Hall of Fame
Louis Newsome, a standout on UNA men’s basketball teams in 1988-89, led the NCAA Division II in field goal percentage as a juniot in 1987-88, shooting an astounding 72.2 percent from the floor. He hit 192 of 256 shot attempts and his percentage still ranks as the 14th best single-season percentage in Division II history. Newsome finished second nationally in field goal percentage as a senior at 68.26 - just .07 behind the national leader that year. He made 157 of 230 shots as a senior.
Newsome set the all-time career field goal percentage mark in the Gulf South Conference at 70.3. That is also a UNA career record as he made 349 of 496 career attempts. Both records still stand 21 years later.
Newsome helped lead UNA to an NCAA South Regional Tournament berth as a junior in Bill Jones last season as head coach at UNA. That team was just 17-14 but stunned the GSC by winning the conference tournament and earning an automatic bid to the regional. A first-team All-GSC pick as a junior and senior and an All-South Region selection as a senior, Newsome led the team in scoring (417) and rebounding (217) in 1987-88. His top individual game was a 42-point outburst against Auburn-Montgomery in 1988. He also scored 31 against Jacksonville State in 1988.
A native of Cherokee, Ala., Newsome played professional baseball in the Atlanta Braves organization before coming to UNA to play his final two seasons of college basketball. He has been employed for the last 22 years at Robbins Tire and Rubber in the Shoals. He and his wife Michele have three daughters.
