Do we need a big name coach? I honestly don't think one would succeed here at present. He'd win, but with modest success and unless his postseasons were better than one and done crowds would settle at 4-6K announced. So don't hire Coach K if he's over the hill and needs 10 more W's to set another major milestone, you might wind up broke and disappointed.
Are Cajun fans fair weather fans? The Bo Lamar crowd and support base was exterminated during the disasterous transition from Blackham to the Cajundome and the hatred for Fletcher (even though he was successful). This crowd absorbed pain more often than Rasputin was poisoned, so give the Cajun fan high marks for loyalty.
Does a fan have to possess a "true love" for the game to want to attend? I am not a "true" or "knowledgeable" basketball fan but under Shipley and Paschal I really enjoyed myself at the games. Probably the fun was as much watching people around me having a great time as it was the shots, steals, dunks, and wins. It was an intimate gathering of a lot of friends. I sensed that Evans' teams underachieved because of their postseason play, and he kept trying to get other coaching jobs. Lee gave it his best shot and that's all you can ask of a man. I've even tried getting season tickets a few years since my self-described golden years, determining to "learn" to like the game better, but just had to push myself out the door and wasn't successful very often. The last year I had them I didn't attend any games. Now I'm reading that the diehards who love the game and are knowledgeable are having the same motivation problems I had and are dropping THEIR tickets. It must gall them much more than it does me when a player not named Wilt Chamberlain or Shaquille O'Neal can't make a decent percentage of free throws.
What's wrong with the basketball program and how to we turn it around? Honestly, I think the program has been dead for so long that nobody knows what to do. You can't say efforts haven't been made to improve the salaries. Marlin was a successful basketball coach for many years before coming here, so I know he knows how to win. But since coming here, for whatever reason, he's been snake bit. The assistants change, players leave, and knowledgeable fans say the talent isn't anything like it once was. I'm not privy to the details, just know what they add up to in the W-L-E (the latter standing for "entertainment") column. Fans who are students of the game say they want a more exciting style of play.
Can UL regain its former glory in basketball and then some? Yes! They have before in a big way and will again. I will know things have turned around when the marginal fan is able to enjoy the games again. If I knew what to do I'd know a lot more about basketball, wouldn't I?