The Book: 2007-08 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

[RaisingCajun08]

Notes: Former UNLV center Emmanuel Adeife, who is considering transferring to UL, sat behind the Cajuns' bench during Saturday's game. The 6-foot-10 junior is also considering South Florida. He said he will decide his future destination "soon."

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Anyone have more info? I did a quick search and found that he is listed as a Jr. at UNLV. Will he be able to play 2 years for us if he transfers or will it be just 1 after sitting out a year?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player.playerId=26830

[Cajunsmike]

Notes: Former UNLV center Emmanuel Adeife, who is considering transferring to UL, sat behind the Cajuns' bench during Saturday's game. The 6-foot-10 junior is also considering South Florida. He said he will decide his future destination "soon."

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Anyone have more info? I did a quick search and found that he is listed as a Jr. at UNLV. Will he be able to play 2 years for us if he transfers or will it be just 1 after sitting out a year?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player.playerId=26830

Adeife will have 1 3/4 years to play for us if he enrolls. He will be eligible after the fall semester ends. That is typically about 7 games out of the 29 on the schedule.

[Jeaux]

If he wants to be here than good, but I not gonna dwell on him and next year. We played without a true center and took it to everyones' Sunbelt darling. When Ferguson and the rest come in next year I want them to blend in with all the talent on this team.

[RaginFan2]

I told Hammer last night when we got down by 12 that we had one more run left in us. sho' nuff Hadn't been in a while. Home games always seem to coincide with me being in Tuscaloosa. Had a great time last night.

Z

Hey, dude! Didn't see ya last night. Where were you sitting? I was in 210 with son #1. Saw my old pal, M. Moulis, and met his better half prior to the game. Enjoyed the game (except for the losing part!) and liked the crowd atmosphere during the second half. Went down after the game and spoke with D. Cottonham and his friend G. Williams. Williams was a former BB player. He spoke to many of the players as they walked by. All seemed to be pretty down about the loss. One even said they are tired of "moral victories". I was glad to hear that. Met Stephen Dees. He seemed like a very nice young man. I was impressed by his demeanor.

After the game we went to grab a bite at a sushi place and, lo and behold, ran into the irrepressible Dr. Funk! We sat at the bar with him and discussed some of the finer points of the game, this team and the university. Enjoyable discussion as always. Sorry I didn't get to see you during your "Bama Reprieve"!

[Zeebart21]

Hey, dude! Didn't see ya last night. Where were you sitting? I was in 210 with son #1. Saw my old pal, M. Moulis, and met his better half prior to the game. Enjoyed the game (except for the losing part!) and liked the crowd atmosphere during the second half. Went down after the game and spoke with D. Cottonham and his friend G. Williams. Williams was a former BB player. He spoke to many of the players as they walked by. All seemed to be pretty down about the loss. One even said they are tired of "moral victories". I was glad to hear that. Met Stephen Dees. He seemed like a very nice young man. I was impressed by his demeanor.

After the game we went to grab a bite at a sushi place and, lo and behold, ran into the irrepressible Dr. Funk! We sat at the bar with him and discussed some of the finer points of the game, this team and the university. Enjoyable discussion as always. Sorry I didn't get to see you during your "Bama Reprieve"!

We were in 208. I saw you and yelledobviously you didnt here us!

Z

[JamesTheJeweler]

enjoyed the game last night and was disappointed with the loss but pleased with how well we played all things considered. but what i wanna know is, is am i the only one who feels we got just a wee bit jobbed with the calls by the officials? i was freekin IRATE!!!! I THOUGHT THE HOME TEAM WAS SUPPOSED TO GET THE CALLS?!?!?

[Jeaux]

Not when its the Star player on League Darlings. Pay back in Mobile on the Deuce. I feel it.

[RaginFan2]

We were in 208. I saw you and yelledobviously you didnt here us!

Z

Nope! Sorry. At my age, the hearing is starting to go! When did you do the yelling: during the game, at halftime, or after the game?

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns (8-10, 4-3) continue their toughest stretch of the Sun Belt Conference slate when they travel to Mobile, Ala., to take on this year’s hottest team, the South Alabama Jaguars (15-3, 7-0). South Alabama has yet to lose in the New Year, having won 11 straight games dating back to November. Louisiana has won each of its last three trips and five of its last six to the Mitchell Center on the South Alabama campus.South Alabama has won all seven Sun Belt contests in decisive fashion - five of those wins have come by a margin of nine points or more. Perhaps even more impressive is South Alabama’s 10-0 record at the Mitchell Center this season. The Jaguars have not lost at home since Feb. 28, 2007 vs. Troy. After racing out to a 4-0 start in SBC play, Louisiana has stumbled of late, losing its last three conference contests and three of its last four overall.After trailing WKU by as many as 12 points Saturday night, Louisiana has trailed by 10 or more points in six of its seven Sun Belt Conference games this season. Conversely, the Cajuns have led by 10 or more points in four of their seven league games as well.Saturday, Randell Daigle didn’t have much luck from three-point range as two of his triple attempts rimmed out as he finished with four points, snapping his streak of 15 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal made.Louisiana shot a season-high 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the free throw line in Saturday’s 69-66 loss to Western Kentucky. It marked the Cajuns’ best free throw shooting night against a Sun Belt Conference foe since Jan. 28, 2006, when UL shot 88.9 percent (16-of-18) at Middle Tennessee. With his 11-point performance vs. WKU, freshman Travis Bureau has now scored 10 or more points in three Sun Belt Conference games this season. South Alabama Preview. South Alabama used a 12-2 run during a five-minute span of the second half to break open a close game, then hit enough free throws down the stretch to defeat Sun Belt Conference West Division co-leader UALR, 72-65, Saturday night at the Jack Stephens Center. The win was the 11th straight for the Jaguars, who improved to 15-3 overall and 7-0 in league play. Daniel Hayles hit three key three-pointers during the contest to finish with a USA career-high 13 points. Four other players reached double figures for the Jags -- Demetric Bennett had 12, Daon Merritt and Domonic Tilford each added 11, while Brandon Davis had 10. Brandon Patterson led UALR (12-6, 4-3) with 14 points. South Alabama was ahead by two, 51-49, with 9:20 to play after five straight Trojan points, but Hayles hit a three from the right baseline and Tilford knocked down a pair of free throws to stretch the lead back to seven, 56-49, with 8:09 left. After a UALR layup, the Jaguars scored seven in a row to open their biggest advantage of the game, 12 points at 63-51 with 4:21 to play. South Alabama hit nine of 12 freet throws in the final 2:02, keeping no less than six-point spread at all times.South Alabama opened a 23-13 lead midway through the first half, but saw the Trojans storm back with nine straight points to trail just by just one, 23-22 with 5:58 left. UALR took its first lead of the game at the 3:02 mark on a basket by Derrick Bales. Their advantage was four, 30-26, with 1:38 remaining when the Jags came to life. They scored nine straight points on three three-pointers for a 35-30 advantage at the break. Tilford brought USA within one at the 1:26 mark, then Hayles hit treys with 49 and 0.8 seconds left to send the Jags into the locker room with the lead. After the South Alabama game.Louisiana travels to Troy, Ala., to face Sun Belt East Division foe Troy Sunday at 1 p.m. A Win by Louisiana.would snap the Cajuns three-game Sun Belt losing streak, while also snapping South Alabama’s 11-game winning streak. A Loss by Louisiana.would drop the Cajuns to 8-11 overall and extend their Sun Belt losing streak to four games. Double-Digit Turnaround. Saturday, Louisiana trailed Western Kentucky by as many as 12 points, 64-52, with 4:00 left to play. It marked the sixth time in seven Sun Belt Conference games this season that the Cajuns trailed by 10 or more points. Conversely, the Cajuns have led by 10 or more points in four of their seven league games this season. Daigle Kept Quiet From Three. Randell Daigle didn’t have much success from three-point range Saturday night at WKU as two of his triple attempts rimmed out and a third one - which he made - was waved off because of a foul before the shot. Daigle finished the night with four points on 1-of-6 shooting, snapping his streak of 15 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal made. High-Percentage Shooting. Louisiana shot a season-high 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the free throw line in Saturday’s 69-66 loss to Western Kentucky. It marked the Cajuns’ best free throw shooting night against a SBC foe since Jan. 28, 2006, when they shot 88.9 percent (16-of-18) at Middle Tennessee. RaginCajuns.com

[CajunKahouna]

And, USA is getting votes for the Top 25.

[CajunProud]

I don't know much about basketball, so I will have to rely on those of you that do know about the game to explain to me what I am seeing at the games.

First, eventhough I don't know about basketball, I do know good athletes when I see them, and we have some fantastic ones on this team.

Second, I see a tremendous amount of improvement from the McNeese game to the WKU game.

I was impressed with the improvement in free throw shooting. We have traditionally been a very poor free throw shooting team ever since I can remember (don't know why that is).

What I don't understand though is this: It seems as though we do not run an offense at all. I continually see one or two guys moving, but most of the guys on the team are standing still. Before the WKU game I was watching Duke and Clemson play, and both teams had constant movement by all 5 players on the court. Why do we not do this? Is it because we run a different type of offense, or is it because the players don't understand? Someone please explain this to me (seriously, I really don't know much about basketball).

I can say that it was very exciting and fun to be at the WKU game (except the end). The atmosphere was great. Just imagine how great it would have been if we were at Blackham. The Cajundome is nice and all, but it is nowhere near the atmosphere of Blackham.

I look forward to hearing from those of you who know and understand the game.

GEAUX CAJUNS.

[Cajun Express]

_ I don't know much about basketball, so I will have to rely on those of you that do know about the game to explain to me what I am seeing at the games.

First, eventhough I don't know about basketball, I do know good athletes when I see them, and we have some fantastic ones on this team.

Second, I see a tremendous amount of improvement from the McNeese game to the WKU game.

I was impressed with the improvement in free throw shooting. We have traditionally been a very poor free throw shooting team ever since I can remember (don't know why that is).

What I don't understand though is this: It seems as though we do not run an offense at all. I continually see one or two guys moving, but most of the guys on the team are standing still. Before the WKU game I was watching Duke and Clemson play, and both teams had constant movement by all 5 players on the court. Why do we not do this? Is it because we run a different type of offense, or is it because the players don't understand? Someone please explain this to me (seriously, I really don't know much about basketball).

I can say that it was very exciting and fun to be at the WKU game (except the end). The atmosphere was great. Just imagine how great it would have been if we were at Blackham. The Cajundome is nice and all, but it is nowhere near the atmosphere of Blackham.

I look forward to hearing from those of you who know and understand the game.

GEAUX CAJUNS. _

Well that is the rub, movement. You can' move simply to move. You need to be moving someplace. Our players are not yet running plays on innate knowledge of the play, they still have to think about it a little. That partial second is all an experienced player needs to counter any movement. I often saw WKU players actually blocking our guys from moving, and they were lost. IOW experience, experience and coaching. Lee needs to have these guys improve, his job depends on it.

[rhineaux]

I was impressed with the improvement in free throw shooting. We have traditionally been a very poor free throw shooting team ever since I can remember (don't know why that is).

I can tell you this much.After the UVU game, RL said that if we were going to have a chance against WKU, we had to eliminate turnovers and we had to make our free throws.

Well, we went from turning it over 16 times against UVU, to 13 against a much better WKU team. I guess that the improvement there is a little better than the 3 fewer TOs would suggest, but still, 13 TOs is too many.

Secondly, we went from shooting 58% (14 of 24) from the line against UVU, to shooting 86% (18 of 21) against WKU. That's a considerable improvement.

These sorts of stats, in my opinion, just prove that the team has the ability. They haven't shot that well from the line in almost 2 years. Now, we know they can do it, the coaches know they can do it, and they know they can do it. so, there's no reason for them not to shoot that well ever again. Maybe they shot better against WKU because it was a bigger game, or because of the perception that more was on the line, and if so, then they'll have to get out of that mindset and quit playing to the level of their opponents, something that will come with time. They'll need to develop the killer instinct to blast away opponents that are not as good as them, which will help create a better overall mindset when taking on better or equally talented opponents.

As for TOs, its kinda the same thing. As they get more comfortable in the offense (as you mentioned, if there is one) and get more comfortable with each other, and start playing to their potential night in and night out, then this stat will improve as well.

I too have noticed the lack of a system on offense. I would like to go back and compare this team to the 04-05 team that ended up playing Louisville, to see if there is simply a lack of set plays being run right now because of youth and inexperience in the system, or if its just that RL doesn't have a very dynamic offensive scheme. Or maybe its just that we don't have the inside presence to run a lot of plays. I'm like you, i don't really know much when it comes to that side of basketball. One thing's for sure is that RL can really teach defense, and it shows with this team only allowing about 65-70 points per game. but, we're only averaging scoring about the same amount of points per game and a more aggressive, dynamic offense will help this team score more points. To start the season, our shooting percentage sucked, and RL may have been keeping the offense simplified in order to give them confidence with their shots.

If he's holding out on inserting too much offense because of youth and inexperience, I could understand that. He's been preaching "baby steps, baby steps" all along with his plan.and there's no reason to think that just because this team went on a little run, that they'd all of a sudden be at a point where he could start fast tracking any part of his plan.

[ulforlife]

we gave up waaayyy too many offensive rebounds. thats why we lost. the kids were just standing under the basket waiting for the ball to fall. if we would have rebounded, we would have won.

[CajunProud]

_ I can tell you this much.After the UVU game, RL said that if we were going to have a chance against WKU, we had to eliminate turnovers and we had to make our free throws.

Well, we went from turning it over 16 times against UVU, to 13 against a much better WKU team. I guess that the improvement there is a little better than the 3 fewer TOs would suggest, but still, 13 TOs is too many.

Secondly, we went from shooting 58% (14 of 24) from the line against UVU, to shooting 86% (18 of 21) against WKU. That's a considerable improvement.

These sorts of stats, in my opinion, just prove that the team has the ability. They haven't shot that well from the line in almost 2 years. Now, we know they can do it, the coaches know they can do it, and they know they can do it. so, there's no reason for them not to shoot that well ever again. Maybe they shot better against WKU because it was a bigger game, or because of the perception that more was on the line, and if so, then they'll have to get out of that mindset and quit playing to the level of their opponents, something that will come with time. They'll need to develop the killer instinct to blast away opponents that are not as good as them, which will help create a better overall mindset when taking on better or equally talented opponents.

As for TOs, its kinda the same thing. As they get more comfortable in the offense (as you mentioned, if there is one) and get more comfortable with each other, and start playing to their potential night in and night out, then this stat will improve as well.

I too have noticed the lack of a system on offense. I would like to go back and compare this team to the 04-05 team that ended up playing Louisville, to see if there is simply a lack of set plays being run right now because of youth and inexperience in the system, or if its just that RL doesn't have a very dynamic offensive scheme. Or maybe its just that we don't have the inside presence to run a lot of plays. I'm like you, i don't really know much when it comes to that side of basketball. One thing's for sure is that RL can really teach defense, and it shows with this team only allowing about 65-70 points per game. but, we're only averaging scoring about the same amount of points per game and a more aggressive, dynamic offense will help this team score more points. To start the season, our shooting percentage sucked, and RL may have been keeping the offense simplified in order to give them confidence with their shots.

If he's holding out on inserting too much offense because of youth and inexperience, I could understand that. He's been preaching "baby steps, baby steps" all along with his plan.and there's no reason to think that just because this team went on a little run, that they'd all of a sudden be at a point where he could start fast tracking any part of his plan. _

Thanks for the response.

I could be wrong, but just from my personal observations over the last sevarl years, it seems as though we have always had great athletes and that athletic talent has overcome any deficiencies we have had in coaching, i.e. installing an offense or running an offense. Like I said previously, I don't know that much about basketball and I could be way off on this, but it is just what I see. This really isn't meant to be a criticism, but more of a learning process for me so that I can enjoy the games more.