Cajuns’ big man inks two-year deal with club

LAFAYETTE (ragincajuns.com) – Former Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball standout Shawn Long is headed to the NBA after signing a two-year partially guaranteed contract with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

Long, the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and honorable mention Associated Press All-American, led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring (18.9), rebounds (12.1) and blocked shots (1.8) as a senior in 2015-16.

The Morgan City, La., native finished as the all-time leading rebounder in both Ragin’ Cajuns and Sun Belt Conference history, pulling down 1,447 boards during his four-year career.

Long also finished third in school history, trailing Dwight “Bo” Lamar and Andrew Toney, in scoring with 2,342 points and was the Ragin’ Cajuns all-time leader in blocked shots (273), games started (131) and double-doubles (75). Long’s 75 double-doubles are the 12th-best total in NCAA history and he finished second in Sun Belt Conference history in both scoring and blocked shots.

His 411 rebounds recorded during the 2015-16 season tied former Ragin’ Cajuns great Roy Ebron (1971-72) for the second-best total in a single-season in school history.