Cousar signs with Livingstone basketball

LAURINBURG — Excitement filled the air on Wednesday with it being the last day of school for Scotland High students — but the day was more significant than that for Lamonte Cousar.

Cousar signed his national letter of intent to play college basketball at Livingstone College, an NCAA Division II school in Salisbury, during a ceremony held in the Scotland Media Center.

“First of all, I’d like to thank the man up above; nothing would be possible without him,” Cousar said. “When I was smaller, I didn’t think I’d be here right now. But I put all of the hard work in, dedicated myself to long days, working out in the gym, and it paid off eventually.”

His mom, Cathy Blue Cousar, and dad, Clifton Cousar, said they have seen how hard he’s worked to get to this point in his basketball career.

They both explained what it means for their son to play at the next level.

“We are very proud,” Cathy Blue Cousar said. “It means, for me, that we’ve made it, at least thus far. We do all things through Christ … but there is a lot of work and dedication put into Lamonte from elementary school through high school with Parks and Rec, to middle school, AAU; there was a lot of running (around). It took a lot of midnight oil for us as parents to burn, but we supported him, we pushed him, and now we’re here. Hard work pays off.”

“I’m very happy that he signed with this school,” Clifton Cousar said. “We had to burn the midnight oil till the end, then shuffling schools, trying to see which one he’d go to. We went to Livingstone for a visit; it was a very good visit. It’s a good school that Lamonte is going to. It’s just the beginning.”

Lamonte Cousar held other offers to play college basketball from Fayetteville Technical Community College, Brunswick Community College, Davidson-Davie Community College, Jefferson College, Kentucky Christian University, and St. Andrews University, but ultimately chose Livingstone because of his visit to the campus.

“When I first got on the campus, it felt like home,” Lamonte Cousar said. “Everybody was making me feel like I was at home, making me feel comfortable. So, I just decided to go there.”

Mike Hines, who is the head basketball coach of Hines Prep Academy in Charlotte, was a big part of Lamonte Cousar’s recruitment process and why he was able to get an offer from Livingstone.

“What I do is I help seniors and juniors get direct looks from coaches,” Hines said. “I use my connections and then I get them face to face; that’s how they end up getting these scholarships. It’s a simple process.”

“Coach Hines, he played a big role in (my recruitment); getting me, sending my film out, so special thanks to coach Hines,” Lamonte Cousar said.

During his senior season, Lamonte Cousar averaged 21.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game — both of which led the Scots; he was also second on the team with 1.1 blocks per game.

“It’s an honor to have coached him,” Scotland basketball coach Michael Malpass said. “He helped us go from the beginnings of something great to a great year this year. He’s remarkable; he’s a 1,000-point scorer, but more importantly, he has grown up in every way mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. And that’s what, as a papa coach, you’re proud of, cause he’s ready for life. We’ve won a lot of games and he’s helped do all those things and he’s gonna be rewarded playing college basketball. But he’s become a great young man who’s gonna be a great dad, a great husband, and that’s the most important thing.”

Lamonte Cousar will be a participant in the East-West All-Star men’s basketball game at the Greensboro Coliseum on July 17 for his final high school game.

He is the only Scotland basketball player this year that has signed to play collegiately.