The Book: 2006-2007 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

[DaddyCajun]

Help me out here. Is that Zoloft or Xanax you're taking?

Both, I got a special on both at Walgreens!

DaddyCajun

[scotto_25]

We are in a ton of trouble this year. This cajun team may have heart and determination, but they just don't have the talent needed to play D-1 basketball. Usually our Cajun squad is ranked as one of the top teams in Louisiana right behind the other school in Baton Rouge, but this year is very different. This team may be ranked lower than say Northside or even St. Thomas More. All jokes aside, this team has a great "group" of guys, but the majority of them wouldn't touch the floor for about 5 below average sun belt teams. Sad days are ahead for this team. Recruiting is the KEY......if you don't recruit well your team doesn't compete at all!! The guys we brought in this year will be very competitive in the years to come, but some of the previous years recruits wouldn't even get free lunch from my university if I were the head coach. I know you need to fill spots but this team should only be going up........not down like our beloved football squad, but that's another story. Hey, great idea.........why doesn't Michael Desormeaux come play basketball, I mean he may not be the best basketball player but it seems like he's the solution to all of our problems on the football field. Here's the quote of the year...."don't fix whats broke, replace it!"

Good thing for dome foam and hot nuts huh???

I truely LOVE cajun basketball and can't wait until we return to that dominant 20 win team again!

[kracka75LSU]

We are in a ton of trouble this year. This cajun team may have heart and determination, but they just don't have the talent needed to play D-1 basketball. Usually our Cajun squad is ranked as one of the top teams in Louisiana right behind the other school in Baton Rouge, but this year is very different. This team may be ranked lower than say Northside or even St. Thomas More. All jokes aside, this team has a great "group" of guys, but the majority of them wouldn't touch the floor for about 5 below average sun belt teams. Sad days are ahead for this team. Recruiting is the KEY......if you don't recruit well your team doesn't compete at all!! The guys we brought in this year will be very competitive in the years to come, but some of the previous years recruits wouldn't even get free lunch from my university if I were the head coach. I know you need to fill spots but this team should only be going up........not down like our beloved football squad, but that's another story. Hey, great idea.........why doesn't Michael Desormeaux come play basketball, I mean he may not be the best basketball player but it seems like he's the solution to all of our problems on the football field. Here's the quote of the year...."don't fix whats broke, replace it!"

Good thing for dome foam and hot nuts huh???

I truely LOVE cajun basketball and can't wait until we return to that dominant 20 win team again!

This program has been in steady decline since Robert Lee took over. You might not like what I just said, but I just don't think Robert Lee is the Coach you need to get the good players to UL.

[2 ul 0105]

We are in a ton of trouble this year. This cajun team may have heart and determination, but they just don't have the talent needed to play D-1 basketball. Usually our Cajun squad is ranked as one of the top teams in Louisiana right behind the other school in Baton Rouge, but this year is very different. This team may be ranked lower than say Northside or even St. Thomas More. All jokes aside, this team has a great "group" of guys, but the majority of them wouldn't touch the floor for about 5 below average sun belt teams. Sad days are ahead for this team. Recruiting is the KEY......if you don't recruit well your team doesn't compete at all!! The guys we brought in this year will be very competitive in the years to come, but some of the previous years recruits wouldn't even get free lunch from my university if I were the head coach. I know you need to fill spots but this team should only be going up........not down like our beloved football squad, but that's another story. Hey, great idea.........why doesn't Michael Desormeaux come play basketball, I mean he may not be the best basketball player but it seems like he's the solution to all of our problems on the football field. Here's the quote of the year...."don't fix whats broke, replace it!"

Good thing for dome foam and hot nuts huh???

I truely LOVE cajun basketball and can't wait until we return to that dominant 20 win team again!

Scotto is on a rampage today!! Two sports in one day. He must have caught some people on his new sofa at lunch. That will tick a man off!!!

[RustyR]

Maybe im looking at this wrong. We have had plenty of 20 win seasons in the past. We havent won a postseason game since Marty Fletcher. I would rather have a bunch of kids from Louisiana who have been playing AAU ball together for the past couple of years grow with one another and possibly make a run in the next few years. I mean Tiras Wade was a great player but how long did he actually play for us? And did we win a Ncaa tourney game in the process with these transfers. I know its a risk but I think it will pay off in the long run and will be better for the university. These kids have improved from game one to game two, so lets see what they can do. The first part of the schedule is tuff, but maybe by Sunbelt time we may give some teams trouble. Sorry if I used I alot just really tired up for 29 hrs straight.

[RustyR]

We need Collis Temple to get the good players. LoL

[ShowDog]

We need Collis Temple to get the good players. LoL

Maybe we should approach Andrew Toney. He could bring Channing with him. Ha...

[Cajunsmike]

This program has been in steady decline since Robert Lee took over. You might not like what I just said, but I just don't think Robert Lee is the Coach you need to get the good players to UL.

The three freshman Coach Lee brought in this year all have shown potential in the first two games. Lago is as quick a point guard as we've had in quite awhile. Tyren Johnson is a good shot blocker and runs the floor well while Courtney Wallace is a solid rebounder. These guys do need experience before they are consistent though. Unfortunately none are scorers. Those guys are the ones in clearinghouse limbo. Gradigno signed early and is as highly regarded a player as we have had in years. Coach Lee can sign good players. I know it is not obvious yet due to some of these other issues. Once these kids get their academics in order, the questions about his ability to recruit will subside. I know people will wonder if they can qualify

[rhineaux]

The three freshman Coach Lee brought in this year all have shown potential in the first two games. Lago is as quick a point guard as we've had in quite awhile. Tyren Johnson is a good shot blocker and runs the floor well while Courtney Wallace is a solid rebounder. These guys do need experience before they are consistent though. Unfortunately none are scorers. Those guys are the ones in clearinghouse limbo. Gradigno signed early and is as highly regarded a player as we have had in years. Coach Lee can sign good players. I know it is not obvious yet due to some of these other issues. Once these kids get their academics in order, the questions about his ability to recruit will subside. I know people will wonder if they can qualify

Nicely put. the only reason the program has been "in decline" since he took over is becasue of the situation it was in before he got it. He is changing the appearance of the program, adding stability, etc. A program rebuilding is not a program in decline.

[BrockMeaux]

This might sound weird, but to me, this year is about next year. I think we have some good players on this team that are very green and we are going to lose our fair share of games this year. I've accepted that. We have Chris Gradnigo coming, and the possibility that LaRyan Gary and Damon Forest are elligible and ready to play next season. Add the pure talent of those guys to the core we have now with Lago, Wallace, and Johnson (hopefully Millsap becomes elligible sometime this year through the clearinghouse) and we're going to be a very deep, talented team. While the present may look grim, the future looks bright.

[CajunKahouna]

This program has been in steady decline since Robert Lee took over. You might not like what I just said, but I just don't think Robert Lee is the Coach you need to get the good players to UL.

Dead on target IMHO! Sad, but true. The truth hurts. Ok, enough said!

[lxa656]

Dead on target IMHO! Sad, but true. The truth hurts. Ok, enough said!

What are you talking about??? Do you not remember his first year? I think it was something like 20+ wins, a conference championship and an NCAA bid. And arguably the team that played the eventual bracket winner the toughest! They win that game against Louisville if it was anywhere but where it was!

"oh, but what about last year?" What about last year? Jesse hardly recruited any High School players, so Coach Lee had to get what he could to fill holes. Not to mention the recruits from the previous year WERENT EVEN HIS RECRUITS, they were Cyprien's!! ANd they were the ones that were awful. We all love Dwayne Mitchell, but he did not have the skills to be the main focus of the team like he was last season.

Now the General goes out and gets some of the better recruits around the state, cleans house of the problems on the team and is now in building mode. And you wanna say that he has a team declining???????

Teams dont win Championships by bringing in transfers! How many transfers do you hear about Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc.? Look at George Mason, they had 4 of the 5 starters were 4 year seniors!

[CajunKahouna]

What are you talking about??? Do you not remember his first year? I think it was something like 20+ wins, a conference championship and an NCAA bid. .................!

My point (almost) exactly! Thanks.

[CajunRebel]

What are you talking about??? Do you not remember his first year? I think it was something like 20+ wins, a conference championship and an NCAA bid. And arguably the team that played the eventual bracket winner the toughest! They win that game against Louisville if it was anywhere but where it was!

"oh, but what about last year?" What about last year? Jesse hardly recruited any High School players, so Coach Lee had to get what he could to fill holes. Not to mention the recruits from the previous year WERENT EVEN HIS RECRUITS, they were Cyprien's!! ANd they were the ones that were awful. We all love Dwayne Mitchell, but he did not have the skills to be the main focus of the team like he was last season.

Now the General goes out and gets some of the better recruits around the state, cleans house of the problems on the team and is now in building mode. And you wanna say that he has a team declining???????

Teams dont win Championships by bringing in transfers! How many transfers do you hear about Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc.? Look at George Mason, they had 4 of the 5 starters were 4 year seniors!

I'm sick of people giving Lee all the credit for our great recruits during Evans' years and then placing the blame on Cyprien when the recruits are no good.

Yes, sometimes rebuilding years are unavoidable, but this is no rebuilding year. This is much worse than that. When 80% of your team does not return that's not a rebuilding, that's a tearing down. Lee told us he wouldn't recruit trouble players, only a good group with a foundation to grow on but 5 players are inelegible. And you all complained when Evans had 2 players inelegible. And four years from now, after all 9 of our seniors graduate, are we going to have to rebuild again?

I'm not ready to get rid of coach Lee yet, but after this year if this batch of recruits don't show an immense amount of athleticism, talent, and effort, I think it will be time to look for someone new.

[rhineaux]

I'm sick of people giving Lee all the credit for our great recruits during Evans' years and then placing the blame on Cyprien when the recruits are no good.

Yes, sometimes rebuilding years are unavoidable, but this is no rebuilding year. This is much worse than that. When 80% of your team does not return that's not a rebuilding, that's a tearing down. And four years from now, after all 9 of our seniors graduate, are we going to have to rebuild again?

I'm not ready to get rid of coach Lee yet, but after this year if this batch of recruits don't show an immense amount of athleticism and talent, I think it will be time to look for someone new.

some of you can't see the forest through the trees and are just _____ing just to _____ because that is what you do. That's fine if you think the sky is falling, but if you are gonna do that, then make arguments, and not statements why.

don't fool yourselves. what was happening when Evans was here was rebuilding. Especially those last couple years. All of those transfers, especially with their academic status' always took so long to come around. Then once they did, they were leaving or graduating or whatever.

What happened in the off-season with removing the problems from the team is tearing down. This is rebuilding. The act of getting out there every night with a couple "veterans" along with several young, raw players is rebuilding. And, we won't have 9 seniors graduate at the same time. I think that being we have half (give or take) of them ineligible right now is not that bad. their departures will be staggered. Next year's class will include true freshman Gradnigo, and maybe a couple others. The year after that, a couple more high quality freshmen. the current freshmen will be juniors then and these couple years of "growing pains" will make them a very tight, cohesive group and their leadership will weigh heavy on influincing the incoming players.