STM's Danny Broussard inducted into Louisiana’s Basketball Hall of Fame

LAFAYETTE - Deep down, St. Thomas More Catholic High School boys’ basketball coach Danny Broussard has always known he didn’t know it all.
That realization wouldn’t have surprised anyone when he first took over the Cougars’ program as an aspiring 23-year-old coach looking to make a name for himself.
But even 43 years later at 66, Broussard, who graduated Meaux High in the late 1970s, is still looking for any new angle that might help his team win another game.
Considering he’s won six state championships, had five state runner-up finishes, enjoyed 20 Top 28 appearances and 28 district titles and is the No. 5 all-time winningest boys’ basketball coach in the nation with 1,189 career wins, it’s safe to say his approach has worked.
Adding to that long list of credentials, Broussard will be recognized as this year’s recipient of the “Mr. Louisiana Basketball” award. This award is the most prestigious annual award given by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC). It is presented annually to someone who has made a significant, long-term contribution to the game of basketball at any level in the state of Louisiana. Broussard will receive the award during the LABC’s 52nd annual awards banquet on May 2 in Baton Rouge.
“People have asked me before why do I think it’s necessary to still go to clinics after all these years of being a coach,” Broussard said. “I do think it’s necessary. To me, if there’s one or two things I can learn from a clinic to help you win a game, then it’s worth it.”
“I’ve won two state championships on a single play that I learned at a clinic.”
In some ways, Broussard looks at his phone as a potential clinic.
“I’ll call Wesley (Cortese, assistant coach) or coach (Ryan) Welty and say, ‘Look at this play – maybe it’s a play that can work for us.’ We might be able to run a little different version of it, but you never know what you might learn that you can use in a game one day.”
Broussard said he’s motivated by the games he didn’t win as well.
“Yes, I’ve won over 1,000 games, but I’ve also lost a lot of games,” Broussard said. “I’m not stupid enough to think that I haven’t cost us wins at times because of things we didn’t do that we should have done.”
Indeed, Broussard’s legacy is a curious mixture of old-school fundamentals with appreciation of the past and the willingness to change with the times.
“I think the way he gets him to buy into one, playing defense and two, to block out and rebound,” said Eric Mouton, who played point guard on STM’s 1986 state championship club and later coached under Broussard with the Cougars.
Mouton, who later served as head coach at Vermilion Catholic and Ascension Episcopal, appreciated Broussard’s ability to get his kids to adhere to the fundamental skills.
”If you don’t block out, you really have no chance,” Mouton added. “Not every program can do it. I struggled to do it, but to get his players to play defense and to block out every single possession is what keeps you in games.”
“I think offense comes and goes, but you can always play defense and block out. I think they do that more than any other team and program around.”
Mouton is also an example of another change Broussard made during his career that paid big dividends.
“I always apologize to Kim (Broussard, current STM Athletic director and former boys’ basketball assistant coach),” Broussard said. “I still feel bad about it, because Kim was a great assistant coach, but I didn’t lean on him as much as I should have.”
“I was so young back then and trying to prove myself to everyone that was I worthy of that job that I tried to do too much.”
As he grew wiser, Broussard can tell you multiple times when he allowed his assistant coaches to call critical plays in playoff games to help his Cougars advance.
“We’re playing McKinley and they had a big 6-foot-9 kid,” Broussard remembered. “There’s five seconds left and I called a 3-point play, but then Eric said, ‘Coach, what about if back screen?’, so I called a timeout because it hit me that was the play we needed to run. It was a higher percentage shot for us.”
Mouton did it another time in a tournament in Florida that ended with a game-winning slam dunk on a backdoor lob play at the buzzer.
“Who ends the game on a dunk?” Broussard said. “The crowd went wild. I wouldn’t have called that play, but Eric did and we won.”
Another assistant coach Nick Cortese called “the slip play” and the Cougars got a layup at the buzzer to beat Dunham.
“That goes to show you that the spotlight might fall on me because I’m the head coach, but there’s so many flashlights behind me playing huge roles in all of those wins over the years.”
“I’m just glad I wasn’t so stubborn that I didn’t listen to those guys. Those are the plays that you never forget and they weren’t even me.”
In the 2024-25 season, the offense was limited, so instead the Cougars relied on a defense that set the school record for fewest points allowed at 41 a game and reached the state championship game.
That was largely because of a suggestion from assistant coach Wesley Cortese during summer basketball to play man-to-man exclusively for the summer, despite STM’s trademark defense being the 1-2-2 matchup zone.
“That defense ended up carrying all the way to the state finals,” Broussard said.
These days, the Cougars are running the fifth different offense since Broussard took over.
Another huge part of STM’s basketball program that’s undergone some changes over the years is the annual Sunkist Shootout played between Christmas and New Year’s Day each year.
“Rickey (Broussard), Charlie Moncla and Jim Champagne had the vision for the Sunkist,” Broussard said. “At the very beginning, they played the finals at Blackham (Coliseum). They had eight out-of-state teams and eight in-state teams.
“I kind of changed it up a little bit. I still have coaches from around the country call me and ask about coming to the Sunkist. I think it’s one of the best tournaments in the state and really in the country.”

Broussard said he regularly is called about several of the unique aspects of the Sunkist that others want to incorporate in their tournaments.

“Like, having an all-time Sunkist record book,” he said. “I’m not aware of any other tournament anywhere that has that feature that to me kind of makes the tournament even more special.”
There are some things that haven’t changed over Broussard’s career.
For one, he’s remained at St. Thomas More for 43 years.
“There was one year that was particularly frustrating with some outside stuff and I called about an opening at another school,” Broussard admitted. “Then I kind of caught myself and said, ‘What are you thinking? This is the place for you.’”
There was also a thought once about entering the collegiate level of coaching after his older brother Rickey left his position at Nicholls.
“I guess if some college program came to me and offered me $3 million, I’d have to think twice about it. But I’m just so happy here. St. Thomas More is where I need to be … this is the school I’ve invested so much into … until I retire.”
In addition to honoring Broussard, the May 2 awards banquet will include the induction of former Louisiana State University coach John Brady into the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame. There will also be recognition of Louisiana’s major college, small college, junior college and high school players and coaches of the year, along with the top pro player from the state. More information about the LABC can be obtained by visiting their website at www.labball.com