The Book: 2007-08 Ragin' Cajuns Basketball

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UL guard David Dees smiled, laughed and even joked with his teammates during practice Monday afternoon. This is the outlet for the pain the Ohio native is currently dealing with on the inside. After Monday's practice, Dees talked about why he did not dress for Thursday's 57-51 loss to Middle Tennessee before returning to the team on Friday. Before Thursday's game, UL coach Robert Lee announced that Dees would not dress out and that his brother, sophomore guard Stephen Dees, was no longer on the team. "There are things that just have to be addressed family-wise right now," said David Dees, who earned his bachelor's degree from UL in December. "As a family, we decided at this time it's better for him (Stephen) to address those things now. But at the same time, it's probably not best that I do that at this moment. "But as soon as the season's over, I'll be anxious to deal with some very important issues." The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[Turbine]

Randell Daigle laughed at the idea. Not being in Lafayette for the end of Mardi Gras? No big deal, according to UL's sophomore guard. "I've lived in Lafayette for so long that I know what Mardi Gras is all about, so it doesn't bother me (not being here)," said Daigle, a Northside graduate. "But some of our other players might care." That's highly unlikely considering recent struggles in Sun Belt Conference play for the Ragin' Cajuns, who left early Tuesday for Miami. UL (9-12 overall, 5-5 SBC) opens a two-game road trip in conference play tonight at Florida International (6-15, 3-8). The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

When times get tough, you’ll find UL coach Robert Lee barking at his players about the importance of doing the little things. Stay mentally focused to fight through adversity. Box out your man and grab the rebound.Maintain proper spacing on the floor. In Wednesday’s 72-62 win over Florida International, freshman Travis Bureau worked on the latter. The result was a night to remember as the 6-foot-7 forward scored a game- and career-high 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the Sun Belt Conference contest. He hit two 3-pointers in the opening half and added three more in the first 10 minutes of the second half before missing his last attempt from the outside. “Travis did a good job of going to spots on the floor where we could find him,” said Lee, whose Cajuns (10-12 overall, 6-5 SBC) entered Wednesday having lost five of their last seven. “He got going after hitting a couple of early shots.” Bureau’s career night helped UL shake off the frustration of a 57-51 loss to Middle Tennessee State on Jan. 31 and moved the Cajuns to 5-8 this season on the road. The rest of the story

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After a solid 10-point road victory at FIU on Wednesday, Louisiana continues to jockey for position in the race for the Sun Belt West Division crown as it travels west to face the Denver Pioneers Sunday at Magness Arena...Louisiana (10-12, 6-5), which has won its last two SBC road contests, has had success in the Mile High City. The Cajuns are 6-2 all-time at Denver and won the last meeting at Magness Arena in 2007... Four different players have led the Ragin' Cajuns in scoring in each of their last four contests, including a career-high 18 from Travis Bureau Wednesday at FIU...During the 2007 portion of the Cajuns schedule, Louisiana averaged 66.1 points in 10 games, while opponents averaged 69.4. Since the calendar flipped to 2008, UL is averaging 67.1 points and holding opponents to 64.5 points in 12 games...Louisiana faces a Denver squad that averages just 57.3 points per game, but holds the opponent to 60.8 points... The Cajuns have defeated the Pioneers in their previous two meetings in the month of February. Last season, the Cajuns won by two points at Magness Arena. In 2006, Louisiana held off Denver 49-38 at the CAJUNDOME... A win by Louisiana Sunday afternoon would give the Cajuns their seventh Sun Belt Conference victory this season. The seventh win would match UL's SBC win total from the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons... Louisiana's five road and neutral site victories are the most since the Cajuns won five away from the CAJUNDOME and Blackham Coliseum in 2005-06... Entering Sunday, ten (10) Cajuns are averaging double-digit minutes with nine averaging at least 17 minutes per game. Denver Preview. Denver forced a three-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt's West Division Thursday night with a 80-66 victory over Troy at Magness Arena. The Pioneers trailed the Trojans by nine at the half, but Denver was able to engineer a 55-point second half for the 14-point victory...DU played just six players Thursday night vs. Troy with five playing at least 34 minutes...The Pioneers improved to 8-1 at home this season, including a seven-game win streak...Freshman forward Rob Lewis played 36 minutes, recording his first career double-double in his third career start. Lewis scored 14 points along with a career-high 14 rebounds and three blocked shots...Joe Jackson led all scorers with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Denver shot 64.3 percent from the floor in the second and 8-of-13 from three-point range. After the Denver game...Louisiana returns home to face the ULM Warhawks on Valentine’s Day at the CAJUNDOME. The game will be televised live on my KLAF-TV (Cox Channel 13/DirecTV Channel 62) in Lafayette. Don Allen will provide the play-by-play, while Dan McDonald will serve as the color analyst. A Win by Louisiana...would give the Cajuns their seventh Sun Belt victory of the season. It would mark the earliest the Cajuns have reached seven SBC victories under head coach Robert Lee. It will also extend Louisiana’s SBC road winning streak to three games. A Loss by Louisiana...would drop the Cajuns back to .500 in Sun Belt Conference play and snap their two-game SBC road winning streak. Bureau’s Career-High 18 Sinks FIU. Freshman forward Travis Bureau posted his best performance as a Ragin’ Cajuns, scoring a career-high 18 points on 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range to help Louisiana sink the FIU Golden Panthers 72-62 Wednesday night in Miami. ‘Mo’ Drops 11 in Solid Outing. Senior point guard Maurice Barksdale scored a season-high 11 points in a reserve role behind starter Randell Daigle. Barksdale’s 11 were the most he scored in a game since Feb. 25, 2006, when posted 10 at UALR. Let’s Play Two on TV. Sunday’s contest with the Denver Pioneers will be the first of two straight Ragin’ Cajuns games to be televised locally in the Lafayette viewing area. KLFT-TV (Cox Digital 135) will air the live feed by FSN Rocky Mountain to viewers in greater Lafayette area. In addition, Dan McDonald and Don Allen will host a live pre- and post-game show on KLFT...Louisiana’s Valentine’s Day match-up with the ULM Warhawks will be televised live on my KLAF-TV (Cox Channel 13) in Lafayette. Don Allen will provide the play-by-play, while Dan McDonald will offer color analysis at the CAJUNDOME...Entering the weekend, Louisiana has played on television five times this season (at Oral Roberts, at Tennessee, at Hawai`i, vs. Ohio, vs. East Tennessee State). The Cajuns are 2-3 in TV games this season. Seeing Double. With Louisiana’s 10-point victory at FIU on Wednesday, the Cajuns have led by 10-plus points in nine of their first 11 Sun Belt Conference games this season. Only ULM (Dec. 16) and Western Kentucky (Jan. 19) did not allow Louisiana to hold a double-digit lead. Spread Offense. Louisiana has had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season. The Cajuns have had a different leading scoring in each of the last four games - two sophomores and two juniors...David Dees, Elijah Millsap and Chris Gradnigo have each led the Cajuns in scoring in five games. Dees has tied for the team-lead twice and Gradnigo once. RaginCajuns.com

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Leading up to Sunday's Sun Belt Conference game at Denver, UL coach Robert Lee made sure his Ragin' Cajuns spent considerable time during Friday's practice working on their half-court defense. The Pioneers (10-12 overall, 6-5 SBC) operate a Princeton offense, a slow-it-down style that requires five players adept at dribbling, passing and shooting the basketball. Under first-year coach Joe Scott, who played and coached at Princeton, Denver keeps the ball in constant motion through passing or handoffs before capitalizing on a defensive mistake. If a defender overplays the passing lane it opens up a backdoor cut to the basket. If a defender sags off his man it leaves an open 3-point shot. "We're going to have to be very disciplined defensively," said Lee, whose Cajuns beat Florida International, 72-62, on Wednesday. "And on offense, we're going to have to be patient and make sure we get quality shots." The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[J-Town Cajun]

The article states we have another transfer in 6-8 Lamar Roberson from UNLV. He also played at Houston his freshman year with the other transfer from UNLV. This kid is a soph. and will be eligible in Dec. '08. He is orginally from Baton Rouge. He is walking on.

We could easily have a A team and a B team next year with no drop off. This is scary.

[NewsCopy]

Robert Lee demanded the best from his players during Friday's practice and nothing less. When he saw a less than optimal effort, the UL men's basketball coach stopped practice and ran his team. It happened two more times over a 10-minute span. With the Cajuns tied with Denver and Arkansas-Little Rock for first place in the Sun Belt Conference's West Division, Lee knows every little detail counts as the regular season winds down. One game separates first from fifth in the division. "I don't want to see walking," Lee barked at his players while they ran. "Gentlemen, we control our own destiny." The Cajuns (10-12 overall, 6-5 SBC) can take another step toward securing the West Division title tonight when they travel to Denver (10-12, 6-5). While they are 2-11 away from home this season, the Pioneers are 8-1 this season at Magness Arena - with their only loss coming to Colorado, 54-44, on Nov. 27. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[CajunDreDog]

I am not hearing the pre-game on KPEL. Anyone know what is going on?

[CajunDreDog]

I am not hearing the pre-game on KPEL. Anyone know what is going on?

I found it on 107.9....doesn't look like we will have video for this one.

[jllanclos]

please post non-flash link to live stats if xos. thanks-