MONROE, La. – Dunham High School’s Carlos Stewart has been named Mr. Basketball in the state by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
The 6-foot-1 senior filled up the stat sheet all season long, averaging 32.1 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.8 steals. He also led The Dunham School Tigers to their second straight Division III select LHSAA title last month.
A Santa Clara signee, Stewart suffered a knee injury in January and his return to the lineup was not guaranteed. However, just 20 days and five games after surgery, he would return.
“After the surgery, I worked hard at rehab. The first practices I wasn’t sure about,” Stewart said. “Soon it felt good. The way I could run and jump…I knew I was OK.”
Stewart, who is also the LSWA’s two-time Class 2A Outstanding Player, also made a stout 85.7 percent of his free throws during the 2020-21 season.
This is the seventh straight year that someone from the Baton Rouge area has won the Louisiana Farm Bureau Insurance/LSWA Mr. Basketball award.
“He is just so special…certainly the best player I have ever coached and the best player this school has had,” Dunham coach Jonathan Pixley said. “There are a lot of guards who can score. But he is the most efficient high school guard I have ever seen in this state who has averaged 30 points a game.”
Stewart was also a stalwart on the defensive end of the court, typically drawing the other team’s top player.
“There is always something you need to improve on,” Stewart said. “If you are not working to make your game better, your game cannot evolve.”
