LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — “I was in a swimming pool and almost drowned. Kevin Foote, who is a lifelong friend of mine, obviously you know Kevin. Kevin in his own right is a hall of famer. Kevin was on the phone and when he told me. I kind of was like, ‘Wow! Really? You know?'”

That was how St. Thomas More Boys Basketball Coach Danny Broussard reacted to being inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Although it was a surprise to coach Broussard, it certainty wasn’t for the people of Acadiana. Danny Broussard has built the St. Thomas More basketball program into a juggernaut over the past 40 years. Under his guidance the Cougars have made 20 appearances in the LHAA Final Four, and have captured six basketball state championships.

“I mean, I owe everything to them. I owe everything to the community, everything, you know, to the St Thomas More administration. I’ve been through eight principals, you know.” Broussard said. “I’m gonna tell you, every one of them kind of, I think, saw the vision we had and kind of supported what we had. Because you know they wanted to continue having success and in sports, you know, and so I had very successful administration behind me.”

Following a routine check-up with his doctor in December of 2023, Danny Broussard had to undergo triple bypass surgery. With the support of his family, Broussard made a full recovery from the operation. Coach Broussard understands that his basketball journey is closer to the end than the beginning, but it’s his love of the game and his players keeps him coming back for more.

“Sure, I’ve thought about a lot more. I start thinking to myself, man, you know, I’m getting up there in age and it’s going to come to an end. When? I don’t know, God has a plan for that” Broussard said. “You know, hopefully I’ll know when it’s my time to go out. But for right now my passion is still there. I’m loving it. We’ve been, you know, pretty successful the last two years, state runners-up. So, I think the future for three or four or five more years certainly is there. We’ll see, you know, but I am taking it year to year and see what happens. And hopefully my health can hold up and I keep winning. Once I start losing, I’m getting out.”

I asked Coach Broussard how he hopes to be remembered by the Acadiana community. His response was quite simple: He’s a good man with a big heart.

“I think just a guy that cared. Cared about his players, cared about his family. The biggest compliment I almost ever got was two things,” he said. “‘He’s one of the only coaches that can keep 15 players happy, and his players play hard for him.'”

He says his big heart to the reason his players continue to play hard for him and win games.

“I get asked that question a lot. ‘Why do your players play so hard for you?’ And I think because they know I care for them, and they want to give that back to me. That’s the only explanation I can give you that, you know, I got a big heart,” said Broussard. “God gave me a big heart. I care about people, and I care about my players and they’re all like sons to me. So, I think that’s the biggest thing that they take away from me is that, you know, Danny Broussard cared about is about his kids.”

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