MBB: Wesley and Lafayette Sign

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Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball coach Bob Marlin announced on Wednesday the signing of two players to a National Letter of Intent for the 2018-19 season.

Signing with the Ragin' Cajuns is guard Trajan Wesley (Houston, Texas/Cy Falls HS) and forward Kristian Lafayette (Detroit, Mich./TaylorMade Academy). The signing of the duo increased Louisiana's signing class to four, joining previous signees R.J. Gladney (DeRidder, La./DeRidder HS) and Kobe Julien (Baton Rouge, La./Madison Prep).

Wesley, a 5-foot-10 point guard, was a first-team all-district and first-team Class 6A All-State selection as a junior at Cy Falls High School. He averaged 11.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals as a junior, helping Cy Falls to the Region 3 District 17 championship and 2017 Class 6A UIL Texas state title.

Playing for a team that finished 17th in the country by Max Preps, Wesley scored 15 of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter in the Eagles' 63-57 win over San Antonio Wagner in the Class 6A title game.

"Trajan is a true, up-tempo guard with great leadership qualities," Marlin said. "He has really good vision and prides himself on both ends of the floor. Trajan comes from a winning background at a Class 6A state championship program under head coach Richard Flores, and his toughness and winning mentality will be infectious to our team. We are excited to add Trajan to our program."

Lafayette, a 6-10 forward, attended Hazel Park (Mich.) High School before enrolling at TaylorMade (Fla.) Academy, where he is averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game. As a senior, Lafayette helped HPHS to its first district title in over 50 years and a berth in the MHSAA Boy's Class B state playoffs.

"Kristian is a very skilled player who can shoot, pass and handle the ball exceptionally well for someone his size," Marlin said. "As he adds weight and increases his strength, he will develop into a player in this league who can impact the game on both ends of the court."

LOUISIANA RAGIN' CAJUNS MEN'S BASKETBALL SIGNING CLASS
R.J. Gladney, F - 6-7, 200, DeRidder, La. (DeRidder HS)
Kobe Julien, G/F - 6-6, 215, Baton Rouge, La. (Madison Prep Academy)
Kristian Lafayette, F – 6-10, 200, Detroit, Mich (Hazel Park HS/TaylorMade Academy)
Trajan Wesley, G – 5-10, 165, Houston, Texas (Cy Falls HS)

LOUISIANA AC

Signing with the Ragin’ Cajunsare:
Guard Trajan Wesley (Houston, Texas/Cy Falls HS)

Forward Kristian Lafayette (Detroit, Mich./TaylorMade Academy).

The signing of the duo increased Louisiana’s signing class to four, joining previous signees R.J. Gladney (DeRidder/DeRidder HS) and Kobe Julien (Baton Rouge/Madison Prep).

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Wow. Always thought it would be cool to have same name on back and front of jersey, oh wait, nm....

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As a member of the McDonald&#39;s All-American Game Selection Committee. I would like to congratulate skilled &amp; talented <a href="https://twitter.com/tall_red_baller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tall_red_baller</a> Kobe Julien <a href="https://twitter.com/MPABasketball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MPABasketball</a> he is a 2018 nominee for the McDonald&#39;s All-American Game in ATL This 2017 State Champion signed with <a href="https://twitter.com/RaginCajunsMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RaginCajunsMBB</a></p>&mdash; RB (@icuplay) <a href="https://twitter.com/icuplay/status/951141903940153344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquoteclass="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">As a member of the McDonald&#39;s All-American Game Selection Committee. I would like to congratulate long armed Randy R.J. Gladneyfrom Deridder HS, Louisiana. He is a 2018 nominee for the McDonald&#39;s All-American Game in ATL. He signed with the Ragin Cajuns🌶 <a href="https://twitter.com/RaginCajunsMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@RaginCajunsMBB</a></p>&mdash; RB (@icuplay) <a href="https://twitter.com/icuplay/status/951174251423371264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2018</a></blockquote> <script asyncsrc="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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Originally Posted by 31Ragin97

Wow. Always thought it would be cool to have same name on back and front of jersey, oh wait, nm....

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Lol

It will be like the "illegal" baseball hats used to be with UL (or Louisiana) on the front and Lafayette on the back

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Originally Posted by facelessjonmoon

Lol

It will be like the "illegal" baseball hats used to be with UL (or Louisiana) on the front and Lafayette on the back

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With the Lafayette color matched to the hat. :D

Is this possibly Bob's best class?

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Originally Posted by Big Buds

Is this possibly Bob's best class?

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Don't know about that but it is encouraging to have 2 of your recruits invited to a prestigious post season game. Hopefully these guys are as advertised as it will be needed due to losing three quality players in Washington, Stove, and Bartley. Those three guys have done nothing but representative the university well both on and off the court since they have been here. These new guys are more highly ranked coming into the program than the seniors which may indicate more talent. If they work as hard as the guys leaving, they have a good chance for success.

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Originally Posted by Big Buds

Is this possibly Bob's best class?

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If we sign Brown .. Yes might be the best class in school history

This is a case where he needs to listen to dad.

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Originally Posted by cajun_lannister

If we sign Brown .. Yes might be the best class in school history

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Best class in school history would be quite a feat considering the players who have come through the program. Guys like Bo Lamar, Roy Ebron, and Fred Saunders had the program ranked in the Top 10 in the early 70's. Andrew Toney was an NBA All Star and a starter on a team which got the ring. Marty Fletcher had a team which went to two NCAA tourneys and pulled several upsets against name teams. Jessie Evans had teams which went to post season play several times. Some of you younger guys may not care but for an old timer like me I appreciate the way the current staff embraces the tradition of the program and the reunion this weekend is an example of that.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

Don't know about that but it is encouraging to have 2 of your recruits invited to a prestigious post season game.

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If I read the twit correctly, they have been nominated to go to the game, they have not been invited yet. But all and all still a very big honor.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

Best class in school history would be quite a feat considering the players who have come through the program. Guys like Bo Lamar, Roy Ebron, and Fred Saunders had the program ranked in the Top 10 in the early 70's. Andrew Toney was an NBA All Star and a starter on a team which got the ring. Marty Fletcher had a team which went to two NCAA tourneys and pulled several upsets against name teams. Jessie Evans had teams which went to post season play several times. Some of you younger guys may not care but for an old timer like me I appreciate the way the current staff embraces the tradition of the program and the reunion this weekend is an example of that.

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Mike, are we still in the mix for Brown? If so, what is your best guess % of him signing with us?

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Originally Posted by TonaldDrump

If I read the twit correctly, they have been nominated to go to the game, they have not been invited yet. But all and all still a very big honor.

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Thanks for the correction.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

Best class in school history would be quite a feat considering the players who have come through the program. Guys like Bo Lamar, Roy Ebron, and Fred Saunders had the program ranked in the Top 10 in the early 70's. Andrew Toney was an NBA All Star and a starter on a team which got the ring. Marty Fletcher had a team which went to two NCAA tourneys and pulled several upsets against name teams. Jessie Evans had teams which went to post season play several times. Some of you younger guys may not care but for an old timer like me I appreciate the way the current staff embraces the tradition of the program and the reunion this weekend is an example of that.

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Brown is the #11 player in the country Julien is the #4 player in the state and Gladney the #5 ... From a signing class stand point it will be hard to top this one

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Originally Posted by SlickRick

Mike, are we still in the mix for Brown? If so, what is your best guess % of him signing with us?

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Brown did not sign in the early signing date. I have heard he has three finalists and we are among those. Don't recall who the other two schools are. Therefore I would say our odds are 33 per cent.
Note, I know no details of this situation. I will add that I have not heard coaches mention this guy's name once when I have interacted with them over the last several months. That is likely so as to keep this very close to the vest. Of course they are not allowed to speak publicly about unsigned guys. Of the guys signed, the one they mention most is Kobe Julien.

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Originally Posted by cajun_lannister

Brown is the #11 player in the country Julien is the #4 player in the state and Gladney the #5 ... From a signing class stand point it will be hard to top this one

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Perhaps embracing the tradition of the program helped us sign Julien as his dad played with Andrew Toney in the late 70's. If we sign Brown, recognition of the past will almost certainly be a contributing factor due to his Dad (Dion Brown) being a great rebounder on the team from the early 80's.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

Best class in school history would be quite a feat considering the players who have come through the program. Guys like Bo Lamar, Roy Ebron, and Fred Saunders had the program ranked in the Top 10 in the early 70's. Andrew Toney was an NBA All Star and a starter on a team which got the ring. Marty Fletcher had a team which went to two NCAA tourneys and pulled several upsets against name teams. Jessie Evans had teams which went to post season play several times. Some of you younger guys may not care but for an old timer like me I appreciate the way the current staff embraces the tradition of the program and the reunion this weekend is an example of that.

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Lamar, Winkler, Saunders, Toney, Ebron were all great players, none signed together, and perhaps only Toney matched expectations. All the others exceeded expectations by a lot.

Best class? Clearly depends on results, but this class may be the best based on the unfulfiled expectations at the time of the signing. Land Brown and clearly the best class based on the yet to be fulfilled accomplishments and expectations.

I find it telling that with 4 scholarships opening due to graduation the coaches already signed 4 players in the early signing period. I'm not saying that if Brown would decide to sign they wouldn't do whatever they could to make room for him but all circumstances just seem to point to it being a real long shot.

There's always room for a super star. Absolutely if he calls Big Fish they say yes. Of course we only know if I'm right when he signs. If he chooses not to sign, the story is we didn't have a scholarship for him.

In today's college environment do not be surprised if one of the existing players transfers due to playing time. I know of none, but it will happen, so you have to sign to your max potential.

Weren't Chris Snowden, Kelvin Price and Chris Manuel all in the same recruiting class? That was pretty strong, especially since there probably were others in the class as well.

Also, the 2000 team had the following players, all as true freshman...Blaine Harmon, Orlando Butler, Lonnie Thomas, Jarret Evans, Billy Jones, Reggie Degray, Shea Whiting, Brett Smith and Robert Jupiter. That's 9 true freshman on the roster, most of which had solid-to-great careers here. May not have been big time recruits, but ended up being big time players

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

Brown did not sign in the early signing date. I have heard he has three finalists and we are among those. Don't recall who the other two schools are. Therefore I would say our odds are 33 per cent.
Note, I know no details of this situation. I will add that I have not heard coaches mention this guy's name once when I have interacted with them over the last several months. That is likely so as to keep this very close to the vest. Of course they are not allowed to speak publicly about unsigned guys. Of the guys signed, the one they mention most is Kobe Julien.

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We are in his final three along with UCLA and another school. Maybe St. John’s? Dion lives in California and may want him to stick close to Home to watch him play. So probably comes down to whether he wants to watch his son a lot at UCLA or wants to watch him succeed at his alma mater.

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Originally Posted by Cajunsmike

Perhaps embracing the tradition of the program helped us sign Julien as his dad played with Andrew Toney in the late 70's. If we sign Brown, recognition of the past will almost certainly be a contributing factor due to his Dad (Dion Brown) being a great rebounder on the team from the early 80's.

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Of course we wouldn't be allowed to recruit for the University, but I wonder if Dion and son Jordan will be in town and at the game Saturday for reunion weekend...