The Book: 2006-2007 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

[MiamiCajun32]

I'll readily admit that I know little to nothing about basketball. So to be able to tell you that Coach Lee is the man for the job, I don't really know. What I do know is that I love his intensity and passion. He is by far the toughest coach we have had here and I love the discipline that he brings. I also love the fact that he speaks his mind and doesn't give us the same old coach speak. If the kids on the team think he is too tough, then they don't need to be here. Give Coach Lee a break.

Give him a break? Maybe if I turn in the worst performance in my firm's history I should ask my supervisor to give me a break?

This is not some little league team where we all just feel good that the young ones are having a good time and learniing lessons in life.

Coach Lee may be a great guy. It seems that he is based on all the glowing reports on him as a person. However, he is failing at the job in a way that is more dramatic than anyone could have imagined.

This is major D1 college basketball! Is it not?

Demand more as fans and supporters of the program!

If Lee does not want criticism he should not have become a head coach at the D1 level. I am sure he is fine with the criticism and understands the business. Perhaps at his next stop, he will be more successful. But at UL he is failing miserably.

But you won't hear any more from me. The last poster made sure of that. I don't have time for such nonsense. Go check out other programs' fan forums and you will see that criticism is actually part of the deal....

I have less criticism for the football program because it is heading in the right direction, no matter how dissapointing this season was. It was one of the worst in the country and now is respectable and competitive. The basketball program is one that is deep in winning tradition and has always been well respected nation-wide. I was a bit upset that 35 years of winning tradition has been stopped in its tracks by the new regime. I guess I got carried away because I was not paying attention to how Lee's guys practice hard and such....

[MiamiCajun32]

Its not about rah rah rah, moron. Its about you spewing the same worthless crap once a week. I know you don't like the coach. you have made that known. so why do you keep bringing it up? Do you think that continuing to tell us about it is going to get him fired?

coaches do get fired based on fans demanding it be done. But it takes an actual fan base that cares. Seems like UL will not have a large passionate fan base any time soon.

I hate to bring up the Ron Zook example again, but he was fired quicker than he otherwise would have, in some part, because of fireronzook.com. I certainly don't advocate that kind of bashing website, but take a dose of reality. As long as Cajuns' fans accept mediocrity then that is what we will get. Now it seems that most Cajuns basketball fans have just decided to sit out the Lee regime and wait around for an eventual change in a few years. A small percentage (most of this board for example) seem to be happy with things and don't want to hear any criticism of their program. An even smaller percentage are complaining.

Have fun at the games this year with the other 500 people.

I will get off your precious board.... I am obviously not a true fan....

[cajunlove]

coaches do get fired based on fans demanding it be done. But it takes an actual fan base that cares. Seems like UL will not have a large passionate fan base any time soon.

I hate to bring up the Ron Zook example again, but he was fired quicker than he otherwise would have, in some part, because of fireronzook.com. I certainly don't advocate that kind of bashing website, but take a dose of reality. As long as Cajuns' fans accept mediocrity then that is what we will get. Now it seems that most Cajuns basketball fans have just decided to sit out the Lee regime and wait around for an eventual change in a few years. A small percentage (most of this board for example) seem to be happy with things and don't want to hear any criticism of their program. An even smaller percentage are complaining.

Have fun at the games this year with the other 500 people.

I will get off your precious board.... I am obviously not a true fan....

Your comparison of Robert Lee to Ron Zook doesn't exactly fit. Zook took over a national power that had access to the best high school recruits in the country. Lee took over a program that was not a national power and that was comprised mostly of junior college transfers and talented kids who had issues at other programs.

The difference between the two situations is that Florida Football will always be able to re-load with talented players right out of high school and UL Basketball always had to rely on transfers. When many of the talented transfers either left or graduated, i.e. the class with Wade, Grene, Hamilton...etc; the team was severely stripped down. In that situation, without a strong high school recruiting base, Lee was forced to scramble to find more transfers.

I believe that Lee realizes the problem with the transfer based "Jesse Evans model" and has began the program's transformation Lee is striving to transform the UL basketball program into one similar to the Florida program Ron Zook inherited. Namely, a program built from the ground up with high school recruits, that accepts transfers on occasion, and demands excellence from all players.

I like what I see in Robert Lee's coaching style. He is honest, accountable, and dedicated. I agree with the earlier post in that if players don't like a demanding coach, they can leave. With the shift in philosophy, Lee should be given at least a couple more years before he is judged as a coach.

[Just1More]

coaches do get fired based on fans demanding it be done. But it takes an actual fan base that cares. Seems like UL will not have a large passionate fan base any time soon.

I hate to bring up the Ron Zook example again, but he was fired quicker than he otherwise would have, in some part, because of fireronzook.com. I certainly don't advocate that kind of bashing website, but take a dose of reality. As long as Cajuns' fans accept mediocrity then that is what we will get. Now it seems that most Cajuns basketball fans have just decided to sit out the Lee regime and wait around for an eventual change in a few years. A small percentage (most of this board for example) seem to be happy with things and don't want to hear any criticism of their program. An even smaller percentage are complaining.

Have fun at the games this year with the other 500 people.

I will get off your precious board.... I am obviously not a true fan....

You can criticize all you want "Dixie Chick"... but you might get popped for what you say. You somehow think you know how the whole fanbase feels based on monitoring this board? Lee's program is under scrutiny by many. There are people that like some of his coaching attributes... wins/losses is the result that he will ultimately be judged by.

You can leave the board. That is your choice. Getting criticized for slamming Coach Lee, but not sucking it up against someone who is tired of hearing it, is small. Keep the banter going... it reduces real-world stress.

[RaginEsquire06]

For the first time this season...IMO the Cajuns appeared to have quit before the game was over....I saw a lot of talking back...obvious displays of agitation by the players. Not sure but...looks like are players strengths are not being played up to...Milsap is gonna be something special! Looked as if the players were hesitant to take shoots...even if they were open...Maybe Lee needs to re-evaluate his game plan...The talent is on the court!

[MiamiCajun32]

Your comparison of Robert Lee to Ron Zook doesn't exactly fit. Zook took over a national power that had access to the best high school recruits in the country. Lee took over a program that was not a national power and that was comprised mostly of junior college transfers and talented kids who had issues at other programs.

The difference between the two situations is that Florida Football will always be able to re-load with talented players right out of high school and UL Basketball always had to rely on transfers. When many of the talented transfers either leave or graduate, i.e. the class with Wade, Grene, Hamilton...etc; the team is severely stripped down. In this situation, without a strong high school recruiting base, the coach is forced to scramble to find more transfers to fill those holes, e.g. last year.

I believe that Lee realizes the problem with the transfer based "Jesse Evans model" and has begun the program's transformation . Lee is striving to transform the UL basketball program into one similar to the Florida program Ron Zook inherited. Namely, a program built from the ground up with high school recruits, that accepts transfers on occasion, and demands excellence from all players.

I like what I see in Robert Lee's coaching style. He is honest, accountable, and dedicated. I agree with the earlier post in that if players don't like a demanding coach, they can leave. With the shift in philosophy, Lee should be given at least a couple more years before he is judged as a coach.

I can certainly take constructive criticism of my points. Much better than just a bashing because I have a negative post.

Keep in mind though that just like UF fans expect the Gators to compete for the SEC each year in football, Cajuns fans have come to expect that their basketball program will be a top 2 sunbelt team each year in basketball (and usually have good shot at making NCAA tourney, with some years good enough to win or play close against a high seed in the big dance).

Zook took the Gators program down to middle of the pack SEC. Lee has taken the Cajuns basketball program down to bottom half of sunbelt and to a lower than .500 team overall. The team appears to be getting much worse each year.

The Jesse Evans way of recruiting worked just fine in the wins and loss column. Lee tried the same last year, but could not find a way to motivate and teach those players to victories and staying in school.

Unfortunately, it seems that the Cajuns will not be able to compete with major teams in the south / southeast for high school talent. They were just starting to be able to a few years ago, based soley on Jesse Evans' success with wins and losses (came close with Ryan Francis and the , along with the national attention that brought. Recruiting a solid sunbelt high school class and hoping that they stay eligible and together for a few years (so there can be one good year out of 4) is a HUGE drop off in quality for the Cajuns basketball program.

[MiamiCajun32]

You can criticize all you want "Dixie Chick"... but you might get popped for what you say. You somehow think you know how the whole fanbase feels based on monitoring this board? Lee's program is under scrutiny by many. There are people that like some of his coaching attributes... wins/losses is the result that he will ultimately be judged by.

You can leave the board. That is your choice. Getting criticized for slamming Coach Lee, but not sucking it up against someone who is tired of hearing it, is small. Keep the banter going... it reduces real-world stress.

I don't pretend to know exactly how the whole fan base feels, but the attendance is a pretty good indicator. Wins and losses dictate attendance to some large degree. If this were a program that had been down for years, then a young undertalented bunch of hustling players may still bring the fans in, but the dramatic fall and no real sense of urgency to change things is creating an empty cajun dome. I guess you know some other reason about the poor attendence though, right?

[MiamiCajun32]

You can criticize all you want "Dixie Chick"... but you might get popped for what you say. You somehow think you know how the whole fanbase feels based on monitoring this board? Lee's program is under scrutiny by many. There are people that like some of his coaching attributes... wins/losses is the result that he will ultimately be judged by.

You can leave the board. That is your choice. Getting criticized for slamming Coach Lee, but not sucking it up against someone who is tired of hearing it, is small. Keep the banter going... it reduces real-world stress.

I don't mind getting criticized, but I would much rather someone who disagrees with my posts to explain why they support Lee or why I should support him. I know he is a great guy (from all the posts and general knowledge) even though I have never met him. But great guys don't always equal successful coaches. I am very concerned because for the first time since I can remember (I am 35) the Cajuns basketball program is a losing one. Not only that, but it is one of the worst teams in D1. I am concerned that recruiting will suffer greatly and that Lee has already scared away a lot of potential future transfers by blaming a number of transfers last year on the team's failures and cutting their scholarships. The same team under Evans would likely have won 20 games, even if there was glaring holes regarding outside shooting.

I am not saying Evans is the greatest coach around either, but he was getting the job done and deserves credit for that, instead of the comical bashing for how supposedly his system of transfer players was so much worse than the current one of 5 win seasons.

Good coaches find a way to win. Great coaches, such as Tim Floyd for example, find a way to win championships, with no excuses. And they win with a clean program of course.

I know that some of the posters here have been fans for a long time. But for those that have not been following the Cajuns since the Blackham days, I suggest that you take a history lesson regarding how the Cajuns have had a winning season almost every year since becoming D1 in early 70s. There have been a few rough periods, with the death penalty and Marty Fletcher's first and last season (major transition time), but there has never been a total collapse like we are seeing now, with no real light at the end of the tunnel to be seen. If you see a light, then please explain. And explain how maybe competing for the sunbelt after 3 or so terrible years is something that any Cajuns fan should be interested in. I am disgusted by the team's performance. I am also embarassed by it, with my friends in Florida (who all know that I share loyalty between UF and UL) reminding me every day exactly how bad the Cajuns are. The program has become a laughing stock.

SFA, UNO, and ASU are all very very bad teams. But all clearly better than the Cajuns (and this is before the recruiting will take an even worse turn, and before some current players leave).

In any other traditionally winning program, forums like this would be screaming for coaching change, under such dire circumstances!

[Turbine]

The Jesse Evans way of recruiting worked just fine in the wins and loss column.

Both are nice but I am certainly a bigger fan of wins than of a tough schedule.

[rhineaux]

I don't mind getting criticized, but I would much rather someone who disagrees with my posts to explain why they support Lee or why I should support him. I know he is a great guy (from all the posts and general knowledge) even though I have never met him. But great guys don't always equal successful coaches. I am very concerned because for the first time since I can remember (I am 35) the Cajuns basketball program is a losing one. Not only that, but it is one of the worst teams in D1. I am concerned that recruiting will suffer greatly and that Lee has already scared away a lot of potential future transfers by blaming a number of transfers last year on the team's failures and cutting their scholarships. The same team under Evans would likely have won 20 games, even if there was glaring holes regarding outside shooting.

I am not saying Evans is the greatest coach around either, but he was getting the job done and deserves credit for that, instead of the comical bashing for how supposedly his system of transfer players was so much worse than the current one of 5 win seasons.

Good coaches find a way to win. Great coaches, such as Tim Floyd for example, find a way to win championships, with no excuses. And they win with a clean program of course.

I know that some of the posters here have been fans for a long time. But for those that have not been following the Cajuns since the Blackham days, I suggest that you take a history lesson regarding how the Cajuns have had a winning season almost every year since becoming D1 in early 70s. There have been a few rough periods, with the death penalty and Marty Fletcher's first and last season (major transition time), but there has never been a total collapse like we are seeing now, with no real light at the end of the tunnel to be seen. If you see a light, then please explain. And explain how maybe competing for the sunbelt after 3 or so terrible years is something that any Cajuns fan should be interested in. I am disgusted by the team's performance. I am also embarassed by it, with my friends in Florida (who all know that I share loyalty between UF and UL) reminding me every day exactly how bad the Cajuns are. The program has become a laughing stock.

SFA, UNO, and ASU are all very very bad teams. But all clearly better than the Cajuns (and this is before the recruiting will take an even worse turn, and before some current players leave).

In any other traditionally winning program, forums like this would be screaming for coaching change, under such dire circumstances!

I didn't say i agreed or disagreed with your point. I said that your arguements are tired. I didn't say you weren't a fan, I didn't say I thought you should stop posting, or that you should never come back to the board, but implying that it would be nice if you would come here to say something else. Post something that doesn't have anything to do with your distaste for RL or the program. It is tired. but still, you couldn't read my words and swallow them, because you continued to make reference to your distaste. We know!

[Tripple Threat]

coaches do get fired based on fans demanding it be done. But it takes an actual fan base that cares. Seems like UL will not have a large passionate fan base any time soon.

I hate to bring up the Ron Zook example again, but he was fired quicker than he otherwise would have, in some part, because of fireronzook.com. I certainly don't advocate that kind of bashing website, but take a dose of reality. As long as Cajuns' fans accept mediocrity then that is what we will get. Now it seems that most Cajuns basketball fans have just decided to sit out the Lee regime and wait around for an eventual change in a few years. A small percentage (most of this board for example) seem to be happy with things and don't want to hear any criticism of their program. An even smaller percentage are complaining.

Have fun at the games this year with the other 500 people.

I will get off your precious board.... I am obviously not a true fan....

Stick around, criticism fuels the fire. Coach Lee would be the first to say the criticism is warranted. He, I believe, would understand that fans will stop coming if the cajuns don't start winning. They better tighten things up.

[Ewhite]

From a previous thread.

I hope that all us naysayers are completely wrong. I would love to meet up with the optimists at the NCAA tourney and have pie thrown in my face. But unfortunately, I think us naysayers are right.

I'm thinkin a Key Lime pie....

I went through and finally found this Miami. I can totally understand from a far that you are dissappointed. Hell I am at every game and it's getting harder to see these guys get beat. Not to speak for Rhineaux but it does seem like you constantly are on Lee. The post up top was the first time I saw a chink in your armour. I respect you opinion but at the same time, sometimes it's just better to keep quiet. On the other i could ignore you post and move on.

You may have a point about wins and losses being the ultimate barometer on Lee, at the same time I can see that this is a rebuild year and don't see any changes happening. I also think we have what could be magic coming. I feel the experience level is good for a couple of losses so far.

Is that the wrong decision time will tell I still will have pie delivered to you. I am making the Lake charles trip Saturday. I am going to stand with this team until the bitter end but hopefully it is Sweet in the end.