A playing career at Louisiana College was only a small start in J. Larry Ladner's impressive professional career as a coach and teacher of athletic administration.
A 1960 graduate of LC, Ladner played on the Wildcat varsity basketball team for two years and was coached by Dr. Harold Knight and Coach Billy Allgood. Ladner was also a member of the "L" Club and the Wildcat Club Alumni.
His coaching career began at Picayune Memorial High School in Picayune, Miss., in 1960. In his 11 years there, he accumulated a 253-82 win-loss record.
In 1960, he conducted the first high school basketball camp in Mississippi, and in 1966, he was the recipient of the "Young Educator of the Year" award presented by the Picayune Junior Chamber of Commerce and was selected as "Coach of the Year" in south Mississippi.
Ladner joined the staff of the University of Southern Mississippi in 1971 and worked at USM until his retirement in 1992. In 1973 he was selected as the "Excellence in Teaching" nominee for the Department of Athletic Administration and Coaching. He was their nominee in 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, and 1990. He received the award in 1974, 1976, and 1981.
He was honored as the Distinguished Professor of the Year at USM in 1986 and was a charter member to the Pearl River Community College Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. Ladner was inducted into the Mississippi Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in the summer of 1994.
The Wildcat Athletic Association proudly inducted J. Larry Ladner into the Louisiana College Sports Hall of Fame on February 21, 1997.
