New Louisiana Coach Wants To Rebuild
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Consulting Writer
There was much said about Louisiana men’s basketball tradition and fan support Monday during an introductory press conference for newly-hired head coach Quannas White.
White, who will temporarily juggle his new duties with the Ragin’ Cajuns along with his current position as associate head coach for the No.1-NCAA Tournament-seeded University of Houston, told the large crowd in attendance that he feels the Louisiana men’s program can return to the prominence it once had.
“I’m a why not kind of guy, so I’m saying why not here?” White told his audience following his initial presentation by university officials.
White, who grew up in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward District playing pick-up basketball on the nearby public courts, said he anticipates his Cajuns’ basketball players competing with the same attitude that he developed in the neighborhood pick-up games.
Eventually White played high school basketball for St. Augustine High School under the Purple Knights legendary basketball coach Bernard Griffin.
“Growing up where I did, shaped who I am. You never lose that chip. You grow up with that chip on the shoulder. That’s the way I expect we will play the game (at Louisiana),” said White, during a series of media interviews following the press conference.
White is inheriting a Louisiana program which finished 12-21 overall and 8-10 in 2024-25 Sun Belt Conference games.
Bryan Maggard, Louisiana vice-president of intercollegiate athletics, fired head coach Bob Marlin just before Christmas Day and handed the team over to interim head coach Derek Zimmerman.
Marlin spent 14 ½ years as the Louisiana men’s basketball coach and finished his employment with the Cajuns as the Sun Belt Conference leader in total victories.
However attendance and spectators’ support for Louisiana men’s basketball had diminished over the past few seasons, while the Cajuns lost several key players to injuries and departures to other Division 1 programs.
White saluted the job Marlin did last year despite the roster depletions as well as the effort Zimmerman and his staff made in holding the program together.
It will now be his challenge, said White, to reestablish the program swagger that often led previous Cajuns’ men’s teams to win conference titles and appear in NCAA Tournament games.
“I hope you’re ready, Cajundome, because we want to be rocking and make that place the toughest place to play in the country,” White said.
White expects his team to play with what he described as high energy basketball.
“We are going to find players that compete on a national stage and not just in the Sun Belt. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I took this job. I’m Louisiana born and raised. This is personal for me. I’m coming back to Louisiana to win,” White noted.
Although White pointed out he wants to develop athletes who are proficient in the classroom, White said the NIL transfer portal will be open to help develop players who aspire to play NBA basketball.
White said he already has two Louisiana commitments. He met with the current roster on Sunday night and again on Monday afternoon, following his introduction.
Maggard said he was impressed with White in January when Maggard and his wife visited White and his family for dinner in Houston.
“(White) is a proven winner who has the ability to recruit and develop players. He’s also a fierce competitor,” Maggard added.
Maggard said he was contacted by a sports management agent representing White.
It was after that conversation Maggard said, that led him to discover that White was the top name among clients who were ready to become head coaches.
