My Marlin Defense

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Originally Posted by CajunJack55

Hmm..."fear the Patriot" night...for Payton's John Ehret roots and Team USa....everyone could dress in Vermillion, white and Blue....Boomer can be Uncle Sam.....ok maybe not

Guess everyone just needs to grow beards again...

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Boomer had a great idea at the Houston game in the vein of the "Fear the Beard" night:

"BEWARE THE HAIR" (ala Payton and Long's unique styles)

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

CaliforniaCajun says he remains hopeful that the basketball team will have a good season. I guess he is talking about the conference season because it has been very successful to date. We will be at least 9 and 4 going into conference play and perhaps 10 and 3. In fact, earlier this week our RPI has higher than that of the Duke Blue Devils. Of course that stat means little this early but it does indicate things are positive right now. As far as the future is concerned, Cali should be aware that we have only two seniors and neither has played due to injury the last two games. That is encouraging because this staff has shown they help players develop and improve. Also, the attitude on the bench amongst players and coaches indicates they are all pulling in the same direction. That was not always the case two seasons ago. As I have said many times. we started over last year and we are seeing the fruits of that decision right now.

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His Coaching ability reminds me of Paschal....loved attending his practices....

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Originally Posted by basinbear

His Coaching ability reminds me of Paschal....loved attending his practices....

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I told Marlin the exact same thing, that he reminded me of Paschal.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

I understand the skepticism about the recruiting and retention. However I can tell you that Coach spent a great deal of time on the road last spring. We will see how much guys like Kande, Davenport, and Rimmer improve as the season goes along but they were brought in during the spring period and all are making a contribution. Rimmer especially has helped. Recruiting ratings don't tell you how guys will do at the next level but it is encouraging that all three of our November early signees were rated in the top 13 in the state by NOLA.com. As far as player retention goes, that was an issue two years ago. However the guys who did not return from last years' team left mostly because the staff thought their potential was limited and helped them move on.

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Mike, I understand but those players were brought in by the same staff that helped them leave. That staff also brought in Coleby who left after one year. Many of the players that Marlin helped leave were his own and that is what has troubled people the last year or so. I think many would also like for him to do better at recruiting in state players. I'm not talking about the kid that will go to Centennary or something like that but the kids that would be considered top 50. I know we have a couple of kids for 2014 that are in the state's top 50 and that is great so hopefully the trend will continue because when we lose Long and Payton, we will have to have some talent still on board if we don't want to lapse back.

Zephyr -

I understand that your position. It may take awhile to get the casual fan back to the dome. But, I do think recruiting is improving. Escpecially in the New Orleans area, a lot of it due to Elfrid's success. It's been a long time, maybe since Bo/Ebron. That you've seen a guard/post combination the caliber of Payton/Long. IMO, both guys are legitimate NBA prospects. Elfird for sure and Shawn is a long shot. Plus, Kasey Shepherd is developing into quite a compliment as he leads the nation in 3p%.

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Originally Posted by SlappyCajun

Zephyr -

I understand that your position. It may take awhile to get the casual fan back to the dome. But, I do think recruiting is improving. Escpecially in the New Orleans area, a lot of it due to Elfrid's success. It's been a long time, maybe since Bo/Ebron. That you've seen a guard/post combination the caliber of Payton/Long. IMO, both guys are legitimate NBA prospects. Elfird for sure and Shawn is a long shot. Plus, Kasey Shepherd is developing into quite a compliment as he leads the nation in 3p%.

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I am not the casual fan and I continue to go to games. I've been going for the past 25 years and love it. And to set it straight, I do like Marlin. As I mentioned earlier, I think he is a top X and O coach and we haven't really had that here. My beef with him has been his inability to match Evans and even to a smaller degree Lee in getting some good talent here. Long is a transfer as we were unable to get him the first time around. You take that along with the track record so far in keeping guys here and its just a bit unsettling. I think the 2014 class is looking pretty good and hopefully, we can continue to make way with some of the top talent in the state in the upcoming years

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Originally Posted by SlappyCajun

Zephyr -

I understand that your position. It may take awhile to get the casual fan back to the dome. But, I do think recruiting is improving. Escpecially in the New Orleans area, a lot of it due to Elfrid's success. It's been a long time, maybe since Bo/Ebron. That you've seen a guard/post combination the caliber of Payton/Long. IMO, both guys are legitimate NBA prospects. Elfird for sure and Shawn is a long shot. Plus, Kasey Shepherd is developing into quite a compliment as he leads the nation in 3p%.

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I know it will be difficult but if Long can make another jump in progress and with his body like he did this year from last...I don't think he will be a long shot anymore. He is only a sophomore. He looks like he really worked hard in both gyms in the offseason. I would imagine the success of EP has only pushed all his teammates to work harder. They see what hard work can do and that you can get to the next level from here.

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Originally Posted by crazycajun

I know it will be difficult but if Long can make another jump in progress and with his body like he did this year from last...I don't think he will be a long shot anymore. He is only a sophomore. He looks like he really worked hard in both gyms in the offseason. I would imagine the success of EP has only pushed all his teammates to work harder. They see what hard work can do and that you can get to the next level from here.

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I think Long will play professionally, even if it is overseas where his game could fit that mold. I'm not sure about the NBA but he can improve over the next couple of years and who knows.

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Originally Posted by zephyr

I am not the casual fan and I continue to go to games. I've been going for the past 25 years and love it. And to set it straight, I do like Marlin. As I mentioned earlier, I think he is a top X and O coach and we haven't really had that here. My beef with him has been his inability to match Evans and even to a smaller degree Lee in getting some good talent here. Long is a transfer as we were unable to get him the first time around. You take that along with the track record so far in keeping guys here and its just a bit unsettling. I think the 2014 class is looking pretty good and hopefully, we can continue to make way with some of the top talent in the state in the upcoming years

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I didn't mean to imply you were a casual fan. Just that we need to keep winning to peak casual fans interest in general. I will say this though, when comparing Evans and Marlin's recruiting. One must recognize that most of Jesse's best players were transfers. I think the high school guys we signed this spring and Kasey Shepherd are similar to the types of high school guys Evans signed. Remember Laurie Bridges, Antoine Landry and even Brad Boyd had very little impact as freshman.

I think the problem with Long is that he is stuck between a 3 and a 4 in the NBA. He could be a 4 for the right team though.