Five Former ASU Basketball Players Named to SLC All Decade Team

Courtesy Arkansas State University Athletics Department

JONESBORO, Ark. (2/28/13) – The Southland Conference has announced its All-Decade Men’s Basketball Team from the 1970s as part of its 50th Anniversary commemoration, and former A-State standouts John Belcher, Steve Brooks, Dan Henderson, Allan Pruett, and Don Scaife earned spots on the squad.

The team included 20 student-athletes with at least one player from seven different member institutions that competed during the 1970s.

Belcher, a native of Hot Springs, Ark., was named First Team All-Southland twice (1969-70 and 1970-71) and Second Team All-Southland once (1971-72). He is Arkansas State’s all-time career rebounds leader with 1,166 boards. Additionally, Belcher ranks first in career rebound average (12.4), fifth in points (1,544), and sixth in career field goal percentage (.583). He also led the nation in field goal percentage (.633) as a junior in 1970-71.

Brooks, a St. Louis, Mo. native, was named First Team All-Southland twice (1971-72 and 1973-74) and Second Team All-Southland once (1970-71). He is ninth on Arkansas State’s career scoring list with 1,371 points, sixth on the career rebounds list with 862 boards, and fifth on the career rebounding average list with 9.1 rebounds per game. Brooks was also the Southland Conference MVP and an Associated Press honorable-mention All-American for the 1973-74 season.

Henderson, a Memphis, Tenn. native, was a two time, First Team All-Southland selection (1975-76 and 1976-77) and Second Team All-Southland selection once (1974-75). He was the Southland Conference MVP in 1976-77 and is sixth in scoring (1,543), fourth in rebounding (910), and sixth in rebounding average (9.0) on A-State’s career lists. Henderson was named an Associated Press, Sporting News, Converse, and Basketball Weekly honorable-mention All-American for the 1976-77 season. He was also a Converse honorable-mention All-American the previous season in 1975-76. 

Pruett, a native of Rector, Ark., was a First Team All-Southland selection once (1970-71) and a Second Team All-Southland selection once (1969-70). Pruett was the co-MVP of the Southland conference in 1970-71 with a stat line of 19.5 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, 3.17 assists per game, and an .868 free throw percentage. Pruett owns the fourth highest free throw percentage in ASU history at .851. 

Scaife, a Helena, Ark. native, was a three time, First Team All-Southland selection (1972-73, 1973-74, and 1974-75). For his career at ASU, Scaife ranks fourth in total points (1,652) and second in scoring average (22.3). He owns the record for highest scoring average during a season with 27.1 points per game and second highest point total for a season with 678 points, both of which were achieved during the 1974-75 season. Scaife was a Sporting News and Converse honorable-mention selection for his stellar 1974-75 season.