NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Louisiana of last decade
By Joey Loose
![Houston Cougars guard Quentin Grimes (24), Baylor Bears guard Jared Butler (12) and Baylor Bears guard Mark Vital (11) fight for a loose ball during the semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Mandatory Credit: Robert Scheer/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports Houston Cougars guard Quentin Grimes (24), Baylor Bears guard Jared Butler (12) and Baylor Bears guard Mark Vital (11) fight for a loose ball during the semifinals of the Final Four of the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Saturday, April 3, 2021, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. Mandatory Credit: Robert Scheer/IndyStar via USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/d7b17b6f78debf5f56a0adf93fd590737a402c01d0d606e1ceafb9ca1ecf085c.jpg)
Every March, the NCAA Basketball Tournament arrives and captivates the attention of a nation, perhaps even attention around the globe. In its current form, 68 teams watch their names get read on Selection Sunday and then battle it out over the next month, with just one team left to cut down the nets. But it’s not just those teams that witness the action, people around the world, both young and old, are awestruck watching March Madness unfold.
Our focus is more on those young folks. Today we’re continuing our long-running series that looks at the best college basketball players from each individual state across the last ten years. Long before some of these players were on campus and making memories for their schools they were just these young people watching the NCAA Tournament and hoping to have their own shining moments.
This is no different in the state of Louisiana, even if it seems like more of a football state with the Saints and LSU football seeming to dominate. We’ll be focusing closely on some of the absolute studs who have come out of this state in recent memory, and believe me that there are some big names in the recent game. This is not a piece about players who went to college in Louisiana but don’t worry LSU fans because you’ll see a familiar name or two today.
Moving forward, this article focuses on ten basketball players from the state of Louisiana, specifically ones whose hometowns are listed from the state. It feels like a broken record to say this, but these are not players who were just born there, nor is it based on where their high schools are located. Louisiana produced considerable talent and narrowing it down to ten players is never easy. Here’s the best of the last ten years provided from the Bayou State.