Derek St. Hilaire returns to Privateers for 2021-22 season

NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans graduate student Derek St. Hilaire will return for his second season on the Lakefront. St. Hilaire averaged 12.3 points and shot 40.1 percent from three-point range with 2.6 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 25 games. Pursuing a masters in higher education, St. Hilaire chose to return to New Orleans after the NCAA’s decision to not charge a year of eligibility for the 2020-21 basketball season.

“Education is important to me and it is a goal to earn my masters,” said St. Hilaire. “I also believe our team has a serious chance of winning the Southland. We played a strong second half and have unfinished business. Our goal is to win a championship and I am excited for the opportunity to do that while also achieving my personal goals.”

“We are so excited to have Derek return for next season,” said head coach Mark Slessinger. “It was great to see his development progress through the year. He had a tremendous first season here at UNO. He has an elite work ethic and invests so many unseen hours that have led him to be in a position to have a great season next year.”

“Derek will be finishing his master’s degree in educational leadership in our acclaimed College of Education,” continued Slessinger. “He is driven to be a great student and prepare himself for life after professional basketball. On the court, he is driven to help lead our program back to the NCAA Tournament and March Madness.”

In league play, St. Hilaire posted 15.7 points and connected on 43.4 percent of his shots from long distance, good for second in the Southland. He scored 20+ points four times, including a career-high 33 and a highlight-reel dunk in a win versus McNeese (January 16). His 32 points and six triples against Nicholls earned the Atlanta native Southland Conference Player of the Week and he also won Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) Player of the Week.

He drained three or more triples 10 times, including seven in the win over the Cowboys, two shy of the program single-game record.

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