The Book: 2006-2007 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

[Tripple Threat]

Very Duke like...white bread and nothing fancy. No dunks and as my wife said, "the game lacked biceps flying to the rim". But...it looks like they're going to be disciplined. Not a lot of forced shots, although Lago was a little erratic. Ross looks more aggressive and his stroke looks good. Dees will come along, I don't think he hit a jump shot, but he drove to the rim and drew some fouls. VALENTINO HART is the new heart and soul. I Love The Guy. We'll be going to all the games, these guys hustle and play hard. Worth the price of admission. My 2 cents.

[ulforlife]

Very Duke like...white bread and nothing fancy. No dunks and as my wife said, "the game lacked biceps flying to the rim". But...it looks like they're going to be disciplined. Not a lot of forced shots, although Lago was a little erratic. Ross looks more aggressive and his stroke looks good. Dees will come along, I don't think he hit a jump shot, but he drove to the rim and drew some fouls. VALENTINO HART is the new heart and soul. I Love The Guy. We'll be going to all the games, these guys hustle and play hard. Worth the price of admission. My 2 cents.

(some copy from another post)

I thought the guys played sloppy the frist half but stepped it up once they realized they could be the boss. I really liked how Ross took charge, 22 points isn't bad on his first night. I also think this guy Dees is going to be a good player (14 points). Valentino played well I thought, he is a very aggressive guy and though sometimes he looks to be over the top I really think he wants it bad and he gives his all. I have spoken with him a number of times and he is really trying to buckle down this year and give it his best. He was a lot of "hart" (I know)... Ross looks like he's been shooting the ball a lot, he's clean. Rhett made some key plays to get the guys going and Wallace looks like he'll come around shooting if he settles down a little. Free throws looked decent tonight, definately better than last year. Never know, we'll see how it goes but as far as the future...I think we'll be ok. these guys are going to grow together

[Tripple Threat]

(some copy from another post)

I thought the guys played sloppy the frist half but stepped it up once they realized they could be the boss. I really liked how Ross took charge, 22 points isn't bad on his first night. I also think this guy Dees is going to be a good player (14 points). Valentino played well I thought, he is a very aggressive guy and though sometimes he looks to be over the top I really think he wants it bad and he gives his all. I have spoken with him a number of times and he is really trying to buckle down this year and give it his best. He was a lot of "hart" (I know)... Ross looks like he's been shooting the ball a lot, he's clean. Rhett made some key plays to get the guys going and Wallace looks like he'll come around shooting if he settles down a little. Free throws looked decent tonight, definately better than last year. Never know, we'll see how it goes but as far as the future...I think we'll be ok. these guys are going to grow together

I heard a guy sitting behind me say that he spoke to Valentino a few times...student section, middle, about half way up...moved out at half time. Was that you? I was with the cute "little" pregnant blonde sitting below you.

I agree with you, free throws looked a hell of lot better than last year.

[Jeaux]

I agree with almost everything said earlier. Free throw shooting looks much better as well as ball handling. Although the cajuns won't be athletic as in past years shooting and scoring should be much better. Will Lago looks like he could grow into being our next T-Wade. Courtney Wallace is a banger inside. But Tyren Johnson is the one with the most upside from what I saw in his limited action. 20 more pounds and a couple of inches and he could be a beast... and we have 4 years with these guys. Until then we have Dees and Mouton to hold us over to the young guys develop more.

[cajun67]

Lots of works in progress including our srs. Weak perimeter shooting again this year unless it develops. Not as much athleticism but as pointed out, good potential for disciplined movement. FTs did look better. Mostly off back not front of rim as last year. Inside will be a bear but I am most patient. Good to see round ball again.

[Clutch0364]

I have to work weekdays so I will probably only get to see 1 or 2 games this year so you guys needs these post after every game :-) Glad to hear the Cajuns played well...how about the women?

[RaginEsquire06]

Can anyone post who made up our starting line-up?

[weareLOUISIANA]

31 Rhett Hebert
22 Ross Mouton
21 David Dees
42 Courtney Wallace
34 Adam James

[Hatch]

Does anybody have a box score?

[Hatch]

Does anybody have a box score?

Here it is if anybody else is looking

http://athleticnetwork.net/uploads/mbbex1.htm#GAME.BX2

[NewsCopy]

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team trailed by three points at halftime of Monday’s exhibition game with Spring Hill College here at the Cajundome and turned to its defense to rally and claim a 65-51 victory. The Ragin’ Cajuns held the visitors scoreless for the first three-plus minutes of the second stanza buying time for the offense to regain the lead. The Cajuns trailed 31-28 at intermission and it was a pair of defensive stops in the 18-minute mark which helped turn the tide. David Dees forced a steal near midcourt and raced in for a layup. He was fouled, made the basket and converted the free throw to tie the game at 31-31 with 18:54 remaining. After a defensive stop the next time that SHC touched the ball, Ross Mouton hit a jumper on the right wing at 18:04 that put the Cajuns up 33-31. The Badgers reclaimed the lead with four unanswered points before the Cajuns final defensive stand. UL would hold SHC to only one free throw made between the 15:32 mark and 11:40 mark. After Owen McNally gave the Badgers a 35-33 lead at 15:32, Mouton made a three-point basket on the Cajuns’ next two possessions that vaulted the hosts into a 39-35 lead with 14:40 remaining. UL wouldn’t surrender the lead the rest of the game. SHC would close the deficit to four points, 43-39, when Noah Woolridge hit a three-pointer with 11:40 remaining. The Ragin’ Cajuns responded with six unanswered points to build a comfortable margin which lasted the rest of the game. Mouton put up a three-point attempt that was partially blocked by a SHC defender out-of-bounds allowing UL to retain possession at 11:11. Wille Lago worked the ball inside to Valentino Hart who made the basket and drew a foul. Hart made the free throw to push the Cajuns lead to 46-39. Hart would come up with the defensive board on the ensuing possession and the Cajuns swung the ball around to Mouton in the right corner for a three-pointer which increased the lead to 49-39. Mouton led the Ragin’ Cajuns with a game-high 22 points making 8-of-14 field goals including 4-of-8 from three-point range. The senior guard scored 15 of his points in the second stanza Dees joined Mouton in double figures with 14 points. He paced the Cajuns’ defensive efforts with three steals and a team-best seven rebounds. The UL defense clamped down in the second half and held the Badgers to 25 percent shooting (5-of-20). The offense warmed up in the second stanza, hitting eight of their first 12 shot attempts through the first 12 minutes. Rhett Hebert scored the game’s first basket after the Cajuns pushed the ball up the floor following Spring Hill’s first shot attempt. Hebert nailed a three-pointer that put the hosts up 3-0 at 19:14. The visitors got on the board on the ensuing possession when Courtney Wallace fouled Woolridge. He made both freebies to trim the UL lead to 3-2 at 18:41 The Cajuns went inside on the next two possessions and were able to draw fouls that set up James and Wallace at the free throw line. They each made one-of-two attempts that increased the Cajuns lead to 5-2 at the 17:50 mark. The two teams traded offensive fouls on the next two trips down the floor. After Spring Hill’s foul on McNally for an illegal screen, Wallace grabbed the loose ball after an Hebert and converted the putback to push the UL lead to 7-2. The Badgers answered on their next possession when Cash Covington connected on a three-pointer at 16:29 that trimmed the Cajuns lead to 7-5. UL would stretch its lead back to five points three minutes later when Mouton made his first triple of the evening giving the home team a 12-7 edge at 13:35. SHC got field goals on its next two possessions scoring four points and trimming the lead to 12-11 at 12:17. The Ragin’ Cajuns were able to extend the lead back to five points by holding the Badgers scoreless until the 8:57 mark. At that time UL held a 16-11 advantage. Louisiana-Lafayette would hold its lead until the five-minute mark before the Badgers scored five unanswered points that helped them gain their first lead of the contest and erase a 22-19 deficit. Ugo Ezekwe made a three-pointer at the 5:11 mark that tied the game at 22-all. After stopping the Cajuns on the other end, SHC took the lead at 4:28 when Jeremy Price hit a leaning jumper that gave the Badgers a 24-22 lead. UL drew even after the media timeout when Hebert made two free throw attempts. The Cajuns defense would force a stop and Mouton scored a layup to put the Cajuns up 26-24 at 3:16. Dees added to the lead at 2:43 when he knocked down a pair of freebies that upped the lead to 28-24. Spring Hill closed the gap to 28-27 on Covington’s second triple of the evening at 1:05. The Badgers would score four points in the final 33 seconds to take a 31-28 lead at intermission. LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

UL's offensive performance might have been hit-and-miss, but there was no question about the Ragin' Cajuns' defensive performance on opening night for men's basketball at the Cajundome. The Cajuns held rapid-fire Spring Hill College to a 32 percent shooting night, and even less than that in the second half on the way to a 65-51 victory over the Badgers in their exhibition contest. Spring Hill, an NAIA school from Mobile, Ala., had tossed in 15 three-pointers in its first season outing and led Florida State at halftime before falling 90-72. Monday night, UL held the visitors to a four-of-16 three-point effort and the Badgers made only one trey after halftime. "We needed to have a really great defensive effort, and coach told us we had done that," said senior guard Ross Mouton, whose 22 points included four three-pointers. "We knew they could shoot it." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com