Observations from the basketball game...

[Just1More]

Soto is a guy who helped us off the bench last night. He seems to be improving quickly now. Having to miss the first six games really set him back but I can see him being one of our better players down the road. Catch and shoot seems to be one of his strong points. Defensively, he may have trouble with quick guys but he has a big upper body so he causes problems for others. Wronkowski seems to have hit the freshman wall early. I would not be surprised to see him become a bench player as Thompson is now doing OK on defense and is likely to regain his starting spot. We will have trouble on the boards all year as we simply are outmanned inside. Moore played OK last night but he had limited minutes due to foul trouble. Not surprising as that often happens to guys who are simply smaller than the guy they are guarding. Good job last night of overcoming that shortcoming. Now let's see if they can play better on the road. They have played well at home in their last three outings. Robert Morris game got away from them as they shot poorly and Robert Morris was deadly from three point range but their floor game was OK that night. Mbamalu will be a key as he struggled at Ark. State but has been hot at home lately. If he can hit in a road game, maybe we can win one of these Florida road trip games.

I need to make games in Lafayette like I used to. I seek out your posts, Mike, for an honest, straight forward, appraisal of the state of UL MBB. With all the doom and gloom by so many, the team seems to be fighting their way through it. If we retain the talent we have, add one impact and one support addition, we could be formidable in very short order. Once that happens, crowds will return. I have no doubt about that.

[Cajunsmike]

Was the NT win before or after Brown broke his foot?

I believe Brown broke his foot in the very early stages of the UNT game. So early, that he could not be a factor. As far as Just1More's comment that he needs to make a game, next chance is Jan. 11 which is a Thursday. Next Saturday home game is Jan. 13. I am sure two losses in Florida will discourage people from coming as that can happen as EVERY road game in college basketball is a challenge. That does not mean that down the road they can't start to play consistently. However, they will struggle all year inside, ias they simply are one forward short. They have to overcome that by creating turnovers From here on out, his best bet for help in that regard is walkon Aaron Leblanc. Leblanc is 6'5" but has long arms and seems to have more success defensively than guys like Barnett and Lazare. I for one am optimistic that the guys we are bringing in next year will help. I saw the forward from Dallas named Jackson play on TV and he will be able to help defensively on the boards. Register is proving in the high school season so far that he can shoot the ball well as I don't think he has had a game yet without multiple three pointers. Another rebounder and another shooter coming on board and I am certain they are targeting other inside people for spring recruiting. That is down the road. For this season, just be aware they will have to overcome the size issue in just about every game.

[BrockMeaux]

Students are fickle, just like our fans seem to be the last few years. Don't blame the students, blame the product Marlin as put on the court. I know he's rebuilding this program, but he seems to always take 2 steps forward, 1 step back.

Put some wins on the board and the student section will be rocking again, just like the general admission. When I was a student I didn't miss a game no matter what, but I still noticed the student section would definitely grow by the number of wins we had on the year. Not to mention, watching Dwayne Mitchell flying all over the place slamming home dunks was a lot more fun to watch than a bunch of small dudes that look like high school players trying to keep up with the opponent.

Something needs to change with our recruiting. And soon.

I'm calling BS on this. I was in the student section years ago when we had some of Jesse Evans' teams. Does the student section as a whole leave something to be desired? Sure. But the student section - and the general crowd as a whole - has NEVER shown up before mid-January. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when I hear people talk about the lackluster crowds at basketball games early in the season. In the decade plus that I've been regularly attending sporting events at UL as a student and alumni, our crowds have ALWAYS been sparse early in the season for basketball, and that doesn't depend on wins and losses. I've watched Robert Lee's teams lose to NAIA schools in front of an empty arena, and I've seen Jesse Evans' teams crush big-name schools pre-New Years in front of that same empty arena. The students are out of school, and once we're in session again their numbers will pick up a lot, and the Peppa Pit guys will do a great job leading them. And once we get into mid-January, the general crowd will start filling in as well, probably to the tune of about 3,500 per game. That crowd will obviously grow if we win more, but the point I'm making here is that early season attendance and crowd participation at this point is nothing new, and it has nothing to do with our players or coaches. It's simply the habits of the market we live in.

[Cajunsmike]

In regards to Dave's comment that Leblanc is taking minutes that would have gone to Moss. I am not sure that is the case. Leblanc helps defensively while Moss struggled in that regard. Moss was strictly a spot up shooter and defense would be an issue for him for awhile. They should have redshirted the kid from the beginning. Had they told him that up front, he may have not gotten frustrated.

[RaginDave]

Mike, I did not mean he was taking his actual minutes, my point was that with Moss gone, it has opened up time for another bigger body. And considering we are short in that area, Leblanc becomes the best option. I know they are completely different types of players, but I dont think Leblanc would be seeing the time he is if Moss was still on the team and Brown were available.

[Just1More]

As far as Just1More's comment that he needs to make a game, next chance is Jan. 11 which is a Thursday. Next Saturday home game is Jan. 13.

Thanks Mike. I'm going to find you and say hello.

[Cajunsmike]

I am in Section 127, Row E.

[Just1More]

I am in Section 127, Row E.

Cool. BTW... those games are Jan 10 (Thurs) and Jan 12 (Sat).

[Cajunsmike]

Cool. BTW... those games are Jan 10 (Thurs) and Jan 12 (Sat).

Thanks for the correction on dates.

[moorecajun]

I'm calling BS on this. I was in the student section years ago when we had some of Jesse Evans' teams. Does the student section as a whole leave something to be desired? Sure. But the student section - and the general crowd as a whole - has NEVER shown up before mid-January. I don't know why, but I feel like I'm taking crazy pills when I hear people talk about the lackluster crowds at basketball games early in the season. In the decade plus that I've been regularly attending sporting events at UL as a student and alumni, our crowds have ALWAYS been sparse early in the season for basketball, and that doesn't depend on wins and losses. I've watched Robert Lee's teams lose to NAIA schools in front of an empty arena, and I've seen Jesse Evans' teams crush big-name schools pre-New Years in front of that same empty arena. The students are out of school, and once we're in session again their numbers will pick up a lot, and the Peppa Pit guys will do a great job leading them. And once we get into mid-January, the general crowd will start filling in as well, probably to the tune of about 3,500 per game. That crowd will obviously grow if we win more, but the point I'm making here is that early season attendance and crowd participation at this point is nothing new, and it has nothing to do with our players or coaches. It's simply the habits of the market we live in.

I agree with you on this ... I really don't remember any crowds of size before the new year, generally after conference play and the spring semester starts.

Also, a problem we have NEVER had before we have now had TWO YEARS IN A ROW! Any guesses?

Yep. We have always looked to basketball to help us get over the football blues ... now we are still talking football, bowl games, bowl game attendances, recruiting, etc. AND the national signing day is early in February; non of this is helping basketball attendance ... only their winning will get them noticed now.

But, for the record, I think they are a tremendously better squad (and better to watch also) than last year's team. You can see they are short on depth, but the starting five has some talent AND I think Coach Marlin is doing a great job using the other guys to fill in time (read Aaron LeBlanc). I am concerned about the attrition but if Matt Moss is the only one this year we may be able to put that behind us. I agree with Cajunsmike; MM should have been a redshirt this year but we needed bodies; he just wasn't capable of playing defense and got pretty dissapointed in PT ... not too much you can do about that.

[CajunAmos]

I have to say I don't see guys hanging heads or moping when they are taken out of games. They all appear to be attentive and the team unity seems to be good.

[anhil8tor]

I have to say I don't see guys hanging heads or moping when they are taken out of games. They all appear to be attentive and the team unity seems to be good.

I see a group of guys that hustle and work well together. I can't wait to get some depth.