LAKE CHARLES – McNeese senior guard Javohn Garcia and former head coach Will Wade have been named the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches (LABC) Major College Player of the Year and Major College Coach of the Year the organization announced on Wednesday.
 
The two will receive their respective awards at the LABC's 51^st annual awards banquet on May 3.
 
Garcia and Wade guided McNeese to a 28-7 overall record this past season that included the program's second consecutive Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships and NCAA Tournament berths along with the program's first-ever NCAA tourney win, a 69-67 victory over Clemson in the first round.
 
Garcia, who announced he's returning for another season with the Cowboys, was named the league's Player of the Year and SLC Tournament MVP after the Cowboys rolled to a 19-1 conference record.
 
Also named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award as the Mid-Major Player of the Year and second team NABC All-Gulf District honors, he led the Cowboys in scoring with a 12.6 average and with 54 total steals, was second with 68 assists, and turned the ball over just 32 times in 1,012 minutes played.
 
He recorded 10 or more points 24 times while appearing and starting in all 35 games, and scored 20 or more six times.
 
Wade earned SLC Coach of the Year honors for the second straight season and was named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award as the nation's top coach in the mid-major ranks.
 
After McNeese began the season 5-5, Wade rallied his troops to a 23-2 mark to close out the year, ending with a NCAA Tournament second round loss to Purdue.
 
Now the head coach at North Carolina State, Wade ended his McNeese career as the winningest coach in Southland Conference history in terms of winning percentage in league games only, recording a 40-2 record during that span.