The Book: 2007-08 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

My thoughts on the game tonight:

The good: This team seems to have some chemistry, they are hustling on defense, and are extremely deep on numbers. We will have multiple options on offense to score and we are very athletic.

The not so good: We are still average at the point gaurd. We have no big man and very little presence inside. We don't seem to have identity on offense yet.

Most improved: 1. Tyren Johnson- much improved over last season. Last year he seemed unsure and weak. He seems to be more confident and stronger. 2. Willie Lago now has a decent outside shoot.

Pleasant surprise: 1. Chris Gradnigo looked much better tonight than the midnight madness scrimmage. He can play in the half court and create his own shoot. He scored 15 pts. tonight. 2. Brandon Dison can play some defense. He plays a little high, would like to see drop his behind a little, but will be our best perimerter defender. Dison can also rebound and he hit a couple mid range jumpers. Reminds me of Laurie Bridges.

Disappointment: Corey Bloom did not play as much as I expected and did not contribute much. I do expect him to play alot this season and be our biggest 3 pt. threat.

Injured: Maurice Barksdale and Randell Daigle both did not play but are expected to be back next week.

Redshirt: Most likely Travis Bureau (3 pt. and slam dunk champ), Stephan Dees, Sutton Yanosky, and some new local kid. Although much improved and will play this season, I believeTyren Johnson needs a redshirt year. Tyren has alot of potential and will be someone who will get better every year in the program.

Future Stars: Chris Gradnigo and La'Ryan Gary.

5 best players: 1. Dees 2. Millsap 3. Gary 4. Gradnigo 5. Dison

Pros: We were defending as soon as the opponent got the ball. We made free throws. The new court looks good. We got new Nike Uni's. The Dome Foam.

Cons: Didn't get to see Barksdale or Travis Bureau play. We didn't seem to guard the three ball very well but LC was shooting lights out. We are young. The spicy peanuts burned me up.

I thought I saw nike logos. What does that mean for the rest of the sports?

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&nbsp; UL's basketball team will have more athleticism and more weapons than last year's 9-21 squad. That was obvious Tuesday at the Cajundome.

Whether the Ragin' Cajuns can defend anyone is still undetermined.

The Cajuns used advantages in depth, quickness and firepower to eventually take a 95-81 victory over Louisiana College in the squad's annual exhibition contest. But Cajun head coach Robert Lee was less than happy with his team's defensive effort.

The NAIA Wildcats hit 11 3-pointers and shot over 61 percent as a team. That shooting kept LC within 10 points in the final four minutes.

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/SPORTS/711070320/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>

Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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"Our intrasquad scrimmages had been about 84 to 83, and we didn't know if it was because of good offense or bad defense," Lee said. "We saw tonight it was bad defense. We didn't have a scout report for an exhibition like this, but we didn't defend the way we'd practiced to defend."

The Wildcats made their first six 3-point tries and only missed 17 shots in the game. Ironically, UL's defense forced 28 turnovers and converted a lot of those into easy baskets on the other end. The Cajuns finished with 15 steals compared to only two for the visitors.

"I don't know if our kids ever really adjusted to their quickness," said Wildcat coach Eugene Rushing. "Their athleticism and quickness gave us a lot of trouble. And their depth ... they came at us in three waves, and it didn't look like they had a drop-off."

The Cajuns, aiming for their regular-season opener next Wednesday against North Alabama, had 11 players that played eight or more minutes and five players scored in double figures. Returning Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Elijah Millsap led that group with 19 points, 13 coming in the second half, while newcomers Chris Gradnigo and La'Ryan Gary had 15 and 14 points, respectively.

"We were able to run it pretty well," said Gradnigo, UL's most heralded freshman signee. "But our defense has to get better. We'll be better on the defensive side for North Alabama."

LC got 21 points from returning All-American Southwest Conference pick Josh Johnson, but sophomore guard Jeremy Hollier was the sparkplug with 19 points. Hollier hit three straight 3-pointers in a period of less than five minutes, the last of which tied the game for the final time at 32 with 6:35 left in the first half.

David Dees, UL's leading scorer (17.4) last season, had 10 points and he and Gary each had a game-high six rebounds. UL took a 26-21 board advantage in a game that didn't have a lot of missed shots.

"It was good that they (La. College) had some success offensively," Lee said. "Now that we've played somebody else, hopefully our guys will buy into what we're saying about playing defense now."





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Originally Posted by J-Town Cajun

The not so good: We are still average at the point gaurd. We have no big man and very little presence inside. We don't seem to have identity on offense yet.

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Does anyone else think that Randell Daige can be our true point guard? He handled the ball very well during Midnight Madness.

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Originally Posted by fiz

_ I thought I saw nike logos. What does that mean for the rest of the sports? _

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I don't know what it means for the rest of the sports becuase they have all pretty much been wearing different uni sponsors anyway: Mens basketball was wearing a brand that I had never heard of last year, Womens soccer and Volleyball wear Nike (I'm pretty sure), There were rumors of the Football team getting Adidas last year after the Houston win but they are still wearing Russel Athletic this season. I figure if Nike would be providing uni's for the entire sports program we would have heard something. So there's your fashion update (I hate that I know so much about uniforms)

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Originally Posted by RaginCajun08

_ Does anyone else think that Randell Daige can be our true point guard? He handled the ball very well during Midnight Madness. _

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I think once Barksdale is healthy (which he should be by next week, we will have a better half court offense. I heard Lee say he is the Sr. leader of this team.

I think this team will surprise alot of people this year. We are deep in talent and that will go a long way in the sunbelt. I think we will be able to tire teams out in the sunbelt. We can definately get up and down the floor. I see us having having trouble with no post presents but wilson and wallace should be able to handle that most of the time. Tennessee is a damn good team who we are built similar to. They are almost all guards and it seems to work for them. If we play good defense we have enough players to keep the intensity. It seemed we will be able to shoot free throws alot better than last year. I think dison will be our defensive specialist. Gary and milsap will be the most exciting to watch in my opinion. I was glad to see that Lee seems to have his "anger" under control. When things went wrong he seemed to coach the guys last night instead of screaming with frustration and that will go a long way. Overall i think we will have a much better year than expected.

I have to say I enjoyed the young and entergetic team we put on the court last night. The positives of the night would have to be Gradnigo being better than he looked in the scrimage and LaRyan Gary, who kinda reminds me of Brian Hamilton w/ a little more offense. I think Gary will be a beast for years to come. I agree that we looked somewhat weak at the point but like it was previously said, when Barksdale comesback he should be able to improve that area. Also, Daigles contribution will be a plus so I wouldn't say that's a negative just yet. Also, our increase in the overall size should create more rebounding opportunities for the team. I can see Milsap and Wallace getting a few boards but I think Gary, Gadnigo, Johnson and other tall new comers will contribute in that area. Oh yeah...and our new floor looked damn good and the bear tasted great!!!

Some of the negatives I say were, for one, our youth. We are going to make bad mistakes b/c of our lack of collegiate experience. We are young and you kinda have to asume that will happen. Our inside game will be a little week but at the same time, Milson and Wallace looked much improved. It's hard to imagine our rebounding stats going up without Adam James (just joking). I also, once again, am going to stress that David Dees needs to shoot more. He sometimes perfers to give the ball away when he has an open 3. I don't understand that b/c he's suck a good shooter. He's not the pointguard so he shouldn't be distributing the ball like one. Take the open shot!! Another negative would be that attendence was a little week but it's only and exhibition and hopefully that's the reason. Oh and our mascot still looks stupid....He had a football jersey on for a basketball game!!!

I also noticed that our banners for NCAA Tourney and Sunbelt Champs were empty (becuase of Orien and Tiras) I didn't really like that too much. Also behind the American Flag there are the flags of all the sunbelt schools hanging vertical and for some reason Monroe's flag is in the middle haning Horizontal. Just a few things I noticed last night.

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Originally Posted by CajunCanaille

_ I have to say I enjoyed the young and entergetic team we put on the court last night. The positives of the night would have to be Gradnigo being better than he looked in the scrimage and LaRyan Gary, who kinda reminds me of Brian Hamilton w/ a little more offense. I think Gary will be a beast for years to come. I agree that we looked somewhat weak at the point but like it was previously said, when Barksdale comesback he should be able to improve that area. Also, Daigles contribution will be a plus so I wouldn't say that's a negative just yet. Also, our increase in the overall size should create more rebounding opportunities for the team. I can see Milsap and Wallace getting a few boards but I think Gary, Gadnigo, Johnson and other tall new comers will contribute in that area. Oh yeah...and our new floor looked damn good and the bear tasted great!!!

Some of the negatives I say were, for one, our youth. We are going to make bad mistakes b/c of our lack of collegiate experience. We are young and you kinda have to asume that will happen. Our inside game will be a little week but at the same time, Milson and Wallace looked much improved. It's hard to imagine our rebounding stats going up without Adam James (just joking). I also, once again, am going to stress that David Dees needs to shoot more. He sometimes perfers to give the ball away when he has an open 3. I don't understand that b/c he's suck a good shooter. He's not the pointguard so he shouldn't be distributing the ball like one. Take the open shot!! Another negative would be that attendence was a little week but it's only and exhibition and hopefully that's the reason. Oh and our mascot still looks stupid....He had a football jersey on for a basketball game!!! _

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I disagree that our PG did not play well. Willie Lago had six assists. He broke the defense down several times with dribble penetration and passed off for easy shots. At times he made the pass that led to the pass for the open shot. He also had 12 points including a couple of threes. He did have too many palming calls. However I have seen games in which the same moves were not called. This particular set of officials may have just been a little stricter. We will have more depth at that position when Barksdale and Daigle come back from injuries. As far as attendance goes, it was over 3000. That is actually not bad for an exhibition.

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Originally Posted by ULtimateCajun

I also noticed that our banners for NCAA Tourney and Sunbelt Champs were empty (becuase of Orien and Tiras) I didn't really like that too much. Also behind the American Flag there are the flags of all the sunbelt schools hanging vertical and for some reason Monroe's flag is in the middle haning Horizontal. Just a few things I noticed last night.

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Tiras was clearly not to blame. His eligibility was not an issue.

But I wouldn't blame Orien either for the banners coming down. I blame the AD's office for failing to do things the right way in the first place.

Could we have won without Orien? We'll never know. But blame for the transcript issue lies squarely with the AD's office.

When I was talking about attendence, my main reason is the failure of the students to show up. And if I were a betting man I would have to say whatever attendance was reported was stretched out a bit. Just a hunch.

As for the blank banners, I noticed it too. I want them to leave them up there. Just so people know there was something there. Don't put anything else on that banner and just leave it blank. As for the person to blame for the empty banner I wouldn't blame the AD's office specifically. It was the responisibility of our former Compliance Officer to make sure that players meet eliglibility requirements. She failed to provide the coaches and players with the right information and later we were issued the violation. And if I'm not mistaken that position works at the university for the conference. She now works for either ALR or ASU now.

As for the guard position being that you picked out my comment to disagree with (jj). Like a few other people who have posted on here I don't think that Lago, while he did a so so job against Louisiana College, is ready to be a starting PG in D-I ball. He at sometimes tries to make more things happen than possible. There were a few times last night that he lost the ball b/c he moves faster that his tallent allows. Those may not have been turnovers b/c we recovered the ball but he did lose the ball a few times. He did the same thing last year. I think is tallented and will be a good fit for this team in the next 3 years but as of right now I don't think he's a starter. But hey, I would love for him to prove me wrong. His shot, however, did improve a lot.

I think it'd be cool if they would take the banners down, put the letters describing the accomplishments back on the banners. Then, get some paint that is slightly darker than the banner and paint the entire freaking thing. Then remove the accomplishments again, and put the banners up again.

last years basketball team wore Southern Bell uniforms.

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Originally Posted by AstroCajun

But I wouldn't blame Orien either for the banners coming down. I blame the AD's office for failing to do things the right way in the first place.

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The last person I would blame was Orien; he calmly sat out the openly public wait to become eligible.

I do not blame the former AD office; the methodology of Orien becoming eligible was an open book for any and all to see.

I blame the NCAA for having conflicting rules in separate locations of their cumbersome rule book.

I blame the current AD office for over compensating when OFFERING up on a silver platter their own preferred (used loosely) multiple forms of punishment.

jmo

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Originally Posted by Big Buds

_ last years basketball team wore Southern Bell uniforms. _

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They wore SPORTS BELLE uniforms, and they have been wearing them for at least the last 6 years. Southern Bell is a sandwich place.

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Originally Posted by CajunCanaille

When I was talking about attendence, my main reason is the failure of the students to show up. And if I were a betting man I would have to say whatever attendance was reported was stretched out a bit. Just a hunch.

As for the blank banners, I noticed it too. I want them to leave them up there. Just so people know there was something there. Don't put anything else on that banner and just leave it blank. As for the person to blame for the empty banner I wouldn't blame the AD's office specifically. It was the responisibility of our former Compliance Officer to make sure that players meet eliglibility requirements. She failed to provide the coaches and players with the right information and later we were issued the violation. And if I'm not mistaken that position works at the university for the conference. She now works for either ALR or ASU now.

As for the guard position being that you picked out my comment to disagree with (jj). Like a few other people who have posted on here I don't think that Lago, while he did a so so job against Louisiana College, is ready to be a starting PG in D-I ball. He at sometimes tries to make more things happen than possible. There were a few times last night that he lost the ball b/c he moves faster that his tallent allows. Those may not have been turnovers b/c we recovered the ball but he did lose the ball a few times. He did the same thing last year. I think is tallented and will be a good fit for this team in the next 3 years but as of right now I don't think he's a starter. But hey, I would love for him to prove me wrong. His shot, however, did improve a lot.

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We will have to agree to disagree about Willie ready to be a point guard. After all, the world would be boring if everyone saw things the same way. If you are right about him not yet being ready to run a D1 team this year, who do you think on our squad should start. Barksdale has not played college ball in almost two years and Daigle has not played any form of organized ball for almost two years and has yet to play a college game. If the other guys beat him out so be it, but it's too soon to make the change at this point. As far as other new guys go, Dison is likely to become our defensive stopper. I am sure he will play a lot against UNO as he may be the only one who can control Bo McCaleb.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

_ We will have to agree to disagree about Willie ready to be a point guard. After all, the world would be boring if everyone saw things the same way. If you are right about him not yet being ready to run a D1 team this year, who do you think on our squad should start. Barksdale has not played college ball in almost two years and Daigle has not played any form of organized ball for almost two years and has yet to play a college game. If the other guys beat him out so be it, but it's too soon to make the change at this point. As far as other new guys go, Dison is likely to become our defensive stopper. I am sure he will play a lot against UNO as he may be the only one who can control Bo McCaleb. _

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Jay made a good point yesterday. He says that we basically have 3 different PGs w/ 3 different playing styles. He sugested the perfect was to use them. If you want to control the game then play Barksdale. He's the smarter and better ball handler of the 3. If you want to push the ball up the court then use Lago. He's the fastest of the 3. If you want to put in another scorer then you put in Daigle.

As far as who I think should start.....I'd have to say Barksdale and I think Daigle will take over mid to late season. I would have to think that just cause Barksdale was injured last year doesn't mean he all of a sudden just sucks. But I would love for Lago to prove me wrong. I like the kid. He's quick and looks to be developing a shot. I just think he gets ahead of himself sometimes. Sure he made some good cuts and passes Tues. night but let's not forget that we played Louisiana College. If he learns to not always rush the ball up the court and force passes then he will start. One of the reasons for me saying that Barksdale will start is b/c Coach Lee always talks about how he's the leader of the team. Last time I checked you don't sit your captain/leader.

Either way.....I'm looking for an exciting season. This team has a lot of potential. Once we get past making those freshman mistakes this team WILL be good. Especially if we add those two big men next year.

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Originally Posted by andrepourciau

Does someone have a picture of our new court?

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No one brought a digital camera to the game and took a picture of the new court?

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Originally Posted by CajunCanaille

Jay made a good point yesterday. He says that we basically have 3 different PGs w/ 3 different playing styles. He sugested the perfect was to use them. If you want to control the game then play Barksdale. He's the smarter and better ball handler of the 3. If you want to push the ball up the court then use Lago. He's the fastest of the 3. If you want to put in another scorer then you put in Daigle.

As far as who I think should start.....I'd have to say Barksdale and I think Daigle will take over mid to late season. I would have to think that just cause Barksdale was injured last year doesn't mean he all of a sudden just sucks. But I would love for Lago to prove me wrong. I like the kid. He's quick and looks to be developing a shot. I just think he gets ahead of himself sometimes. Sure he made some good cuts and passes Tues. night but let's not forget that we played Louisiana College. If he learns to not always rush the ball up the court and force passes then he will start. One of the reasons for me saying that Barksdale will start is b/c Coach Lee always talks about how he's the leader of the team. Last time I checked you don't sit your captain/leader.

Either way.....I'm looking for an exciting season. This team has a lot of potential. Once we get past making those freshman mistakes this team WILL be good. Especially if we add those two big men next year.

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I understand your point about wanting your leader on the floor. However, what I have heard about Barksdale is that we want him to become our leader, not that he has developed into that role yet. I do agree that Jay's idea of how to use the three guys is what will happen. It really does not matter who starts.

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<center><b>Game Time: 7:05 p.m. CajunDome</b></center><table bgcolor=#eaeaea> <td> <font color=#000000> <blockquote> <p align=justify>
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The 96th season of Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball officially commences with its season opener against NCAA Division II member North Alabama (1-2) tonight.

• Tonight’s game marks the second-straight season that UL has opened up at home against an NCAA Division II member of the Gulf South Conference. Last season, Louisiana defeated Ouachita Baptist 76-68 in its 2006-07 season opener on Nov. 10, 2006.

• UL, which finished the 2006-07 regular season with a 9-21 record, has won six of its last 10 season openers and eight of its last nine home openers.

• North Alabama (1-2) enters tonight’s meeting with the Ragin’ Cajuns having lost two of its first three contests to open the season. Last weekend, UNA participated at the Disney Tip-Off Classic in Orlando, Fla., where it lost to Winona State (88-82) and Assumption (85-75) before defeating Philadelphia (90-62).

• Despite tonight’s game being the first meeting between the schools, UNA’s head coach is familiar face to Cajuns fans. Fifth-year head coach Bobby Champagne, a Lafayette native, makes his first trip back to Cajun Country since leaving UL after the 2000-01 season. Champagne spent four seasons on Louisiana’s men’s basketball coaching staff (1998-01). After leaving UL, Champagne served as an assistant coach at Georgia State (2001-02) and UTEP (2002-03) before taking over the North Alabama program prior to the 2003-04 season.

• Louisiana opens the regular season after having played only one exhibition contest. Last Tuesday, the Cajuns defeated Louisiana College 95-81 in front of over 3,000 fans at the CAJUNDOME. UL forced 28 LC turnovers, while shooting an impressive 65.5 percent from the floor.

• Five different players scored in double figures, including Elijah Millsap who led the team with 19 points and six assists. Chris Gradnigo chipped in 15 points, while La’Ryan Gary added 14 points and six boards.

<b>Wednesday Night Story Lines</b>
• North Alabama head coach Bobby Champagne returns to his hometown of Lafayette, La., tonight. Champagne was an assistant coach for the Ragin’ Cajuns from 1998-2001 and was a member of Louisiana’s last SBC championship squad in 2000.

• Louisiana has won eight of its last nine home openers at the CAJUNDOME. UL is 17-4 in home openers all-time at the CAJUNDOME.
• Since joining the Division I ranks in 1971-72, Louisiana is 27-7 in home openers.

• UL is 44-12 all-time against NCAA Division II opponents.

• Since the CAJUNDOME opened for the 1985-86 season, Louisiana is 23-1 against non-Division I opponents at home, winning the last 20 consecutive games. UL’s lone loss to a non-Division I school at home was Jan. 24, 1987, to Baptist College - an 85-81 defeat.

• Louisiana’s last loss to a non-Division I opponent came in a 92-86 defeat by Birmingham-Southern on Dec. 8, 2002, in Birmingham, Ala.


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I can't seem to find it :(

never mind, found it on espn internet feed (outta town)

God Bless

GEAUX UL !!!!!

I don't know, but I'm trying to watch the feed on ragincajuns.com and I can't see anything. It plays for a second and then freezes.