Southland Conference Members Lead Nation in Both Offense and Defense

The statistical standard bearers are based in tongue-twister towns titled Natchitoches (La.) and Nacogdoches (Tex.). Northwestern State (La.) and Stephen F. Austin (Tex.), splitting Southland Conference regular-season and league tourney championships, are polar opposites in style as they lead the nation in team offense and defense, respectively. The only other time two members from the same league paced the country in those categories the same season was 1980-81 when PCAA (now Big West) affiliates UC Irvine (86.4 ppg) and Fresno State (50.7 ppg) finished atop the national rankings.

Stephen F. Austin, the nation's only school yielding fewer than 50 points per game, led the country in team defense two years ago under coach Danny Kaspar. On the other end of the point production spectrum, Northwestern State coach Mike McConathy has firsthand knowledge about scoring prowess, ranking among the nation's top scorers with Louisiana Tech in 1975-76 (15th with 24.7 ppg) and 1976-77 (7th with 27.5 ppg). He scored more than 40 points in each of two different games against Northwestern State as a senior after pouring in a school-record 47 against Lamar as a junior.

McConathy comes from a family with a hoop legacy. His father, Johnny, earned small-college All-American honors with the Demons in 1951 when he set a school single-season scoring record by averaging 21.6 ppg before competing in 11 games with the Milwaukee Hawks. Mike also has two uncles, George and Leslie, enshrined in the university's Graduate 'N' Club Hall of Fame in recognition of their basketball exploits in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

Mike was in the same graduating class at Tech with UC Riverside coach Jim Wooldridge and Texas-El Paso coach Tim Floyd, who played in only one varsity game for the Bulldogs. Floyd was McConathy's roommate.

McConathy coached Bossier Parish Community College (La.) for 16 seasons in the same gymnasium where he played in high school. He is one of the following 39 active coaches who were all-conference first-team selections in a Division I alliance:

Active Coach Current School Alma Mater Conference All-League Honors
Steve Alford New Mexico Indiana Big Ten 1984, 1986 and 1987 (1st); 1985 (2nd)
Jerome Allen Penn Penn Ivy League 1993 through 1995 (1st)
Tony Bennett Virginia Wisconsin-Green Bay Mid-Continent 1990 through 1992 (1st); 1989 (2nd)
Eddie Biedenbach UNC Asheville North Carolina State ACC 1966 and 1968 (1st)
Larry Brown Southern Methodist North Carolina ACC 1963 (1st); 1962 (2nd)
Milan Brown Holy Cross Howard University MEAC 1993 (1st)
Paul Courtney Cornell Bucknell Patriot League 1991 and 1992 (1st)
Gravelle Craig Bethune-Cookman Cleveland State Mid-Continent 1993 (1st); 1992 (2nd)
Johnny Dawkins Stanford Duke ACC 1985 and 1986 (1st); 1983 and 1984 (2nd)
Billy Donovan Florida Providence Big East 1987 (1st); 1986 (3rd)
Bryce Drew Valparaiso Valparaiso Mid-Continent 1996 through 1998 (1st); 1995 (2nd)
Geno Ford Bradley Ohio University Mid-American 1997 (1st); 1996 (2nd)
Fred Hoiberg Iowa State Iowa State Big Eight 1995 (1st); 1994 (2nd)
George Ivory Arkansas-Pine Bluff Mississippi Valley State SWAC 1987 (1st)
Lewis Jackson Alabama State Alabama State SWAC 1983 and 1984 (1st)
Sydney Johnson Fairfield Princeton Ivy League 1996 and 1997 (1st)
Andy Kennedy Mississippi UAB Sun Belt 1991 (1st); 1990 (2nd)
Lon Kruger Oklahoma Kansas State Big Eight 1973 and 1974 (1st); 1972 (2nd)
Larry Krystkowiak Utah Montana Big Sky 1984 through 1986 (1st)
Matt Langel Colgate Penn Ivy League 2000 (1st)
Jim Les UC Davis Bradley Missouri Valley 1986 (1st)
Danny Manning Tulsa Kansas Big Eight 1986 through 1988 (1st); 1985 (2nd)
Cuonzo Martin Tennessee Purdue Big Ten 1994 and 1995 (1st)
Ray McCallum Detroit Ball State Mid-American 1981 through 1983 (1st); 1980 (2nd)
Mike McConathy Northwestern State Louisiana Tech Southland 1976 and 1977 (1st); 1975 (2nd)
Chris Mooney Richmond Princeton Ivy League 1993 (1st); 1994 (2nd)
Stew Morrill Utah State Gonzaga Big Sky 1974 (1st)
Louis Orr Bowling Green State Syracuse Big East 1980 (1st)
Craig Robinson Oregon State Princeton Ivy League 1982 and 1983 (1st); 1981 (2nd)
Bennie Seltzer Samford Washington State Pacific-10 1993 (1st)
Dave Simmons McNeese State Louisiana Tech Southland 1981 (1st); 1979 and 1980 (2nd)
Marty Simmons Evansville Evansville Midwestern Collegiate 1987 and 1988 (1st)
Bob Thomason Pacific Pacific WCAC 1971 (1st)
Brooks Thompson Texas-San Antonio Oklahoma State Big Eight 1994 (1st)
Andy Toole Robert Morris Penn Ivy League 2002 (1st); 2003 (2nd)
Rex Walters San Francisco Kansas Big Eight 1992 and 1993 (1st)
Brian Wardle Green Bay Marquette C-USA 2001 (1st); 2000 (2nd)
Corliss Williamson Central Arkansas Arkansas SEC 1994 and 1995 (1st)
C.Y. Young Georgia Southern Georgia Southern Southern and TAAC 1994 (1st); 1992 and 1993 (2nd)

McConathy was a fourth-round NBA draft choice by the Chicago Bulls. Following is an alphabetical list of the 33 active DI coaches selected in an NBA draft (including 12 in the first or second round):

Division I Coach Current School NBA Team Draft Year Round
Steve Alford New Mexico Dallas Mavericks 1987 2nd
Jerome Allen Penn Minnesota Timberwolves 1995 2nd
Tommy Amaker Harvard Seattle SuperSonics 1987 3rd
Tony Benford North Texas Boston Celtics 1986 4th
Tony Bennett Virginia Charlotte Hornets 1992 2nd
Eddie Biedenbach UNC Asheville Los Angeles Lakers 1968 4th
Larry Brown Southern Methodist Baltimore Bullets 1963 7th
Johnny Dawkins Stanford San Antonio Spurs 1986 1st
Howie Dickenman Central Connecticut State Phoenix Suns 1969 17th
Jamie Dixon Pittsburgh Washington Bullets 1987 7th
Billy Donovan Florida Utah Jazz 1987 3rd
Bryce Drew Valparaiso Houston Rockets 1998 1st
Mark Gottfried North Carolina State Detroit Pistons 1987 7th
Fred Hoiberg Iowa State Indiana Pacers 1995 2nd
Lewis Jackson Alabama State Golden State Warriors 1984 3rd
Clemon Johnson Florida A&M Portland Trail Blazers 1978 2nd
Jeff Jones American University Indiana Pacers 1982 4th
Lon Kruger Oklahoma Atlanta Hawks 1974 9th
Larry Krystkowiak Utah Chicago Bulls 1986 2nd
Jim Larranaga Miami (Fla.) Detroit Pistons 1971 6th
Jim Les UC Davis Atlanta Hawks 1986 3rd
Danny Manning Tulsa Los Angeles Clippers 1988 1st
Cuonzo Martin Tennessee Atlanta Hawks 1995 2nd
Ray McCallum Detroit Indiana Pacers 1983 8th
Mike McConathy Northwestern State Chicago Bulls 1977 4th
Fran O'Hanlon Lafayette Philadelphia 76ers 1970 8th
Louis Orr Bowling Green Indiana Pacers 1980 2nd
Buzz Peterson UNC Wilmington Cleveland Cavaliers 1985 7th
Joseph Price Grambling State Washington Bullets 1986 7th
Oliver Purnell DePaul Milwaukee Bucks 1975 6th
Craig Robinson Oregon State Philadelphia 76ers 1983 4th
Lorenzo Romar Washington Golden State Warriors 1980 7th
Corliss Williamson Central Arkansas Sacramento Kings 1995 1st