there is forever a reminder of
who paved the way for them to be in that position.