Athlete (2001-2003) Michael Southall

[skankinCajun]

hes a good player, and i hope everything goes the best for him in whatever he chooses to do. if hes in a cajun uniform or not, good luck to him.

[Zeebart21]

You don't get it either.

OK, fill us in...

Help us to "get it"...

Z.

[Zeebart21]

i had just seen you looking into your review mirror.. you got home, logged on and posted all within 30 minutes? (grins)

ps. my southall thinking is.. i never was impressed with his effort on the court.. maybe kinda like the aaron brooks smiling type thing.. in that he may really may have been trying.. although to me he just seemed to give about 70% at best, in my eyes

pss. i must confess i have not read but maybe 2 or 3 posts in this thread..

psss. he doesn't play football.. so why all the emotion about something that may or may not happen in the future.. today has enough troubles for itself.. SLUh

I didnt see the S'note ride??? Was I not paying attn??? Where was I? Where am I?..

who am I.



Z.

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. - Coach Robert Lee had a tough decision to make. He had just completed an impressive first season as head basketball coach at the University of Louisiana. He had guided the Ragin' Cajuns to NCAA Division 1 postseason play and was enjoying an abundance of fan support. Then Lee got a phone call from Mrs. Lorna Southall of West Salem, Wis. She asked him to allow her son, Michael, to rejoin the Ragin' Cajuns for his final year of eligibility. On the surface, that might seem like an easy question for Lee to answer. But it wasn't. Lee was an assistant coach when former Ragin' Cajun head coach Jessie Evans recruited the high school All-State player from Wisconsin. The 6-foot-10-inch center had one of the best freshman seasons in recent UL history. He was named the 2001-02 Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and helped his team reach the NIT tournament twice, as a freshman and as a sophomore. Southall left the Ragin' Cajuns court in 2003, when he became academically ineligible to play basketball in his junior year. Lee describes Southall as a "difference maker." But a decision to let him compete at UL again would be controversial. In 2004, Southall was sentenced to serve a year in a Wisconsin county jail for violating probation on a previous drug charge. In March, he was arrested in Lafayette for possession of marijuana. Lee said Southall is taking responsibility for that mistake. "His parents told me that everyone else has given up on Michael, and that he has a great deal of respect for me. They said that, as parents, they just had to ask me to take him back and give him one final chance," Lee said. "Michael loves basketball and they want to see him succeed both on the court and in life." The coach knew that Southall grew up in a family that values higher education. The talented center has three siblings; all have earned college degrees. Lee chose to test Southall before allowing him to rejoin the Ragin' Cajuns. He set the bar high, with the understanding that Southall would be under a "no strike policy." Failure to comply with Lee's conditions would automatic remove him from consideration. For starters, the coach demanded that Southall attend summer school and earn good grades. So the star post player took three courses - English, sociology and psychology - and made As in all of them. "I really didn't expect Michael to follow through with my academic demands, but he did," Lee said. "I contacted his professors after I saw his grades and they told me that he worked very hard, participated in class discussions and activities, and earned those top grades. At that point, I saw hope and felt that giving Michael a chance to play Ragin' Cajun basketball again was the right thing to do." The coach is confident that Southall is determined to succeed on and off the court. "Hopefully, he will make his family, his team and his university very proud. Then, he can be proud of himself. Michael knows that if, at any point, he does not perform well in class - or in the community - he will be off the team for good." Although Lee doesn't doubt that he made the right decision, he was curious. What would other coaches have done in the same situation? So he asked about a dozen of his peers. All told him they would have given Southall one final chance. Lee has gotten mixed reactions from fans who have heard about Southall's return to the team. "It was a tough decision and I have to live with it. It's very easy to strictly judge a situation like this one when it's not your kid. But I considered what I would want if Michael were my child. I think that if people asked themselves that same question, and answered it honestly, most would support giving Michael a final chance. "Helping Michael reminds me of one of my greatest accomplishments as a high school coach. I was coaching a kid who was in a difficult family situation and I was the last chance he had to succeed. He needed basketball at the time to have some order in his life. Basketball helped keep him motivated to do good things, gave him a sense of belonging, and gave this young man hope. Today, he's is a well respected physical therapist who is working in central Louisiana." Lee noted that Southall was never arrested while playing basketball for UL, adding that athletics can give students the discipline and structure that they need to succeed in life. "Basketball is a sport of forgiveness. You miss some shots, but you continue to shoot. And success isn't completely defined by what happens on the court." LOUISIANA SI

[BabbForHeisman]

I was just curious to see what everyone thought of the Cajuns' performance tonight, particularly with Southall in the lineup. Personally, I was impressed. I thought Mike looked hungry and fired up just to be playing. I'm expecting good things from this team...comments?

[Lil_Robi]

I was just curious to see what everyone thought of the Cajuns' performance tonight, particularly with Southall in the lineup. Personally, I was impressed. I thought Mike looked hungry and fired up just to be playing. I'm expecting good things from this team...comments?

I think the Cajuns has something special and will be VERY TUFF. The fans need to pack the house. I did not think the fans were into the game as games passed tonight, may it was because they were up so far?

[Boomer]

I think the Cajuns has something special and will be VERY TUFF. The fans need to pack the house. I did not think the fans were into the game as games passed tonight, may it was because they were up so far?

I was dissapointed with the pt. guard play--UNTIL Mr.B made the move to the basket--he can play!!!!

[RedBug58]

I think the Cajuns has something special and will be VERY TUFF. The fans need to pack the house. I did not think the fans were into the game as games passed tonight, may it was because they were up so far?

It was the most excitement I've ever seen for an exibition game. I haven't seen the stats, but I bet Southall blocked a dozen or more shots. He's got NBA written all over him. Looked like a man playing with boys.
Between Southall, Cameron, & James; we will own anything close to the basket. Mitchell's ball handling has improved, Barksdale can handle the ball, some of the new guys (Fields, Turner) look like they can contribute right off the bat. Even Rhett hebert made a good shot. Southall will outright dominate some games this year and make them laughable. We could have gone to Southall everytime tonight.

[AstroCajun]

I think the Cajuns has something special and will be VERY TUFF. The fans need to pack the house. I did not think the fans were into the game as games passed tonight, may it was because they were up so far?

The lead had something to do with it, but the lack of BEER had alot more to do with it.

Why o why can't we declare the games BYOB and have the UP's look the other way???

[AstroCajun]

I was dissapointed with the pt. guard play--UNTIL Mr.B made the move to the basket--he can play!!!!

Ed Turner is going to be a fine player. He also impressed me much and WTF was with the Technical on Ross?

[Lil_Robi]

It was the most excitement I've ever seen for an exibition game. I haven't seen the stats, but I bet Southall blocked a dozen or more shots. He's got NBA written all over him. Looked like a man playing with boys.
Between Southall, Cameron, & James; we will own anything close to the basket. Mitchell's ball handling has improved, Barksdale can handle the ball, some of the new guys (Fields, Turner) look like they can contribute right off the bat. Even Rhett hebert made a good shot. Southall will outright dominate some games this year and make them laughable. We could have gone to Southall everytime tonight.

Was it just me or the Mitchell look like gained some muscle????

[BabbForHeisman]

Ed Turner is going to be a fine player. He also impressed me much and WTF was with the Technical on Ross?

Yeah, that was a really stupid call. The only reason he hung on the rim for a fraction of a second was because there were two guys from the other team bearing down on him from behind.

Also, I like the "block" where Southall just kinda reached up and grabbed the ball from the other guy.