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The excitement that comes after victory can be easy to see when dealing with an emotional coach like Robert Lee. But when times get tough, that excitement is replaced by frustration.
That said, the fifth-year UL men's basketball coach finally got some relief with Tuesday's thrilling 79-75 overtime win against Oral Roberts at the Cajundome. The Cajuns (1-3) had opened the season with three disappointing losses while playing at less than full strength with two injured starters out and two transfers waiting to become eligible in mid-December.
"I'm excited for the players," Lee said, as a smile crept across his face. "You see the work that they're putting in and know how bad they want to taste victory.
"To finally find a way to win, it felt like a 300-pound gorilla has gotten off your back."
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20081127/SPORTS/811270323/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Joshua Parrott •
jparrott@theadvertiser.com • November 27, 2008
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Apparently, that same gorilla jumped off the back of UL forward Tyren Johnson. The junior scored a career-high 21 points and added six rebounds and three blocked shots in Tuesday's win.
"This is only the beginning," said Johnson, who put off getting a haircut until his first breakout game of the season. "We finally got that gorilla off our back."
The size of that gorilla had a lot to do with last season when UL shared the Sun Belt's West Division title with Arkansas-Little Rock. Four starters returned from that team, including junior guard Randell Daigle and sophomore guard Chris Gradnigo, as the Cajuns were picked in the preseason to finish third in the West this season.
There was enough talent back that UL could survive the first part of the season as two UNLV transfers - 6-foot-8 forward Lamar Roberson and 6-10 forward Emmanuel Adeife - sat out the fall semester per NCAA rules.
Then the bad news started to pour in.
Daigle, who led the team last season with 76 assists and 61 made 3-pointers, broke his right hand in UL's final preseason game on Nov. 11 against Texas-Tyler.
Two days later, Gradnigo was admitted to the hospital to treat a staph infection in his left elbow. Gradnigo, the team's leading scorer last season at 9.6 points per game and a preseason third team all-league selection, was released three days later.
After a 61-59 loss to Louisiana Tech in the Nov. 15 season opener, the Cajuns fell to Lamar, 78-68, on Nov. 18. Only nine scholarship players were scheduled for last weekend's trip to Utah Valley, but starting center Jeremy Barr missed Friday's early morning flight and practice later in the day. The junior, who spent one season at USC before transferring to Nebraska and San Jacinto College, was suspended for the first half of Saturday's 71-41 loss.
Another player, point guard Ryan McCoy, did not make the trip because of an ankle injury and an incident on the team bench during the Lamar loss. The junior, who signed with Tulsa out of high school before winning NJCAA national titles at Arkansas-Fort Smith and Midland College, had started the first two games of the season.
With Barr and McCoy back, the team now has 10 scholarship players - although junior guard Brandon Dison is playing on a bum ankle and junior forward Courtney Wallace was set to redshirt while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
"I think we've been dealing with it fine," Barr said of playing without Gradnigo, Barr, Roberson and Adeife. "When they come back to the team, it's going to add a lot more to the game, especially on defense.
"Offensively, those guys are really talented and can make shots."
Both Barr and McCoy made big shots in Tuesday's overtime period against Oral Roberts, combining for nine of UL's 13 points.
Barr, who had more fouls (four) than points (three) in regulation, hit two hook shots in the lane in the extra session and scored all seven of his points in the final nine minutes.
After making a reverse layup early in overtime, McCoy drilled a 3-pointer to turn a three-point game into a six-point cushion with 1:12 to go.
Other Cajuns made contributions in the win, too.
Sophomore Travis Bureau, who led the team in scoring in the first three games of the season, pitched in 18 points.
Junior Willie Lago had seven points and five assists in his second consecutive start at point guard. Dison had three steals in the final eight minutes of the first half, sparking a run that gave UL a 35-34 halftime lead. Lafayette native Colby Batiste, a junior forward from Laramie County College in Wyoming, was big on defense with three blocked shots.
The Cajuns will try to use that teamwork again on Tuesday night for a 7:15 game against longtime rival McNeese State, but the team will not be at full strength for another few weeks. Roberson and Adeife will be eligible after fall-semester grades are posted in mid-December. Gradnigo is expected to return around that time. Daigle will likely miss another month.
Still, Barr has big hopes for the future.
"Right now, about seven to 10 players play in the game," Barr said. "When we get everyone together, I'm sure we're going to be fully capable of winning plenty of games and getting to the NCAA tournament."
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