The Book: Lady Cajuns 2007-08 basketball

[Just1More]

_ Please please do not blame this loss on the refs. It's the worst excuse I've ever heard. Do you hear the coaches and players blaming this loss on the refs?

I wonder if some UL fans can ever accept the fact that we lost. Someone always has to come up with some sort of rationalization for the loss. For football, it was the fact that the team was "young." (BTW, did anyone notice how "young" FAU was? Look what they accomplished with that "young" team!) For basketball, the general consensus is that Team A shot more free throws than UL, therefore, the refs obviously cost us the game. Perhaps if our guys didn't foul every time someone was in a shooting motion, then the other team wouldn't be at the free throw line more than us. _

Everyone, everywhere rationalizes everything. It in no way is endemic of UL alone to rationalize losses or anything else pegged as a cause or partial cause of things gone wrong. The SBC basketball refs are inconsistent and that lends itself to deserved criticism. Whether UL is always going to be on the short end of that stick is arguable. The ref argument is probably the weakest of all for a legitimate excuse, but it really sucks for them to decide the outcome of games. They definitely need to be more consistent... and make-up calls when you blow a call are perfectly acceptable.

As for youth and inexperience... it can and very often does become one of the largest separators in team sports. Until it is truly not a legitimate issue, it is a legitimate issue. Youth and inexperience is a monumental handicap on almost every team. An occasional "Fab Five" does not make the rule. It is about like the moron who said that WKU isn't a good team. They are not as athletic as UL, but they are a damn good "team". Some of those WKU "lesser athletic players" know more about where to be on that floor and when than most teams in the country.

Granted, eventually the youth become not-so-young, and then they either succeed with experience... or we all have to start choosing other causes (excuses) and rationalizing "them".

But most of all... you should not be asking anyone to "accept the fact that we lost". I hope we never accept the fact that we lost... anything, anywhere, anytime.

[CajunFun]

Please please do not blame this loss on the refs. It's the worst excuse I've ever heard. Do you hear the coaches and players blaming this loss on the refs?

I implied that FT disparities happen more frequently at BCS schools and in the NCAAs. If you have data to the contrary, please share.

And I openly stated that it was rare that those disparities happened, except in those two situations. If you have any info on that, please share that as well.

I only talked numbers. I never mentioned the refs.

Oh, and BTW, the amount and frequency of the disparities have apparently increased as the game has become more popular. Check out the disparities in bold:

UL in the NCAA's
Year: Opponent FTs by UL - FTs by opponent (W/L, Score)
1972: Marshall 41 - 30
(W 112-101)

1972: Louisville 20 - 33
(L 84-88)

1972: Texas 16 - 26
(W 100-70)

1973: Houston 27 - 20
(W 102-89)

1973: KSU 14 - 20
(L 66-63)

1973: So Car 14 - 27
(L 85-90)

1982: Tenn 15 - 16
(L 57-61)

1983: Rutgers 9 - 20
(L 53-60)

1992: OU 25 - 25
(W 87-83)

1992: NMSU 5 - 35
(L 73-81)

1994: Marquette 9 - 19
(L 59-81)

2000: Tenn 8 - 29
(L 58-63)

2004: NCSU 23 - 24
(L 62-68)

2005: Lville 18 - 27
(L 62-68)

It would be interesting to know if this is a national trend, as well.

[NewsCopy]

Even first-year UL coach Errol Rogers, generally regarded as an eternal optimist, struggled to sugar coat the play of his Ragin' Cajun women's basketball team this season on the road. "We're just not playing well on the road," said Rogers, whose Cajuns are 1-10 away from home this season. "Other (Sun Belt Conference) teams are winning on the road. We have to start winning on the road." The next chance for UL (5-13 overall, 1-6 SBC) comes at 3 p.m. today at Troy (9-10, 2-6) at Trojan Center in Troy, Ala. The Cajuns enter the game having lost four straight and eight of their last nine. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[BabbForHeisman]

Maybe its just me...but I completely do not understand the title of this article.

[RaginFan2]

Maybe its just me...but I completely do not understand the title of this article.

It's not just you! Me, too!

[NewsCopy]

TROY, Ala. – Troy's women's basketball team snapped a three-game losing streak, while extending Louisiana's to five straight losses as the Trojans defeated the Ragin' Cajuns 63-54 Sunday afternoon at the Trojan Arena. Troy (10-10, 3-6 Sun Belt) forced 25 Ragin' Cajuns (5-14, 1-7 Sun Belt) turnovers, while pouring in 31 points on those turnovers. The nine-point Trojan win marked Louisiana's first loss in four series meetings. Sonora Edwards (Snook, Texas) paced the Cajuns with 13 points, while committing six turnovers. Courtney Ratliff (Canton, Miss.) added 11 and a team-high 10 rebounds. Troy had four players that posted double figures. Laura Lee Holman led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Kylie Morrissy and Danielle Realph added 12 and 11, respectively. Larelle Roper also added 10 points. Louisiana and Troy battled back and forth during the opening minutes of the second half. Neither team could build a lead of greater than three points as they battled to three ties in the second stanza. Holman gave the Trojans a three-point lead on two separate occasions. Tied at 30 apiece, Holman drilled a trey from the right wing for a 33-30 Troy advantage. Ratliff tied the contest at 33 all on a triple from the top of the key. On the ensuing Troy possession, Holman drained a three from the left wing for a 36-33 edge. After a Cajuns basket, Holman hit another key basket for a 38-35 Trojans lead. Troy's lead grew to five, 40-35, on two Morrissy free throws at the 13:39 mark of the second half. Realph's three from the left side provided the Trojans with a 45-37 lead with less than 10 minutes to play. Trailing by six, Louisiana had a prime opportunity to cut Trojan lead in half after Edwards intercepted Troy's in-bounds pass. However, Jasmine Barnes (Baton Rouge, La.) was unable to connect from long-distance. But, a Bronson Rodgers (Itawamba, Miss.) three-pointer ended a four-minute stretch with a field goal as the Cajuns pulled to within three, 46-43, at the 7:20 mark. The Cajuns had an ample opportunity to tie the game, but Whitney Dunlap's (Baton Rouge, La.) triple attempt rimmed out. After an Edwards basket down low, the Cajuns forced a Troy turnover on the ensuing in-bounds. The Cajuns capitalized on the opportunity on Barnes' trey from the right corner, tying the game at 50. Troy took a five-point lead, 55-50, with three minutes to play on Holman's fifth triple of the afternoon. The Trojans added a pair of insurance baskets for a commanding nine-point lead, 59-50. Louisiana held a 6-2 lead with 15:54 remaining the first half, but the Trojans followed with an 11-2 run for a 13-8 edge. However, a Dunlap lay-in brought the Cajuns back to within three points, 13-10. Trailing by three, 17-14, with 6:30 left in the half, Onna Charles (New Iberia, La.) converted the Cajuns' first field goal in four minutes with a triple from the right wing. Charles' trey provided the equalizer at 17 all. Edwards later gave the Cajuns their first lead in nearly 10 minutes after hitting one of two free throw tries. Troy went back on top, 19-18, on a Morrissy 12-footer along the baseline, but Charles answered with her second trey for a 21-19 lead. Louisiana took a 24-23 lead in the locker room at the break after Troy was unable to get a shot off before the buzzer sounded. Charles and Edwards paced the Cajuns with six points each, while Ratliff added six boards. Morrissy led the Trojans with six points before the break. Louisiana held the Trojans to 33.3 percent from the floor in the first half on 9-of-27 shooting, while the Cajuns made just one more shot on 37 percent shooting. Louisiana's women's basketball team will return to the hardwood Wednesday, Jan. 30, when the Ragin' Cajuns host the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Earl K. Long Gym. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. RaginCajuns.com

[NewsCopy]

For more than 10 minutes Wednesday night, UL kept Middle Tennessee State's Amber Holt - the nation's leading scorer at 27.1 points per game - out of the scorebook. The senior guard eventually got on track, scoring 11 of her 19 points in the second half. Unfortunately, the Ragin' Cajuns failed to snap their cold-spell against the Blue Raiders with an 85-66 loss in Sun Belt Conference action at Earl K. Long Gym. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

After watching his team suffer its sixth straight Sun Belt Conference loss, first-year UL coach Errol Rogers compared the Ragin' Cajuns' struggles to a movie without any directing. "We have to be able to follow the script," Rogers said after Wednesday's 85-66 loss to Middle Tennessee State. "It's like a movie. You can't have a bunch of people off doing their own thing. "Everyone has to do what they're supposed to do, or it doesn't work." UL (5-15 overall, 1-8 SBC) will try to end its agony today when Florida Atlantic (4-15, 0-10) comes to Earl K. Long Gym for a conference game between last-place teams in their respective divisions. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

At the end, UL made it interesting. Florida Atlantic, though, made its outside shots Saturday and held off the Ragin' Cajuns, 65-62, at Earl K. Long Gym. The Owls snapped a nine-game losing streak and won their first-ever Sun Belt Conference road game after tying a school record by making 12-of-24 3-point attempts. FAU (5-15 overall, 1-10 SBC) had lost 10 of its previous 11 games in the program's second season in the Sun Belt. "We've really been working on our shooting," said FAU coach Chancellor Dugan, whose Owls shot 2-of-22 from 3-point range in Thursday's 76-63 loss to New Orleans. "It really paid off today." Trailing by eight with 1:23 left - the largest lead for either team all game - UL (5-16, 1-9) got five straight points from guard Whitney Dunlap to pull within three with 14 seconds remaining. FAU clanked the front end of two one-and-one free-throw opportunities in the final 12 seconds, but the Cajuns missed two 3-point attempts in the closing seconds - including an off-balanced half-court heave by Dunlap that bounced off the right side of the backboard as time expired. The Owls entered the game 1-7 on the road this season and last in the East Division. The rest of the story Joshua Parrott jparrott@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

The women's basketball team (8-13, 4-6 Sun Belt) will return to the Pharmed arena on Feb. 6 after a two-game road trip that took the team to Colorado and Texas. Awaiting the Golden Panthers will be the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette (5-15, 1-8). The Ragin' Cajuns have struggled this season and are currently last in the Sun Belt's West Division. They are led by senior center Sonora Edwards, who is averaging 11 points and eight rebounds per game this season. Another key player on the Cajuns' roster is senior forward Courtney Ratliff, who averages 12 points and seven rebounds a game. ULL ranks near the bottom of most major defensive categories in the Sun Belt Conference and will probably be hungry for a road win in Miami. This is a winnable game for FIU, but the Golden Panthers most stay focused and work to improve their shooting percentage and shot selection. The rest of the story Darren Collette / Staff Writer

[Turbine]

I sure hope coach Rogers can pull off a win because for someone to call your team "faulty" is worse than saying you are bad.

jmo

[CajunTundra]

This is definitely a transition year, but I don't understand why it had to be one. It's no secret that Yolanda Jones is the biggest difference from last year to this year, and Jeanenne Colbert was a big help at times, but wasn't always available. Basically, we have the same core players from last year, the only difference is the Coach and staff. Coach Rogers admitted to not having the proper time to work with the team before the start of the year, but now he consistantly takes shot's at the team's lack of heart or execution. When I watch the games he keep running this tired motion play on offense that never gives us good looks at shots. He needs to take some ownership for our situation. Our best offense seems to be our fast break. He has tried new things with player rotation, but has let our proven players minutes go down, without seeing any difference in the win/loss catagory. I understand if you have a good system it will work, but we have a coach and players that are not on the same page, and morale is falling fast. I have heard through the grapevine that coach's are not supporting our players, or building them up, taking cell phones away so they can't talk to friends and family on the road, regulating the players money. It's not easy being a student athlete, and playing on the road, and practicing when everyone else is out enjoying Holidays. There needs to be a bond, and respect between players and coaches. I wanted to give Coach Rogers and his staff a chance to turn the year around. I don't see anything very positive yet, but I'm still hoping that they can find some common ground, and some plays that work, and turn the last half of conference play around.

Geaux Cajuns.