LAKE CHARLES – The jersey numbers of McNeese basketball standouts John Rudd and Edmond Lawrence will forever hang in the rafters of McNeese's home venue when the Nos. 52 (Rudd) and 40 (Lawrence) will drop as Honored Numbers during halftime of the Cowboys' home finale against Nicholls on Saturday.
 
The two banners will hang beside the four numbers in Burton Coliseum that have previously been retired by the basketball program – Joe Dumars (4), Stan Kernan (25), Bill Reigel (33) and Frank Glenn (34).
 
All former players and staff of the Cowboy basketball program are invited to a reception to honor Rudd and Lawrence on Saturday in the Chalkley Room at Burton Coliseum beginning at approximately 1:45 or halftime of the women's game.
 
Rudd played for the Cowboys from 1975-78 and was inducted into the McNeese Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
 
The DeRidder native played on two 20-win seasons (20-7 in 76-77 and 20-8 in 77-78) and won two Southland Conference titles in 1975 and 1978. He earned first team all-conference honors in '77 and '78 and was a three-time conference rebounding champion. He finished his career as the second leading all-time rebounder in school history with 1,181 and an 11.6 average. He set a school record with a 13.7 average in 1976 and had a career single-game high of 26 boards against Rice. His single season and career rebounding averages (13.1) remain team records today.
 
The two-time McNeese MVP was named to the Southland Conference 1970s All-Decade Team two years ago.
 
He was the 10^th pick of the second round (32^nd pick overall) of the 1978 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.
 
Lawrence was the first big man to play for the Cowboys and during his career, held almost all of the school records. Standing 7-foot tall, the Lake Charles native, nicknamed "Big E" earned all-America, all-conference and all-Louisiana honors during his playing career from 1973-76.
 
He continues to hold the school career records in total rebounds (1,212), total blocked shots (311), blocked shots average (3.2) and single-season blocked shots record of 4.1 per game. He's also currently second in program history in total points scored (1,986) trailing only Dumars.
 
Lawrence produced the first-ever triple-double in McNeese history (25 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocked shots against Oklahoma College of Art in the 1973-74 season. He was named the tem MVP in 1976 and played on two 20-win teams (21-5 in '72-'73 and 20-5 in '73-'74) and won a conference title in 1975. The Cowboys posted a combined record of 73-29 in Lawrence's career, including a 30-game home court winning streak.
 
Like Rudd, Big E was named to the Southland Conference 1970s All-Decade Team.
 
He was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the fifth round (16^th pick, 84^th overall) of the 1976 NBA Draft but opted to join the Harlem Globetrotters out of college and spent his next two seasons touring with the world famous team. After two seasons with the Globetrotters, Lawrence signed on with Cleveland for one year and then over the course of 11 more years played for San Antonio and Detroit in the NBA, in the Continental Basketball League and overseas in the Philippines and Uruguay.
 
Lawrence, who was inducted into the McNeese Sports Hall of Fame in 1988, passed away last July after losing his battle with cancer.