BATON ROUGE — Former LSU men’s basketball player Duane DeArmond, a member of the 1979 SEC Championship team, passed away in Houston, Texas late Saturday night following a lengthy illness.
DeArmond, 51, played for LSU from 1977-80 after starring at Redemptorist High School in his native Baton Rouge. He originally made the squad in 1977 as a walk-on and then was given a scholarship by Coach Dale Brown. He was one of Brown’s “reinforcements” as he referred to his bench and also was on the 1980 team that won LSU’s only SEC Tournament Championship.
“My heart is heavy with the loss of Duane,” Coach Brown said in a written statement. “I know no one who was not fond of him. He was an absolute delight to coach. He truly knew the meaning of friendship and love. He was very special and I will miss him immensely, he was a wonderful human being.”
DeArmond is survived by his wife Tory, and two children, Blake and Brant.
There will be a visitation on Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. at Klein Funeral Home, 16131 Champion Forest Drive, Klein, Texas. A celebration of life service follows there at 4 p.m. On Friday (Feb. 27), there will be a funeral mass celebrated at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church, 445 Marquette Avenue, in Baton Rouge.