Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns new head men’s basketball coach Quannas White certainly understands why critics doubt how realistic his dreams are for the program. After all, the Ragin’ Cajuns haven’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 1992.
The all-time high for average attendance in the Cajundome was 6,885 in the facility’s inaugural season of 1985-86. That figure hasn’t eclipsed 5,000 since the 2022-23 season.
Nevertheless, White isn’t buying those perceived limitations. He isn’t even entertaining them. “Yes, 13,000 is what’s going to be in that arena – absolutely,” White insisted. “We’ve got the talent to do it. Those guys are going to play extremely hard. I can feel the excitement.”
The 12,800-seat Cajundome ironically hasn’t been full since White and his St. Augustine Purple Knights defeated South Lafourche to win the Class 5A state championship in 1999.
So, as a player, he’s seen it with his own eyes. Now, as head coach, replicating that environment is on the first page of his playbook.
As for White’s aspirations to build his team into a national brand – well, he’s done that, too.
When he joined head coach Kelvin Sampson and Houston’s program in 2017, the Cougars were in a mid-major conference just three seasons removed from a 13-19, 4-14 campaign. This past season, Houston narrowly lost to Florida in the national championship game as a member of the Big 12. “It’s been done before,” White said. “We did some special things in what most people call a mid-major conference. It’s not about the name of the school. It’s about the people who are at the school that makes the difference.
“I’ve been a part of it. I’ve been a part of building something special. I’m big on ‘Why not?’ The only opinions that really matter to me are my coaching staff and the players that are in that room. As long as those guys believe, I believe it can happen, because it’s been done before.”
It certainly hasn’t taken White long to take the critical first steps in building his dream program in Lafayette.
With only three players returning from last year’s team, White already had three new players in the fold on the day he was announced as the Ragin’ Cajuns’ new coach in March. Within weeks, he had a full roster, including eight veterans from the transfer portal and four high school signees.
In White’s mind, his success in recruiting is simple.
“I’m very transparent,” he said. “I do not lie when it comes to recruiting. I think that’s how you get in to try to retain some of these guys. These guys want to be told the truth.”
The Cajuns added eight players from the transfer portal. That list includes 6-9 New Orleans native Todd Jones from Portland; 6-8 forward Dariyus Woodson from North Dakota; 6-2 guard Karris Bilal from Vanderbilt; 6-3 guard Jamyron Keller from Oklahoma State; 6-3 shooter De’Vion Lavergne from Purdue-Fort Wayne; 6-5 wing Dorian Finister from Sam Houston; 6-8 forward Sean Elkinton from Louisiana Tech; and 6-5 guard Jaxon Olvera of Pepperdine.
Two high school players also signed with the Cajuns. That group is led by 6-7 wing Joshua Lewis from Tampa, Florida. Lewis is believed to be the highest-rated player signed in the program’s history, as well as 6-1 guard Michael Collins from Pearland, Texas.
Before all the additions were even finalized, White’s father told everyone who would listen his son could recruit. “The relationships he has with players is very strong,” Clarence White III said. “He can reshape a person and develop them to be a great basketball player and a better person and that’s a blessing.”
As a veteran coming back closer to family from North Dakota, Woodson’s choice was easy. “Talking to coach (Quannas) White a lot, I loved his vision and my parents loved him and my grandma,” Woodson said. “He seemed like a very genuine person who I wanted to be around.”
As a veteran transfer coming off a turbulent season in Ruston, Elkinton was comforted by White’s words. “What drew me to the Cajuns was more or less knowing how Coach Q is a big character guy,” Elkinton said. “He surrounds himself with a staff that is considered his close family. They’re really here to help us as players and they’re very genuine. They’ll be here by our side. They’ll be hard on us, but at the same time, they’ll always be our biggest supporters.”
In White’s mind, that’s a promise he intends for his coaching staff to keep.
“Those kids are our lives and that’s the truth,” said White, who feels he can demand that because how close he is to his staff that includes his younger brother Josh and former coach and mentor Scott Raines.
“Those guys who are around me are loyal,” White said. “I think that’s very important. I’m not very big on being disingenuous. What you see with me is what you get, I’m for real. I’ve been knowing all of those guys on my staff.”
(Veteran sports journalist Kevin Foote, a UL Lafayette graduate, covers Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics for The Acadiana Advocate.)
