Wayne Sims, former LSU basketball star, passes away at 54
By Keith Farner
Published:
Wayne Sims, an LSU basketball standout who played for Dale Brown, passed away on Wednesday. He was 54.
LSU announced the tragic news and noted how Sims played alongside such players as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Vernel Singleton and Shaquille O’Neal as the Tigers appeared in the NCAA Tournament every year Sims played for LSU and won the SEC championship in 1991, his senior season.
Sims is in an elite category among LSU greats. He played in 117 games over 4 seasons with 74 starts and is one of 21 players at LSU to post 1,000 career points (1,107) and 500 rebounds (603). His best season was his sophomore season of 1988-89 when he started all 32 games and averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 rebounds.
His career high in points of 25 came against Vanderbilt in February 1988 and his high of 14 rebounds came against Ole Miss in March 1989. Sims’ 4 NCAA Tournament appearances makes him one of just 9 players in LSU history to appear in 4 NCAA events.
Wayne’s son Wayde, also played for 2 seasons for the Tigers before being tragically killed in an off-campus incident in the early morning hours before the opening of practice for the 2018-19 season. Wayne and his wife Fay set up the Wayde Sims Foundation which since Wayde’s death has raised considerable money for projects in the Baton Rouge area.
Friend. Father. Legend.
LSU Basketball extends its deepest condolences to the Sims family.
? https://t.co/X1EY2IU0VR pic.twitter.com/RX30CmTWCN
— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) April 12, 2023
Current LSU men’s basketball head coach Matt McMahon this past season posted a permanent tribute to the Sims family legacy on the balcony of the LSU men’s practice facility.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
