Jackie Laird (2000) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Jackie Laird

Induction:
2000

Ask those who followed Southern Miss basketball in the early 1960s and they will tell you that Jackie Laird was that type of player and during his four-year career with the Golden Eagles he was the one his teammates looked to when the game was on the line.
Laird joined the Golden Eagles after a stellar career as an all-state player at Bassfield High School and a brief 6-month stint in the military. Joining the squad in December of the 1960-61 season he proved early in his career that he was “one of the finest shooters to appear on the Southern scene in some time". Perhaps the most highly recruited player in the state his senior year, he opted for Southern over Mississippi State
His freshman season at Southern saw Laird play in only 10 games on a veteran team that would finish the year at 23-3. That club won its first 11 games that year and 19 of its first 20.
He scored only 22 points for “The Golden Giants” that year, but made 9 of 13 field goals of 4 of 5 free throws and showed Coach Fred Lewis he had the ability to be one of the team’s finest shooters and scorers. What Lewis liked about Laird was his ability to find the open shot and coupled with a quick release, made him extremely difficult to stop. He had that confidence that ever shooter has, believing that every shot is going to go in and wanting the ball for that final shot as the clock ticks down.
At 6-foot, two and about 175 pounds, Laird possessed the versatility to play just about any position on the court.
Thanks to that ability Laird’s playing time increased in 1961-62 as he averaged 8.2 points and 5.0 rebounds a game. Again he proved to be one of the team’s best shooters both from the field and at free throw line.
By the time he was a junior Jackie had become one of the leaders of the Golden Eagle team and led the team in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds.
As a senior Jackie averaged a career best 15.4 points per game and 5.5 rebounds and went to the foul line nearly twice as much as anyone else on the team, 154 times, making 105. One of Jackie’s finest games that season was a 29-point effort in Jackson vs. Mississippi State, a 65-60 Southern victory.
Following his outstanding playing career at Southern Miss, Jackie turned his attention to coaching and over the next 30-years became one of the state’s most successful high school coaches. Coaching at Enterprise High School and Biloxi High School, he became one of the state’s winningiest coaches. At Biloxi High he captured back to back state championships in 1988-89 and 1989-90.