Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
2021-2022 Overall Rank: #72
Conference Rank: #3 Conference USA
Louisiana Tech has finished with at least 20 wins during five of the six seasons that Coach Eric Konkol has been leading the program. Last year the Bulldogs finished 24-8 overall and first in the Conference USA West Division. That resulted in a trip to the NIT where Louisiana Tech reached the semifinals and ended up in third place of the truncated tournament. A couple key contributors are gone, but four starters return and this group should be ready for another 20+ win season.
2020-21 Record: 24-8, 12-4
2020-21 Postseason: NIT
Coach: Eric Konkol
Coach Record: 129-65 at Louisiana Tech, 129-65 overall
Key Departed Players:
Kalob Ledoux, Guard, 11.6 ppg
JaColby Pemberton, Guard, 8.6 ppg
Andrew Gordon, Forward, 4.8 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Kenneth Lofton Jr, Sophomore, Guard, 12.1 ppg
Isaiah Crawford, Junior, Forward, 11.8 ppg
Amorie Archibald, Senior, Guard, 10.0 ppg
Cobe Williams, Junior, Guard, 8.6 ppg
Exavian Christon, Senior, Guard, 3.3 ppg
Kenny Hunter, Sophomore, Forward, 1.7 ppg
Stacey Thomas, Senior, Forward, 1.2 ppg
Key New Players:
Will Allen, Freshman, Forward
LaDamien Bradford, Sophomore, Guard, Transfer from Texas A&M
David Green, Sophomore, Forward, Transfer from Hofstra
Ben Ponder, Freshman, Guard
Kaleb Stewart, Freshman, Guard
Terran Williams, Freshman, Guard
Keaston Willis, Junior, Guard, Transfer from Incarnate Word
Projection:
Reigning C-USA Freshman of the Year Kenneth Lofton is coming of a season in which he led the Bulldogs with 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds. The 6-7 forward shot 56.7 percent from the floor and is very efficient in the paint. With a little more work on his free-throw shooting, Lofton will turn into an even more dangerous scorer. Fellow starting forward Isaiah Crawford added 11.8 points and 5.1 rebounds and connected on 38.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Amorie Archibald and Cobe Williams are capable outside shooters as well, but the team will miss top shooter Kalob Ledoux. Archibald and Williams are both good passers and combined to dish out 6.0 assists per game. A trio of transfers will help fill in around the four returning starters. Keaston Willis is the most experienced of the bunch. The guard was a two-year starter at Incarnate Word and averaged 18.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists last season. He will pick up the shooting slack left behind by Ledoux’s departure. David Green spent last season at Hofstra where he started eight games and LaDamien Bradford played in 14 games as a freshman at Texas A&M. Those transfers and a few freshmen, highlighted by point guard Kaleb Stewart, will give Louisiana Tech enough options to remain competitive in Conference USA and reach 20 wins yet again.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.1 (117th in nation, 6th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.4 (50, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.5 (142, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.3 (25, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.5 (143, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.4 (139, 6)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.1 (256, 11)
Rebound Margin: 3.2 (79, 3)
Assists Per Game: 13.1 (178, 8)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (148, 7)
