The Book: 2007-08 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

[cjntgr]

I know we would all love to have a first round bye but I look at it this way. We beat Troy at their place and they arent a very good road team. We should beat them on Wednesday. This team is young and is in a groove I dont know how they would react to a first round bye and not playing a game for about a week. I know it would keep us fresh but I feel players like Gradnigo who are on fire right now should stay in a good rythym with the game on Wednesday. Just my two cents.

[Zeebart21]

One of the encouraging things to me about last night's crowd was not getting down on our kids when things got tough and they did not play at their best.
With what I read and hear about our problems on offense and having a coach who does not know what he is doing, I get concerned that the crowd will turn on the team/staff when they play poorly. That will happen at times in every game and staying with the guys helps them get over the hump. I have to remind myself that not everyone who goes to the game reads these boards.

Its a shame! They would be soooo much more enlightened if they did!!!!

Z

[jllanclos]

to clarify: the top 2 seeds are the east and west division champions, and the rest are ranked by conference record regardless of division. thus wku and mt are 3 and 4 and we are 5.

[Tripple Threat]

_ Doesn't matter who's idea what was, the point is everything came together to make a great atmosphere. Hopefully it can be the same way on Wednesday. _

You got it...Next year it needs to start at the beginning of the season, not the end.

[RaginCajun2010]

Agreed, however its better now than never. And it will carry over to next year, and since the team had success this season, the non-hardcore(if thats a word) fans will come out and there will be more students, which is more noise. Plus it gives us time to think of some new things to try.

[NewsCopy]

His button-down shirt drenched and hair soaked, UL men's basketball coach Robert Lee wore a smile that filled the room Saturday night. About 20 minutes earlier the Cajuns knocked off Denver, 58-51, at the Cajundome to finish the regular season as co-champs with Arkansas-Little Rock in the Sun Belt Conference West Division - the program's first such title since 2003-04. UL players doused the fourth-year coach with water in the locker room to celebrate the emotional win. His post-game expression struck a sharp contrast to the feeling Lee experienced on Dec. 13 after a 67-61 loss at home to McNeese State. The nation's third-youngest basketball team fell to 1-6 with the loss. Frustration and disappointment surrounded the program. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[rhineaux]

_ I think rhineaux can back me up on this one, we have been standing at games in the student section for years. Only we got jeers, and were asked by worthless lazy students to sit down. It was great to finally see a fun, lively student section. Now if you really want to do something make up some cheers or chants , bring some signs and lead everyone along. Cause our "cheerleaders" don't seem to know how to do that. _

I tried to get in touch with the cheerleader people before the football season. I did get a response, but nothing ever came of my suggestions. Basically what I told the girl was that all they needed was a big board with a U, and a big one with an L. Also, one with a Red (or Rouge), and one with a White (or Blanc, of course)...And even a one with Ragin and one with Cajuns. Those are simple things that can get fans going during TOs. I always hated when we'd go on a run that would get the crowd going, and the other team would call a TO, and it would take the crowd out of the game. Everyone would be standing and yelling, then the TO, and it's like nothing ever happened. I don't know if the crowd would always chill out because they had to go 90 seconds without basketball, or if it was because "Oh Look, the band's playing 'respect'...again and the cheerleaders and dancers are doing that act...again."

I also told her that they needed to work with the band to get other cheers and chants going, because nobody could ever hear them at football games. At basketball games, it's not much better. But, there's no reason why they can't come up with anything original every so often, instead of the "D D D De-fense" or "Defense Cajuns Defense" all the time. Maybe I'm being too unfair to them, because it's also the job of our mascot to work up some crowd involvement, and the poor cheerleaders don't have a mascot to do that for them. The only thing we have scares children, doesn't do anything but bob his head and clap, and lacks the respect of all of the fans so nobody's gonna pay any attention to it anyway.

[CajunCherokee]

Sun Belt Bracket pdf
I like our positioning in the bracket. If we continue to win, it gives WKU and USA the opportunity to lose before we HAVE to play them.

It should make for an interested tournament...

[CajunCharlie]

_ I tried to get in touch with the cheerleader people before the football season. I did get a response, but nothing ever came of my suggestions. Basically what I told the girl was that all they needed was a big board with a U, and a big one with an L. Also, one with a Red (or Rouge), and one with a White (or Blanc, of course)...And even a one with Ragin and one with Cajuns. Those are simple things that can get fans going during TOs. I always hated when we'd go on a run that would get the crowd going, and the other team would call a TO, and it would take the crowd out of the game. Everyone would be standing and yelling, then the TO, and it's like nothing ever happened. I don't know if the crowd would always chill out because they had to go 90 seconds without basketball, or if it was because "Oh Look, the band's playing 'respect'...again and the cheerleaders and dancers are doing that act...again."

I also told her that they needed to work with the band to get other cheers and chants going, because nobody could ever hear them at football games. At basketball games, it's not much better. But, there's no reason why they can't come up with anything original every so often, instead of the "D D D De-fense" or "Defense Cajuns Defense" all the time. Maybe I'm being too unfair to them, because it's also the job of our mascot to work up some crowd involvement, and the poor cheerleaders don't have a mascot to do that for them. The only thing we have scares children, doesn't do anything but bob his head and clap, and lacks the respect of all of the fans so nobody's gonna pay any attention to it anyway. _

I believe you have been conversing with my wife. She just groans at basketball games when the cheerleaders come out with their tired (her opinion) routine(s).
I have always wondered why the cheerleaders have not employed your big board idea. I particularly like the Ragin....Cajun one. Don't lengthen out the cheer responses. Fans only want to respond about four times. After that they get tired of the routine and its difficult to "whip them up again" if they know it will be another "marathon response cheer".

Good ideas Rhineaux! If at first you do not succeed...try and try again.

[rhineaux]

Great Point. In the Quarterfinals, WKU and UALR could potentially have far easier matchups than USA. You would think that earning the first seed would get you a much easier game in the second round than either against DU or UNO. I'd much rather play FIU or FAU than one of those two. I guess this bracket was created with the assumption that all of the higher seeds would move on. If not, then there are going to be some upset USA fans when they have to face Bo MaCaleb & #8 UNO in the QF's while UALR is facing #10 FIU and/or WKU is facing #11 ASU.

Either way, it doesn't bother me much. We wouldn't face one of the 'top 3' until at least the semi's.

As it shakes down, we beat our first opponent pretty handily at their place. Of our two potential second opponents, we were 2-0 against one, winning both with the last shot of the game, and were 0-1 v. the other, losing at home after we had a large lead, and played w/o Dees. As far as the third round, we were 2-0 v. UNO, 1-1 v. Denver, and 0-1 v. USA, and playing them at home again would be tough, although we did give up a large lead in our game against them.

This ought to be a fun tourney to watch, but it starts on Wednesday. Can't take care of business in Mobile until we take care of business in Lafayette.

[rhineaux]

Don't lengthen out the cheer responses. Fans only want to respond about four times. After that they get tired of the routine and its difficult to "whip them up again" if they know it will be another "marathon response cheer".

I totally agree. One of the cool things about the larger programs is that the students are self-sufficient in terms of making noise or leading cheers, and/or there is variety in what they do. This is why I've also forwarded my ideas to people to have an organized yell team where a certain group of students have some face time with the cheerleaders so they can come up with fresh ideas. Kinda like the 6th man, but for students. I don't know why some of our students don't want to stand up and yell all game...it would make it much more exciting.

Good ideas Rhineaux! If at first you do not succeed...try and try again. _

Duly Noted.

[RaginFan2]

Its a shame! They would be soooo much more enlightened if they did!!!!

Z

Or depressed (depending on which thread they read!).