Class of '26 Profile: Dewain Strother
By RAYMOND PARTSCH III
Special to the LSWA
If not for a determined crop-dusting principal, Dewain Strother would have likely spent
decades working in lumber mills, instead of becoming one of the winningest girls high
school basketball coaches in United States history.
Despite being an all-district guard at Plainview High School for Louisiana High School
Athletic Association Hall of Famer O.D. West and helping the Hornets claim the state
championship in 1965, Strother had no intentions of going to college.
Raised in the Rapides Parish woods west of Glenmora, Strother firmly believed he was
done with schooling upon graduation. Thankfully, Plainview principal Mike Irving had
other plans.
"I had been in school for 12 years. That was long enough,” recalled Strother.
During his senior year, Strother wanted to take shop class, but the school had him in
English 4. So Irving made him a deal. He could take shop class, but if he messed up,
then back to English he would go.
"I left school without permission one day," Strother said. "I think they were watching me
under a magnifying glass. I was put back in that English class. (Irving) then helped
register me for Northwestern State, flew me up there in his little four-seat Cessna plane
to take a test, and that is how I got up there."
That would set into motion a storied career, as Strother would lead Florien High School
to six state championships, five runner-up finishes, and 21 semifinal appearances. His
1,235 victories are the most by any girls basketball coach in state history, and the
second most in the nation.
"It ain't about me," Strother said. "It's about those girls on the floor. They put the work in. They bought into what they needed to do. All the players who have gone through my
program are successful. Nurses, police officers, teachers. I am amazed. I am just
amazed. They are successful in society."
Many will be in the audience watching Strother in the spotlight Saturday evening, June
27, culminating three days of activities celebrating him and the rest of the Louisiana
Sports Hall of Fame’s 12-person Class of 2026. For participation opportunities and more
information, visit LaSportsHall.com or call 318-238-4255.
"It is well deserved," said former longtime NSU women's coach James Smith. "I have
been hollering for a long time. It is really hard to believe. He can go back to the first
game he coached. He still has a scorebook. He still has every book. That's amazing to
me. He is a special coach and a good guy. He gave himself to Florien and girls
basketball for a long time."
Like many young boys in rural Rapides Parish during the 1950s and 60s, Strother fell in
love with basketball.
"I always loved the game of basketball," Strother said. "At home, when we finished our
chores, I would go outside and play basketball until mama hollered about supper."
That love would carry over as he would go to play for West at Plainview, first as a bench
player and then as the starting point guard. The lessons that he would utilize in his own
coaching career are rooted in the time spent in the small gymnasium at Plainview.
"He basically made sure that we were well-behaved kids, and made the grades, and in
the gym, he made sure we were fundamentally sound,” said Strother.
Those lessons were also done in a condensed amount of time, due to the school’s rural
location.
"We didn'tt practice after school," Strother said. "We had 30 minutes during gym to work
on fundamentals. We didn't have any way to get home if we practiced after school."
His on-court career came to a close upon graduation in 1968, but thanks to his principal,
he would return to the hardwood in a different capacity, but not before one more detour.
In 1970, Strother married and stepped away from his studies at NSU to provide for his
family. It didn’t take long to realize the plywood mill wasn’t for him after all.
"I realized that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in the mill," Strother said. "My
late wife, Charlotte, got a job at Ft. Polk, and her pay took care of everything. She said,
‘Go back and finish school.’ With her support, I went back."
After graduating with his bachelor's degree in 1974, Strother would be hired as an
elementary physical ed teacher at Florien, located roughly 40 miles southwest of
Natchitoches. He would keep books for the boys team before being asked to begin the
girls basketball program in the early 1980s.
It didn't take long for Strother to mold the Black Cats into one of the state's best
programs. In his second season, the team won the district championship, and then in
1986, they advanced to the semifinals, losing to Starks. Then came a state runner-up
finish in 1987 to Starks.
The girls at Florien had bought into his style of "90-foot basketball."
"The girls saw what we were doing," Strother said. "It was exciting. The goal for the next
year was to get back to state. We went back and made it to the finals. That started
everything for us."
"He was very intense at the time," said Florien coach Angela Anthony, who played for
Strother. "Kids nowadays could not have played for him. We had a good time, but we
took care of business. All the girls were 100 percent bought in, and our parents were
bought in."
The seeds had been planted for one of the greatest runs in girls' basketball history in
Louisiana.
Florien claimed its first state championship under Strother in 1989 by rolling Chatham,
but the next year lost the title game to Sabine Parish rival Zwolle, 47-35. That
championship loss would be the last one for more than a calendar year.
In 1990-91, Florien went 48-0, defeated Holden for the state crown, and was ranked No.
13 in the nation — the perfect season.
Florien would repeat in 1992 by beating Pitkin for the state title, then win the title again
in 1993 over Zwolle, and defeat Doyle for the crown in 1994.
In six years, Florien went to six consecutive title games, hoisting the title trophy five
times.
"It was amazing," said Strother's daughter, Jessica Caroline, who played for her dad.
"Florien, it was on the map. Everybody knew about Florien. Everybody knew Dad.
Everybody still knows Dad. They will say, 'he is so amazing, and I wish we had a coach
like him.'"
"They always had great players," James Smith said. "Dewain's kids were well coached.
You weren't getting kids who were raw and had to teach them everything. They were
disciplined and fundamentally sound. They had so many games and practices, and it
showed. They just wanted to win. No one intimidated them."
The key to Strother's coaching success was humility, as the coach never stopped trying
to learn and improve.
"After my first year as head coach, I thought I knew basketball, but I didn't," Strother
recalled. "You have to find out who the five best players are playing together, not the
five best overall. That summer, I went to Bobby Knight's coaching clinic. I wrote in pad
after pad of notes"
Strother added, "Anytime I got a chance, I went to clinics. Jody Conradt, Dean Smith,
Jim Calhoun, and Geno Auriemma. I have seen all of them and listened to them. I
educated myself on the game and never looked back."
"He was always wanting to learn something new," daughter Caroline said. "The coaches
these days are not like they used to be. Even through all of his fussing or screaming on
the floor, he was still teaching us something. You don't get that nowadays."
Strother retired after the 2022-23 season following a storied career filled with a gym full
of accomplishments and even more memories. The legendary coach imagined
spending his days playing golf, but that first year, he didn't play at all due to knee
replacement surgery. It didn't take long for him to have the coaching itch.
This past year, Strother returned to Florien to help his former player, turned assistant
coach and then head coach. The Black Cats won 18 games and earned a playoff berth.
"He came back with a vengeance," Anthony said. "He had rested up for two years, and he was raring to go. They (our girls) got something they weren't expecting to get."
"I truly enjoyed it," Strother said. "My whole demeanor had changed because I felt
useful again. It is great to be back."
Strother is back where he was destined to be -- on the hardwood of a small high school
gymnasium.
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