Athlete (1985-90) Kim Perrot

[USL]

WNBA and Lady Cajun superstar Kim Perrot.

[NewsCopy]

A committee made up of Nancy Lieberman, Nell Fortner of LA Tech, and LSU coach Sue Gunter. Have kindly listed Kim Perrot among the top 10 women to ever play basketball in the state of Louisiana.

[NewsCopy]

When you talk to former Louisiana Lady Cajun basketball players about their playing days, it's difficult not to hear the frustration and bitterness they have towards the university's administration.

And from talking to people on the outside looking in, it's a deserving reputation.

Most of those players feel that women during their time didn't get treated as fairly as the men. To see another example of that, one only needs to walk into the Cajundome and look up into the rafters.

Of the many things hanging way up there, you see Andrew Toney's No. 24, Bo Lamar's No. 10 and Marvin Winkler's No. 14, which reminds everyone that those jersey numbers are the only ones to be retired, according to university records.

But they forgot about one and can anyone guess what gender that retired jersey belongs to?

That's right, a woman.

During halftime of the Cajuns' game against Louisiana Tech back on Feb. 26, 1998, former Acadiana High and Houston Comets guard Kim Perrot had her No. 12 jersey officially retired by the university.

But how would anyone who wasn't at that game or a part of Perrot's family know that? Her jersey is not swaying in the Cajundome rafters besides the likes of Toney, Lamar and Winkler.

I'm sure that was just a seven-year oversight by the administration and now that it's been brought to its attention, the administration will do everything in its power to make it right.

The rest of the story

Eric Narcisse
enarcisse@theadvertiser.com

[cjr3888]

I agree that #12 should hang from the rafter in the Dome

[Turbine]

I overheard heard UL assistant Rosalynn Landes talking to Alfred Lamson about it last season.

Rosalynn Landes spent her own money to recognize UL and WNBA great Kim Perrot with a custom UL jersey.

Geaux to the Lady Cajun Games this fall to see the framed jersey.

Thanks Rosalynn Landes.

[gorcajun]

Rosalynn, thanks for honoring the one WNBA player this university has had.

However, it is SAD that a university does not have the foresight to properly honor a true star.

Yet, it is even sadder that someone has to out-of-pocket expense the memorial. This reminds me of the Yvette Girouard day of Regional Tournament games.

[cajuntrainer]

Everyone should commend Coach Landes for her hard work and dedication to the women's basketball program. One could not count how many hours she is at that gym doing a variety of things to make sure the team is ready to play. Not to mention the amount of her own money that she has put into the program. Turbine should show a picture of the women's locker room before Coach Landes arrived and what it is today. The student athletes now have better locker space, a tv to view game films and computers to aid the student athletes in their school work. She is a very great and special women. The women's basketball team is blessed to have her on their staff!!!!!

[1stTake]

Yesterday I heard Jay Walker call Blackham Coliseum the Pig Palace I thought it was Kim Perrot Palace. Where does he get pig from?

[Turbine]

Yesterday I heard Jay Walker call Blackham Coliseum the Pig Palace I thought it was Kim Perrot Palace. Where does he get pig from?

Are you sure it was Jay or a caller? I know a couple weeks back he called it "The Barn" I think from rodeo events held there. I get the drift that Jay is not a big fan of Blackham and looks forward to the return to CajunDome.

Before Jay started his barn dig I never hear it called anything besides Blackham Coliseum although I do like "Perrot Palace" once the LAdy Cajuns return.

[Tripple Threat]

Are you sure it was Jay or a caller? I know a couple weeks back he called it "The Barn" I think from rodeo events held there. I get the drift that Jay is not a big fan of Blackham and looks forward to the return to CajunDome.

Before Jay started his barn dig I never hear it called anything besides Blackham Coliseum although I do like "Perrot Palace" once the LAdy Cajuns return.

It was definitely Jay (he was questioned about it by a caller and was pretty rude with his reply)...His attitude is aggravating sometimes. Love him most of the time, but "if you have nothing good to say, don't say anything at all" (Grandma). Everyone has a right to say what is on their mind and yes, it is his show...but, I think that he brings attention to UL and to a small extent represents it. Whether or not he wants to giggle to himself about the reactions he gets from fans and relish pulling our strings, I would appreciate if he would keep those comments to himself. There are new fans in lafayette and some new non fans that are possibilities...It is quite possible that some will not going because of the rumored belief that Blackham is trash...

Believe it or not, there are those who may believe what they hear. There is a small measure of responsibility to those in the public eye......................

[NewsCopy]

The numbers are staggering, yet they don't begin to gauge the impact Kim Perrot had on those around her. Many of the records Perrot earned at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 1986-90 remain a quantum leap ahead of those chasing them. She led the nation in scoring in 1990 at 30 points per game, including one outburst of 58 points, and remains the school's career leader with 2,157 points. Perrot also left with 654 assists and 421 steals, leading her team in both areas in each of four years. She hustled for 553 rebounds and even paced the Cajuns one season despite her diminutive size. Perrot's No. 12 jersey is retired at the school, a fitting tribute to someone who remains the measuring stick for the program. As impressive as her numbers are, though, Perrot is most remembered for her low-key personality, her determination to play professionally and her courage in the face of cancer that took her life at age 32 in 1999. The rest of the story By Bruce Brown Louisiana Gannett News

[headragincajun]

_ _

Bruce:
Good job, Great Article on a GREAT PERSON. Everywhere I went as the UL coach, people wanted to know about Kim (I never knew her). The stories I heard about her were 100% POSITIVE and she deserves to have that jersey hanging in the cajundome (with all the great ones).

It is my understanding that she played in the cajundome (people can weigh in on that). If that is where she played then that is where the #12 should hang. I was sitting with the former coach from Southeastern Louisiana one night and he said "you know that Kim holds the record for the most points scored in a game at the cajundome don't you". I told him I did not know that and he said "Kim actually scored more in that game than what the media guide says". According to the visiting coach of that game, he says she scored more than what the record books actually say. I thought I would share that story with you. Turbine might can research it some way.
Former Headragincajun1

[Pirogue]

Former Headragincajun1 _

hOW ARE THEY TREATING YOU UP THERE?

[Turbine]

Hey coach nice to hear from you, hope you are doing fine.

Kim played at Blackham in 85-86 and the CajunDome from 86-87 through 89-90

It was the 89-90 season where it is said she scored 58 vs South Eastern, UL lost both games to SE that year.

I wonder if Kim sat out the game vs LA-Tech which was just 2 games before her scoring outburst. In that game UL only scored 35 points.

The media source may be the yearbook, it says Kim scored 58 points.

[NewsCopy]

Mattie Williams lives in Detroit now. But her memories of Kim Perrot remain fresh - both from her days as Perrot's girls basketball coach at Acadiana High School and from the times she was able to see Perrot play in the WNBA. "I think that it's wonderful that Kim Perrot is being featured," Williams said when told that Perrot will be inducted posthumously into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame this month. "Perhaps the word that pops foremost in my mind concerning Kim is tenacious. That attribute, coupled with her skills and a love of the game, made her a most formidable opponent. Kim played each game as though a championship were on the line. She practiced with the same enthusiasm that she played. "As a freshman, Kim was an outstanding player, and I remember arguing at our end-of-the-year meeting with the other coaches of the district that she should be MVP. It was their contention that though she certainly was a remarkable athlete, she was only a freshman and had time to 'grow' into MVP status. The rest of the story Bruce Brown

[NewsCopy]

The numbers are staggering, yet they don't begin to gauge the effect Kim Perrot had on those around her. Many of the records Perrot earned at UL from 1986-90 remain a quantum leap ahead of those chasing them. She led the nation in scoring in 1990 at 30 points per game, including one outburst of 58 points, and remains the school's career leader with 2,157 points. The 5-5, 130-pounder also left with 654 assists and 421 steals, leading her team in both areas in each of four years. She hustled for 553 rebounds and even paced the Cajuns one season despite her diminutive size. Perrot's No. 12 jersey is retired at the school, a fitting tribute to someone who remains the measuring stick for the program. The rest of the story Bruce Brown bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[AboveAverage]

I'm glad this recognition for Ms Perrott comes while the Ladies are on a winning streak.

[NewsCopy]

Kim Perrot was a fighter who didn't take being overlooked well. She fought to play with the boys on the basketball court when she was young. She fought to make teams because of her size -- 5 feet 5. She fought the fight of her life when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, succumbing at age 32. For her talent and her fight, she will be inducted posthumously into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. "Everything she set out to do, she did," said Loretta Perrot, Kim's sister. "She just had to achieve it if she set out to do it." Loretta and others got their first glimpse of the player -- and perhaps the person -- Kim would become in middle school. Tiny as a teardrop, she played basketball -- on the boys team. "Our brothers had her out there dribbling the basketball when she was 6 or 7," Loretta said. "She would literally get up at 6 or 6:30 a.m. so she could go play before school." There was no girls basketball team at Paul Breaux Middle School in Lafayette, so Perrot went out for the boys team. It was the first of a long list of teams she would make. Perrot was an outstanding AAU player during the summer and a high-scoring point guard for Acadiana during the school year. She attracted attention from big schools, but they went looking for the wrong person. Kim's full name was Kim Menard Perrot. For some reason, word got out that her name was Kim Menard. Coaches watching her play, including the soon-to-be-named Southwestern Louisiana coach Ross Cook, wrote down the name Kim Menard. The rest of the story By Billy Turner The Times Picayune bturner@timespicayune.com (985) 645-2847.

[NewsCopy]

NATCHITOCHES - It took the better part of two decades, and in a way it took a tragic end to a too-short life, but Kim Perrot's finally getting her due. The former Ragin' Cajun women's basketball standout and leading scorer in program history is among eight inductees here into the Louis-iana Sports Hall of Fame. The honor, which comes officially at tonight's 6 p.m. induction banquet at the Natchitoches Events Center, comes almost eight years after brain cancer took its inevitable toll in August of 1999. Voting for the Hall of Fame is handled by a 30-member committee of the Louis-iana Sports Writers Associa-tion, and her induction might have come earlier if the committee had listened to the women's coaches assembled here Friday. "Only those that knew her realize how much she deserves this," said former UL coach Ross Cook, who came in from his Idaho home for her induction. "I've never seen a more courageous battler, flying in the face of odds." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com