NEW ORLEANS – Former University of New Orleans men's basketball standouts Ledell Eackles and Bo McCalebb have earned the highest honor bestowed by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches: induction into the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame as members of the Class of 2025.
Eackles made 59 appearances for the University of New Orleans between 1986 and 1988 and scored 1,358 points – an average of 23 points per game. The Broadmoor High School product from Baton Rouge was named an honorable mention All-American – once by The Associated Press and once by United Press International following both of his seasons on the Lakefront.
Eackles was named All-American South first team twice, All-District three times (twice by the NABC, once by the USBWA) and All-Louisiana twice. He was also named Louisiana Player of the Year and Louisiana Newcomer of the Year in 1987, and American South Player of the Year in 1988.
He's currently third in scoring average in school history and tied for sixth all-time in career scoring at UNO with Tory Walker. His 45-point outburst against Florida International in 1988 is second only to Butch Webster's 49 for the most points scored by a Privateer in a single game, and his 25 points against BYU in the NCAA Tournament are the most scored by a Privateer in the NCAA tournament.
Eackles was taken 36
th overall by the Washington Bullets in the 1988 NBA draft – the eighth NBA draft pick in school history. He went on to play in 441 games over seven seasons for the Bullets and Miami Heat scoring 4,783 points.
What more can be said about Bo McCalebb? The O. Perry Walker High School graduate and New Orleans native rewrote both the Privateer and Sun Belt Conference record books during his time on the Lakefront. McCalebb played in 128 games between 2003 and 2008 – the most in program history until Troy Green passed him in 2021. During that stretch, Bo scored an incredible 2,679 points. That tally remains the UNO school record by almost 800 points, and the Sun Belt Conference record by more than 300 points.
Bo currently ranks No. 24 all-time on the NCAA Division I scoring charts and is one of just 34 to score 2,600-plus points in his career. Bo finished in the top 10 in the country in scoring average three times (fifth in 2004-05, sixth in 2006-07 and ninth in 2007-08) and led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring in three of his four healthy seasons. His 977 made field goals are the most in school and Sun Belt Conference history. He also ranks No. 5 in school history with 378 career assists.
Not just a star on the offensive end, McCalebb ended his career with 250 steals – the most in school history and the fourth most in Sun Belt Conference history. He is the only student-athlete in program history to be named conference Defensive Player of the Year, following his efforts in the 2007-08 season.
Bo was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American following the 2006-07 season and was named All-American by Mid-Major Madness/CollegeInsider.com following the 2007-08 season. In addition to four All-Sun Belt Conference selections, he was named Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year following the 2003-04 season, and Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year following the 2006-07 season.
McCalebb went on to have a decorated career in European basketball with time spent at Mersin BB, Partizan, Montepaschi Siena, Fenerbahçe Ulker, Bayern Munich, Limoges CSP, Gran Canaria and Zaragoza. He earned All-Euroleague status in 2010 and 2013 and won 13 combined league championships and cups between 2010 and 2016. He also led the Macedonian national team to the bronze medal game in EuroBasket 2011 and was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 21.4 points per game.
Eackles and McCalebb will join Wayne Cooper (1992), Ron Greene (1996), Ervin Johnson (1999), Wilbur Holland (2002), Butch Webster (2002), and Tim Floyd (2014) as former Privateers in the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Inductions will take place in conjunction with the LABC's 51st Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 3 at 6:00 p.m. at the Baton Rouge Marriott located at 5500 Hilton Ave. Tickets can be purchased at
labball.com for $30 and must be purchased by April 25.
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