Dwight "Bo" Lamar () - Louisiana Athletics Hall of Fame

Dwight "Bo" Lamar

Dwight “Bo” Lamar, who played a key role in Southwestern Louisiana’s jump from college division basketball to the big time.

The Cajuns already had a great senior guard in Marvin Winkler, who won Little All-America honors by averaging 25.6 points per game. But Lamar wasn’t far behind, averaging 22.8 to earn “Freshman of the Year” in the Gulf States Conference.

Three losses to North Louisiana opponents forced USL to share the GSC title with Louisiana Tech, a team built around 6-10 freshman Mike Green. The first one was at Ruston, where Green’s 20-footer from the corner gave Tech a 94-92 victory with two seconds remaining in overtime. Winkler scored 40 points and Lamar added 37 in that shootout.

The other two losses were USL’s last two games, 85-81 to Northwestern State at Lafayette’s Blackham Coliseum and 87-85 to Northeast Louisiana in Monroe. In that game, Roger Stockton’s fast break lay-up in the last 20 seconds forced the Cajuns to settle for a 16-10 record and share of the title with Tech.

The following year, Lamar didn’t have to share the spotlight with anybody and USL didn’t have to share the conference title. Lamar averaged 36 points per game to lead college division scorers and spark USL to a 25-4 record. The Cajuns were ranked No. 1 in college division basketball for much of the season, and finished third in the national playoffs.

A long-range bomber who considered himself open as soon as he crossed mid-court, Lamar set a school record with 62 points in a victory over Northeast Louisiana. He hit 26 of 48 field goal attempts that night, many of them from a range of 25 feet or more.

“If there had been a three-point shot in those days, he would’ve averaged 50 points a game,” head coach Beryl Shipley said.

The Cajuns moved into the university division in 1971-72 and Lamar led the to another 25-4 season, winning the national scoring championship with an average of 36.3 points per game. That made him the first player ever to win the college division scoring title one year and the university division title the next year. USL won a berth in the 24-team NCAA tournament and beat Marshall 112-101 in the first round.

In both of Lamar’s last two seasons, the Cajuns were ranked in the Top Ten in the final wire service polls—the best showing by a Louisiana team since the Bob Pettit Era at LSU in 1953-54.

As a senior in 1972-73, Lamar led USL back to the 24-team NCAA tournament and finished sixth in the nation in scoring.

Lamar’s career scoring average was 31.2 points per game, and he led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 90-23 record in those four seasons. Their record in his last three seasons was 74-13, bettered only by UCLA during that span.

After his college career, Lamar played with several teams in the American Basketball Association. He also played with Buffalo, Indiana and the Lakers in the National Basketball Association. He returned to the Lafayette area after his playing career ended, and provided color commentary for radio broadcasts of USL games.