Early years Basketball began in 1923 with the founding of
South Park Junior College (renamed Lamar in 1932). In the early years the squad was hurt by a lack of common opponents and routinely had to play local high schools or city amateur teams. By 1931 the squad had been reduced to an intramural level. In 1946 the program was revived as Lamar entered the Southwestern Junior College Conference. The revived squad was an immediate success finishing 2nd with a 10–4 record by head coach
Dave Engman. The next year under the veteran coaching of
Elbert Pickell the 1947–1948 team pulled an enormous upset by capturing the state title with a 13–3 record. The following year the Cardinals continued to prosper under head coach
Thurman "Slue" Hull who complied 49–30 record at Lamar before being hired away by the
University of Texas. The following year the Cardinals began their transition to play against 4 year college competition with newly hired head coach Jack Martin.
Jack Martin years Jack Martin was the first head basketball coach for Lamar as a four-year college. He was also the longest serving head coach in Lamar's history. He came to Lamar after coaching three seasons at his alma mater,
Hardin-Simmons University. Martin began coaching the Cardinals as they entered the college division
Lone Star Conference in 1951. Martin coached
Billy Tubbs from 1955 to 1957, Tubbs would later become the first player or student to return and coach Lamar Basketball. In 1964 Lamar began its transition into division I and the
Southland Conference. Coach Martin's Cardinals won the Lone Star Conference title three seasons, the Southland Conference title two seasons, and competed in five NCAA College Division (now
NCAA Division II) tournaments. After the 1975–76 season, Coach Martin was replaced by one of his former players and former assistant coach, Billy Tubbs. The Cardinals compiled a 334–283 record under Martin. Martin coached one AP NCAA College Division All-American, Don Bryson (1965), and one AP NCAA Division I All-American, Earl Dow (1969). One of Coach Martin's players,
Luke Adams, was drafted by the NBA.
1968–69 Season The highlight of
Jack Martin's career would be his 1968–1969 squad that earned a #1 national ranking in the
Associated Press college division poll. Martin's squad that year won its first 15 games of the season against very strong competition. The Cardinals won their first game against
Pepperdine 65–64 then traveled to
Memphis and beat a strong
Memphis State team, 82–69. A week later, they quieted a stunned crowd in College Station's
G. Rollie White Coliseum by strumming
Southwest Conference champion
Texas A&M, 98–87. With the Cardinals sitting at 6–0 and sixth-ranked
University of Tulsa coming to town, most observers figured the good times were at an end. Instead, they kept rolling as Martin's flashy Cards decked Tulsa, 103–77. "Since we had gone 8–17 the previous season, what that team did to start that year has to be one of the greatest surprises ever in Lamar basketball, at least up until that point," said Joe Lee Smith, then LU's director of sports information. "They beat a good Pepperdine team and an outstanding Memphis State team to get started, then they beat Texas A&M on the road, which was totally unexpected. "Tulsa was ranked No. 6, but we kicked the dog out of them. That triggered a lot of national attention. It was the first year for us to be fully Division I, and after that win we started getting a few votes in the major college polls." After the Cardinals held off
Arkansas State 84–81 in
Jonesboro to tie the school record of 12-straight wins, they rose to No. 18 in the United Press International major college poll. They were the only team ranked in both polls. A few nights later, the prominent
Houston Cougars, who had been to the
Final Four the previous season, came to McDonald Gym. Coach Guy Lewis' Cougars had never lost to Lamar, up until this point. With 8:15 left in the game, the Cardinals trailed 56–44, but they rallied to go ahead 61–59 in the final minute. The Cougars scored in the final seconds, however, and the teams went into overtime tied at 61. The overflow throng in
McDonald Gym and those viewing the game by closed-circuit television in a nearby dining hall erupted into bedlam when forward Jim Nicholson stole the ball and went in for a layup seconds after the overtime tipoff. Then, spindly guard Earl Dow popped in a corner jumper to give the Cards a four-point lead, and they controlled the rest of overtime, winning 71–65. On a cold Feb. 1 night in Abilene, the record streak reached 15 games with an 85–72 victory over
Abilene Christian. Two nights later on "The Stage" in Arlington, it ended with a 76–71 loss to
Texas–Arlington.
Billy Tubbs years Coach Tubbs (1976–1980) was the first former player and alumnus to coach the Lamar men's basketball team. Tubbs led the Cardinals to their first NCAA
Division I basketball tournament in 1979. The tenth seeded Cardinals upset the number seven seed Detroit before falling to tournament champion Michigan State in the second round. The following year, the Cardinals under Coach Tubbs, had a
Cinderella story in the
1980 NCAA basketball tournament as a ten seed advancing to the Sweet 16. The Cardinals defeated number seven seed Weber State and number two seed Oregon State before falling to six seed Clemson. Coach Tubbs left the Cardinals after the 1979–1980 season to take the head basketball coach job at Oklahoma. During Tubbs's reign at Lamar he recruited one player,
Mike Olliver who would become an all-American for Lamar. One of Coach Tubbs' recruits,
Clarence Kea, was drafted by the NBA while Tubbs was still at Lamar. Three other Tubbs recruited players, Mike Olliver,
B. B. Davis, and
Alvin Brooks, were drafted the year following Tubbs' departure. The 1979 Cardinal Basketball team set records when it beat
Portland State University 141–84; at the time, that game set an NCAA record for points in a single game. During the game, Mike Olliver set the single game scoring record at Lamar with 50 points; that record stood until January 4, 2011. Coach Tubbs' Cardinals began the 80 game seventh longest NCAA home court winning streak (discussed below) winning the first 31 games.
Pat Foster years Pat Foster (1980–1986) was hired to replace Billy Tubbs. Foster came to Lamar as an assistant coach under
Eddie Sutton at
Arkansas. He continued Lamar's men's basketball success by leading the Cardinals to 3
Southland Conference titles and post season play each of the six years he was head coach at Lamar. Post-season included two (2)
NCAA Tournament appearances advancing to the second round in both. The Cardinals also participated in the
NIT four (4) times advancing to the second round once. The Cardinals won twenty (20) or more games five of Coach Foster's six seasons at Lamar. He coached one
All-American, two Southland Conference Players of the Year, two Southland Conference Newcomers of the Year, seven Southland Conference First Team selections and fifteen All-Southland Conference team selections. Not including three players recruited by Billy Tubbs' staff, five of Coach Foster's recruits were drafted by the NBA. Those players were Terry Long, Lamont Robinson, Tom Sewell, Jerry Everett, and Greg Anderson." Coach Foster's Cardinals continued the 80 game seventh longest NCAA home court winning streak (discussed below) with 49 consecutive home court wins. {{CBB Yearly Record Subhead|
Tom Abatemarco years Tom Abatemarco (1986–1988) was hired in 1986. He was previously an assistant coach for the
North Carolina State Wolfpack under
Jimmy Valvano serving there from 1982 to 1986. Coach Abatemarco's first season record as head coach at Lamar was a disappointing 14–15 (4–6 SLC). The next season saw a new conference and a better record. The Cardinals posted a 20–11 overall and a 5–5 conference record in the newly created
American South Conference. Abatemarco left Lamar after his second year accepting a head coaching position at
Drake University.
James Gulley played basketball for Lamar University for four seasons, including during the tenure of Abatemarco, graduating in 1988. In 1986–87 Gulley led the
Southland Conference with 288 rebounds and 9.9 rebounds per game. He played in 113 career games for the Cardinals, and scored 1,832 points (16.2 ppg), had 967 rebounds (8.6 rpg), and 719 field goals, each of which is third all-time in school history. {{CBB Yearly Record Subhead| {{CBB Yearly Record Subhead|
Tony Branch years Tony Branch (1988–1990), an assistant coach under Tom Abatemarco was named head coach in 1988. After two disappointing seasons, he was relieved of his duties at the end of the 1989–1990 season. Although the overall records were disappointing, Branch's teams had out of conference wins over
Tulsa,
Texas A&M, and
Rice.
Mike Newell years Mike Newell (1990–1993) was hired in 1990. He came to Lamar after serving as head coach at
University of Arkansas at Little Rock for six seasons taking the
UALR Trojans to post-season play five consecutive seasons. The Cardinals moved from the
American South Conference to the
Sun Belt Conference in Coach Newell's second season with the Cardinals. His overall record at Lamar was 42–44 (20–26 conference).
Grey Giovanine years Grey Giovanine (1993–1999), an assistant coach at
Wichita State, was hired to replace Mike Newell. The Cardinals competed as members of the
Sun Belt Conference his first five seasons at Lamar before returning to the
Southland Conference in his final season with the Cardinals. His overall record with the Cardinals was 80–85 (47–61 Conference). Out of conference highlights of his years at Lamar were wins over
Baylor and
LSU.
Mike Deane years Mike Deane (1999–2003) was hired in 1999. In his first year, he returned the Cardinals to the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Pat Foster era. The Cardinals played
Duke in the first round of the
2000 NCAA tournament.
Billy Tubbs return Billy Tubbs (2003–2006) returned to
Lamar University in 2002 as Athletics Director. In addition to Athletics Director, Tubbs returned as the Cardinals
basketball team head coach in 2003 following Mike Deane's reassignment. Tubbs' return was highly anticipated and increased attendance. He turned the program around from 10th place in 2003 to tied for 4th in 2006. In 2006 Coach Tubbs stepped down as head basketball coach to concentrate on the athletic director position. He was succeeded by assistant and
Lamar Alumnus Steve Roccaforte.
Steve Roccaforte years During the
Roccaforte era (2006–2011), Lamar Basketball Lamar had erratic success. The Cardinals had wins over major programs like the
Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2008. Coach Roc took the Cardinals to the East Division Championship and a 19 win season in 2007–2008. Following the SLC championship the Cardinals failed to reach the conference tournament for the next three seasons. Coach Roc's tenure at Lamar was marked by some successes and very highly ranked recruiting classes. As proof of coach Roccaforte's eye for talent, Mike James a coach Roccaforte recruit, scored 52 points in 28 minutes in a 114–62 win over Louisiana College. James's performance was the top single-game scoring performance of the 2011 NCAA basketball season.
Pat Knight years On April 5, 2011, Lamar University announced the hiring of
Pat Knight, as its new head men's basketball coach. In Knight's first season with the Cardinals he took them to their first 20 win season since Tom Abatemarco's 1988 squad finished 20–11. The
2011–2012 squad finished with a 20–11 regular season record and an 11–5 Southland Conference record, finishing in 3rd place. In the last game of the regular season, Lamar won at home over arch-rival
McNeese State. The head-to-head matchup clinched Lamar the Southland Conference East Division Championship. Lamar would go on to win the Southland Conference Championship and earn their first NCAA appearance since 2000. In the midst of the two worst seasons in Lamar's history and a 3–22 season during his third year at the helm, Pat Knight was relieved of his duties on February 16, 2014.
Tic Price years On February 16, 2014, Lamar University announced that
Tic Price would be interim head men's basketball coach. The Cardinals closed out the 2013–2014 with 1 win and 4 losses under Coach Price. On March 18, 2014,
Tic Price was named the Cardinals eleventh head basketball coach. In Tic Price's first full season as head coach of the Cardinals men's basketball team, the Cardinals had the 11th best turnaround in NCAA Division I men's basketball . The Cardinals improved from a record of 4–26 for the previous season to 15–15 record at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season. (Won/loss record reflects results of games through the 2020–21 season.) ==Coaches==