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This is the kind of team that I like to see in any sport. The might not have the tallent to blow out everyone that is put in front of them. BUT they have the heart of Champions and will fight till the end. In my mind, win lose or draw that is all you can ask from any team.Quote:
Originally Posted by geo_cajun
There is plenty of talent on this team, it just needs maturation and time.Quote:
Originally Posted by RaginCajun08
You are 100% correct. I was mainly talking about the skill at this particular point in the season and earlier in the season. It is already obvious the maturity that this team is receiving is making them better every day. It will be fun to watch this team in 2 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cajun Express
We have a couple tough road games ahead of us at UALR & North Texas then a home game before Utah Valley State comes to the Cajundome. If we can run through that schedule without a loss or even 1 loss, Robert Lee could possibly get the 7,500+ crowd to show up for the Western Kentucky game on Jan 19th.
WOW! Ragin Cajun roller coasters are fun! ;)
I agree with you but I think we should start bringing in that type of crowd every home game, regardless if we win on this next road streak or not. People see that we have a talented yet young team that doesn't give up, plays hard and is exciting to watch. I would think that all cajun fans should be watching these games when they get the chance. I'd hate to see us lose a game or so and all of a sudden, we're putting 3,000 in the dome again.Quote:
Originally Posted by RaginCajun08
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Fourteen games into this basketball season, UL guard David Dees believes his Ragin' Cajuns have developed an identity.
"We get jumped on early, somehow we fight back into the game and find a way to compete," Dees said. "It's just been lately we've found a way to win and not just be competitive."
That scenario played out again Saturday as UL erased a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat New Orleans, 67-57, in a Sun Belt Conference thriller before 5,621 at the Cajundome.
Here's how the Ragin' Cajuns (7-7 overall, 4-0 SBC) won their fourth straight game to remain atop the SBC West Division: They took the lead twice in the final three minutes, but it was still a one-point game until sophomore Randell Daigle took control. He helped UL close the game on an 11-2 run, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the final 1:48.
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Joshua Parrott
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First, the Northside graduate hit back-to-back 3-pointers. Then he added four free throws after UNO's James Parlow was called for two technical fouls and ejected in the final minute.
"Randell is a guy who can really, really shoot the basketball," UL coach Robert Lee said. "Those were really big-time shots."
Daigle's steadiness with the ball also resulted in only five turnovers for UL in the second half. But he wasn't the only reason the Cajuns improved to 4-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
UL's bench outscored UNO, 41-0, as all seven reserves chipped in at least two points apiece. Senior David Dees came up big for the second straight game, scoring a team-high 14 points.
Sophomore Corey Bloom, who hadn't played in two of the previous three games, hit two huge 3s in the second half and added eight points.
Freshman Travis Bureau hammered home an acrobatic dunk off Daigle's alley-oop pass with 15 minutes left to rock UL's largest home crowd in nearly three years.
Sophomore Courtney Wallace played big in the post, tying his career high with a game-high nine rebounds. His presence helped the Cajuns outrebound UNO by 13.
"We had some guys step up and make some big shots," Dees said. "Randell made some. Corey made some. Courtney made some plays. I made some plays."
UL also played some strong defense during crunch time on UNO's Bo McCalebb, the conference's second-leading career scorer. The preseason conference player of the year finished with a game-high 26 points - his second-highest scoring night of the season - but missed 11-of-18 shots.
Dees and sophomores Brandon Dison and Elijah Millsap took turns covering McCalebb, who failed to make a shot from the floor in the final 10 minutes.
With McCalebb struggling and the crowd rocking, UNO shot only 25.9 percent in the second half - a drastic change for the conference's best shooting team.
In contrast, UL didn't look like the conference's worst-shooting team, making 50 percent of its shots in the final 20 minutes. The Cajuns drained 5-of-11 3s in the second half to ice the game.
"The crowd was into it, our team was into it, and our coaches were into it," Bloom said. "It's just good to have Ragin' Cajun basketball back. We're giving people a good show.
"We're giving people what they want, and that's us getting wins."
It was mass hysteria after the game as the Cajuns celebrated with their home crowd. UL, which opened the season 1-6, celebrated like a team that has won six of its last seven despite having the nation's third-youngest roster.
Millsap came off the court doing a handstand.
Lee marched into the crowd and led the school's fight song.
Dison and Dees - among others - jumped up on the scorer's table, pointing to the crowd and thanking them for their support.
Fans lined the court - some staying for nearly 30 minutes after the game - to get autographs from their red-hot Cajuns.
"I was loving it," Wallace said of Saturday's atmosphere. "Everybody's excited. Everybody's playing hard and hustling. That's what we need to do to win."
Now the Cajuns hit the road for conference games at Arkansas-Little Rock on Thursday and at North Texas on Saturday. They return home to the Cajundome on Jan. 15 to play Utah Valley State before taking on preseason SBC East Division favorite Western Kentucky on Jan. 19.
The confidence missing earlier this season has finally arrived, Bloom said, as UL is .500 for the first time in three years.
"We feel like teams have to respect us now," said Bloom, whose Cajuns were picked to finish fifth in the SBC West Division. "At the beginning of the season we didn't have that confidence within ourselves. But we just stuck together as a team and continued to work hard. Now we feel like we can win."
But this project is far from complete.
"It's never been easy for us all season," Dees said. "It's a work in progress."
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Randell Daigle has made at least one three-pointer in 12 straight games.
Game Night Story Lines: Three weeks after starting the season five games below .500, Louisiana (7-7, 4-0) is now atop the Sun Belt Conference West Division standings, one and a half games ahead of Thursday’s opponent, the UALR Trojans (10-4, 2-1)...
The Cajuns have won six of their last seven games, including a solid 3-0 start to the conference schedule at home...
UALR is 7-1 at home in the Jack Stephens Center this season, winning the last six contests. However, after a 9-1 start, the Trojans have struggled of late, losing three of their last four...
Since Louisiana pulled out a stunning 68-67 victory on the road against the ULM Warhawks on Dec. 16, the Cajuns have won their last three SBC games by an average of 13 points...
Louisiana’s successes during its four-game winning streak have been in part to the play of its "Big Four" - Randell Daigle, Chris Gradnigo, Travis Bureau and La’Ryan Gary. The foursome is averaging 40.3 of Louisiana’s 73.2 points per game during the four-game stretch...Randell Daigle is the only player to average double digits during Louisiana’s four-game win streak, pouring in 12.5 points per game, while shooting 52 percent from three-point range (13-of-25)...
Louisiana’s non-starters have contributed to the Cajuns’ turnaround, as well. In Saturday’s 10-point win over New Orleans, the reserves out-scored the Privateers’ non-starters 41-0...
Randell Daigle has made at least one three-point field in 12 consecutive games, including three or more in the last four contests...
Entering Saturday’s game with UNO, Chris Gradnigo was the only Cajun to have made at least one field goal in every game this season. However, his streak ended vs. New Orleans, as the freshman went 0-for-5 from the field.
UALR Preview. UALR enters Thursday’s contest with a 7-1 home court record; however, the Trojans have lost three of their last four games - all on the road. Saturday, Arkansas State opened the second half on a 23-2 run on its way to a 77-62 win over the UALR Trojans...
The Indians trailed 30-29 at the break, but scored 14 unanswered points at the start of the second half, which quickly built to a 23-2 run over the first 7:16 to take a 52-32 lead. UALR never recovered from its 20-point deficit, as the Indians shot 66.7 percent over the final 20 minutes, while holding the Trojans to a meager 9-of-30 showing (30.0 percent)...
Prior to Saturday’s meltdown, the Trojans easily defeated UNO 84-75, handing the Privateers their first conference loss of the season...
UALR, which is averaging 68.4 points per game through the first 14 contests of the season, are holding opponents to under 60 points per game (59.8). The Trojans are shooting 42.7 percent from the field, while their opponents are shooting just 38.3 percent.
After the UALR game...Louisiana will head west to face another West Division foe in defending Sun Belt tournament champion and NCAA participant North Texas Saturday, Jan. 12, in Denton.
A Win by Louisiana...would give the Ragin’ Cajuns their fourth 5-0 start in Sun Belt Conference play in conference history. It would also be Louisiana’s first 2-0 SBC start on the road since the 1999-2000 season when the Cajuns won their first five SBC road games.
A Loss by Louisiana...would drop the Cajuns to 4-1 in the Sun Belt West Division and snap Louisiana’s four-game winning streak.
Second-Half Comeback. Saturday night, Louisiana found itself trailing at the half for the eighth time this season. But, for just the third time this season, the Cajuns were victorious in the end. The Cajuns erased a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat New Orleans 67-57 Saturday in the CAJUNDOME...After dropping their first four contests when trailing at the half, the Cajuns have won three of their last four, including wins over ULM, Hawai`i and UNO. Louisiana’s only loss was to the Ohio Bobcats...In fact, against both ULM (30-21) and New Orleans (32-23), the Cajuns were trailing by nine at intermission.
Balanced Scoring Attack. In Saturday’s win over New Orleans, eleven of Louisiana’s 12 players scored with eight of them scoring at least four points. The Cajuns had just two players scoring more than 10 points (David Dees, 14; Randell Daigle, 13).
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Originally Posted by CajunsMike <font size="1">on delphi</font>
From only one of many who can't make the Rebounders Club meetings, I appreciate you doing this for us. It allows me to get the "inside info" even though I can't be there.
Thanks for doing this for us!
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UL men's basketball coach Robert Lee expected to get production this season from his young players.
Just not so much so soon.
"I knew those guys would blossom," Lee said. "I didn't know the timetable. Those guys have a lot of ability.
"I'm not surprised they're having some success."
Their success has been contagious and a major reason why the Ragin' Cajuns (7-7 overall, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) have won four straight games and sit atop the SBC West Division coming into tonight's game at Arkansas-Little Rock (10-4, 2-1). They are 4-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.
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Four first-year Cajuns - sophomores Randell Daigle and La'Ryan Gary and freshmen Chris Gradnigo and Travis Bureau - have starred over that stretch, combining to score 55 percent of the team's scoring (40.3 of 73.2 points). The quartet had no college experience coming into this season for UL, the nation's third-youngest team this season.
Daigle has emerged as one of the conference's top young point guards this season. He scored 10 of his 13 points in the final 1:48 last Saturday as UL downed New Orleans, 67-57. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers and added four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
The former Northside standout is the only player to average double digits in the last four games, scoring 12.5 points per game. He's made at least one 3-pointer in 12 straight games and 21 in the last seven games.
UL's recent surge, which includes three straight wins at the Cajundome, has helped the Cajuns turn around their season. After opening 1-6, UL has won six of its last seven games.
But the Cajuns are 2-4 on the road this season and are last in the conference in field-goal percentage (.397) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.334). They'll be playing against one of the nation's toughest defenses in UALR, which is 7-1 at home this season and ranked 25th nationally in scoring defense as of Sunday. The Trojans lead the conference in scoring defense (59.8 points per game), field-goal percentage defense (.383) and 3-point field-goal percentage defense (.270).
"Whether we win or lose has a lot to do with how we play, regardless of being at home or on the road," said Lee, whose Cajuns end their two-game road trip Saturday at reigning conference tournament champion North Texas. "We can play anywhere. It just depends on how we execute and shoot the basketball.
"Going on the road we're going to have to shoot better."
Senior David Dees, benched earlier this season with the improved play of Gradnigo and Bureau, provided a huge boost in the last two games. He scored 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half of a 73-63 win over Arkansas State on Jan. 3. He had scored only 15 points in his previous five games.
Then Dees - who led the team in five categories last season, including points per game - added a team-high 14 points in Saturday's win over UNO. His play helped the Cajun bench outscore UNO's non-starters, 41-0.
Including that performance, UL's bench has outscored its conference opponent's non-starters, 145-47, this season.
Sophomore Elijah Millsap is the team's lone double-digit scorer at 10.4 points per game, but Dees and Gradnigo are averaging 9.6 per game. Bureau (9.1), Daigle (8.2) and Gary (7.4) have also proven to be capable scorers.
"Every guy can play, from the first guy out there to the guy at the end of the bench," Dees said. "We have confidence in each other and each other's abilities.
"Earlier in the year, I don't know if it was selfishness or we didn't trust each other, but things weren't fluid out there on the court."
But now?
"I think we're really becoming a team in every essence of the word," Dees said. "We're happy when other guys succeed. As much as you want to play and you're dying to get in the game, you're rooting your teammates on."
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Having finished up a four-game road swing, the UALR men's basketball team returns to the Jack Stephens Center on Thursday night to take on Sun Belt Conference West Division-leader Louisiana-Lafayette (7-7, 4-0) at 7:35 p.m.
UALR is 10-4 overall and 2-1 in the Sun Belt after Saturday's 77-62 loss to Arkansas State in Jonesboro. Winners of four straight, the Ragin' Cajuns (7-7 overall, 4-0 in the SBC) visit Little Rock as one of the hottest teams in the Sun Belt, following up a 1-6 start to the season by winning six of their last seven games.
Louisiana-La. is one of only two remaining undefeated teams in conference play, along with South Alabama (12-3, 4-0).
"They are a team where, out of the 12 guys in their rotation, 10 of them are freshmen and sophomores," UALR coach Steve Shields said. "That kind of explains the start they had and their play of late. I think they are playing with a lot more confidence than they were early in the season, as most young teams do at this time of year."
... Defensively, the Ragin' Cajuns are holding Sun Belt opponents to a .399 shooting percentage and just 59.8 points per game.
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ArkansasSports360.com
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