Sugar Bowl

Centenary College Basketball

Robert Parish, the most heralded basketball player in Louisiana in 1975-76, was honored as the recipient of the James J. Corbett Memorial Award as the year’s outstanding college athlete.

James J. Corbett Awards

The 7-1 senior center of Centenary College of Shreveport closed out a brilliant career with the North Louisiana school by being named to several All-America teams, including first-team by The Sporting News and second-team by the Associated Press.
 
Parish, who prepped at Woodlawn High School of Shreveport, was presented the Corbett Award by Charles C. Zatarain, a charter member of the Sugar Bowl and the award committee’s chairman for 1976-77, at the Sugar Bowl’s premiere showing of the 1975 Alabama-Penn State 16 mm color film in the International Ballroom of the Internation Hotel.
 
Centenary’s all-time scoring leader, Parish led the Gents to a 22-5 season record, the best posted by a major independent school. He averaged 24.4 points per game and 18 rebounds per game, which was a national high for the 1975-76 season.
 
His statistics include .589 from the field, and .694 from the free throw line. He hit a season high of 36 points against Houston Baptist and was just as impressive in a 22-point, 10-of-12 showing against Nevada-Las Vegas.
 
More recently, the Centenary giant was voted “Player of the Year” among Louisiana’s collegiate cagers and was named to the All-Louisiana first team for the fourth year in a row, and a unanimous choice for the second time.
 
As center and captain of the 1975 USA Pan American basketball team, Parish scored 19 points in leading the Americans to the championship game victory over Cuba last year.
 
Previous winners of the Corbett Award, given in memory of the late LSU athletic director, and sponsored by the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association, are LSU quarterback Nelson Stokley in 1967, LSU cager Pete Maravich in 1968 and 1969, Tulane linebacker Rick Kingrea in 1970, Southern University hurdler Rodney Milburn in 1971 and 1973, LSU quarterback Bert Jones in 1972, and University of New Orleans pitcher Terry Kieffer in 1974.
 
Buddy Diliberto, sports director of WVUE-TV’s Channel 8, served as chairman of the Corbett Memorial Award selection committee for 1975-76, and at a recent meeting, Gene Mearns, executive sports editor of the New Orleans States-Item, was named to head up the 1976-77 group. Lloyd “Hap” Glaudi, sports director of WWL-TV’s Channel 4, will serve as vice-chairman.

[Reprinted from the 1976 Sugar Bowl History Book]