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Robert Lee kept his opening statement short and blunt during Monday's weekly press conference, which came two days after Saturday's 71-41 loss for the UL men's basketball team at Utah Valley.
"It's pretty obvious that we didn't play well," said the fifth-year coach. "As a coaching staff, we have to find a way to get the group of guys that we have right now to be able to play better than we did on Saturday."
The Cajuns (0-3) have played short-handed all this season because of injuries. That trend will continue when Oral Roberts (1-2) comes to town at 7:05 tonight for a non-conference game at the Cajundome.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20081125/SPORTS/811250319/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Joshua Parrott •
jparrott@theadvertiser.com • November 25, 2008
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On Friday, UL's plane left for Utah with only eight players as starting center Jeremy Barr missed the early morning flight. The junior caught a later flight but did not make it to Utah in time for Friday's practice and was suspended for the first half of Saturday's loss.
The Cajuns were already without returning starters Randell Daigle (broken right hand) and Chris Gradnigo (staph infection in left elbow). Both players have yet to play this season.
Daigle's replacement, point guard Ryan McCoy, did not make the trip to Utah because of an ankle injury and stomach issues and a reported incident on the bench in the first half of last Tuesday's 78-68 loss to Lamar.
UL will get a chance to heal with only three games in the next 19 days. The Cajuns play six of their next seven games at home.
Barr, who was replaced in Saturday's starting lineup by sophomore Colby Batiste, will start tonight. McCoy, who practiced on Sunday and Monday, will also return.
But Lee remains unsure of his starting point guard .Willie Lago, a junior, started against Utah Valley but had six points and five turnovers. Utah Valley point guard Josh Olsen finished with a game-high 19 points and four assists.
Lago, McCoy and walk-ons Sutton Yanosky and Adrian Minor could possibly get the start, Lee said.
In three games this season, opposing guards have accounted for 109 of 210 points scored against UL. That's nearly 52 percent of opponent's points.
An inability to start the offense has the Cajuns shooting only 37.1 percent from the floor with 43 turnovers.
"Who will start at point guard is a toss-up," Lee said. "I'm not sure who is going to start. We have to be better defensively at the spot. We've played three games so far, and the opposing point guards have dominated us.
"Defensively, it's an issue. And offensively, we need to get better at that position."
When asked whether he would truly start a walk-on, Lee said: "Does it matter? We've started walk-ons before. It doesn't matter if you're a walk-on or a scholarship player. It's about production."
If the production does not improve, the Cajuns are looking at their first 0-4 start since 1996-97.
UL will eventually get some help, but not until mid-December. That's when UNLV transfers Lamar Roberson and Emmanuel Adeife will become eligible after fall-semester grades are posted.
Gradnigo is expected back around that same time. The sophomore guard led the team last season in scoring at 9.6 points per game. He was a third team preseason all-Sun Belt selection.
"Chris started back doing some light conditioning work, but he still has not been cleared to do any type of contact," Lee said. "Right now, I think our best-case scenario is going to be when Lamar and Emmanuel join us at the end of the semester."
Daigle is expected to miss another month with his injury.
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