 He was also a three-time member of the SEC All-Tournament Team, the only player to earn such distinction prior to the tournament's suspension in 1953 (it was later resumed in 1979).Dean was the first LSU player to be selected in the NBA Draft, taken fourth overall by the Indianapolis Olympians in the 1952 NBA Draft.He instead chose to play for the Bartlesville Phillips 66ers of the National Industrial Basketball League.