Men’s Basketball: Elfrid Payton Named LABC Major College Player Of The Year

PAYTON NAMED LABC MAJOR COLLEGE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

 

BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns basketball player Elfrid Payton picked up another statewide honor when he was selected by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches as the recipient of the "Pete Maravich Memorial Award" as the Louisiana Major College Player of the Year for 2014.

 

The winner of the award is selected on an annual basis by the men’s college basketball coaches in the State of Louisiana. Payton, a Gretna native and three-year letterwinner for the Ragin’ Cajuns, will be presented the award at the LABC’s 40th Annual Awards Banquet on May 3 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Baton Rouge.

 

The statewide award is the second this month for Payton, who was voted as the Player of the Year by the Louisiana Sportswriters Association on April 12. He was honored earlier this month as the 2014 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the Lou Henson All-America Team. During the 2013-14 season, Payton earned first-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors and was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
 
As a junior, Payton averaged 19.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 2.3 steals per game in helping the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 23-12 record and their first berth to the NCAA Championships since 2005. Payton scored in double figures in 32 of 35 games played, including 14 games with 20 or more points and four 30-point performances. On the season, Payton attempted a school-record 302 free throws, breaking the previous mark of 273 set by Dean Church in 1964-65.

 

Payton led the Sun Belt Conference in steals for the second consecutive year, recording 80 and finishing with a school-record total to 197. He finished second on the team in rebounds (6.0) and was part of a defensive unit that led the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding margin and was second in steals.
 
He was one of 10 Division I players during the season to record a triple-double when he scored 34 points, with 11 rebounds and 11 assists at ULM. Payton scored 31 points in games against Houston and Western Kentucky and 32 against Oakland while posting six double-doubles, including games at Louisiana Tech and defending national champion Louisville.
 
Payton spent last summer as the starting point guard for Team USA at the FIBA U19 World Championship, helping the team to the gold medal. The John Ehret High product took part in a seven-game goodwill tour of China and the Far East with Reach USA, where he led the team in scoring in seven games.

 

During his career with the Ragin’ Cajuns, Payton finished 16th in school history in scoring (1,425 points) while grabbing 508 rebounds with 486 assists (fifth on the all-time list) and a school-record 197 steals. His 644 career free throw attempts were fourth in school history, trailing Bo Lamar (802, 1969-73), Tim Thompson (722, 1957-61) and Andrew Toney (690, 1976-80) – one of two players in school history to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.

 

– www.RaginCajuns.com –

 

 

—
Matt Sullivan
Sports Information Director
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Cox Communications Athletic Center
201 Reinhardt Drive
Lafayette, LA 70506-4297
Office – (337) 482-6330
Mobile – (985) 981-0009
Twitter – @MattSulli123