Gradnigo a welcome return to the lineup

[NewsCopy]

  On the same night the UL men's basketball program honored some of its biggest legends and wore throwback uniforms, the Cajuns welcomed back a familiar face against McNeese State.

Chris Gradnigo, out since the preseason with a staph infection in his left elbow, came up big on both ends of the floor Tuesday as UL beat its heated I-10 rival on throwback night, 73-64. The sophomore guard scored 11 points in his first action of the season and blocked a layup by McNeese's Diego Kapelan that would have tied the game with 3:49 left.

Following Gradnigo's block, the Cajuns (2-3) scored eight of the final nine points at the Cajundome to win their second consecutive game after opening the season with three losses. UL also ended a two-game slide against the Cowboys (2-3).

The rest of the story

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • December 3, 2008

[DestinCajun]

Note to file:

Previously posted comments on the imminent demise of Cajun basketball were apparantly greatly exaggerated.

[lancecajun21]

Yeah, it was great to see Grad back on the court. He looked alittle rusty in the beginning, which is to be expected. He still has the quickness and that sweet stroke that was greatly missing from this team. He will improve with time, getting into game shape and meshing with the other guys. I think this is a sign of things turning for the good guys.

[ULtimateCajun]

Veeeeeerrrryyyyy Happy to see him back. He looks like the filled out a little bit, he's not as thin as he was last season.

[ManAboutTown]

_ Note to file:

Previously posted comments on the imminent demise of Cajun basketball were apparantly greatly exaggerated.

_

Nobody was predicting "demise" for this team. Our concerns were rooted in plenty of reason. For example, we still can't rebound, and those jump shots are not always going to fall. We still have a problem slowing the ball up, and running a half court offense (which is essential to a tournament team).

That being said, the defensive intensity was much better. The continuity was noticeable. Ryan McCoy looks better and better every game. Willie played with some confidence. Lee opened up the second half with full court pressure, which I thought was a clever coaching decision. And our jump shots were falling...

And as for Gradnigo.. that kid is a star. We talked about lack of leadership in previous threads.. I'm hear to tell you guys that this team feeds of of #33. Once he got the cob webs knocked off, and got it in gear, our team really took off. It was fun to watch.. I was most impressed by his defense more than anything.

I believe that McNeese is the best team we've played this year, and we came up with our best performance of the year to beat them when we needed it.. I applaud the Cajuns, and hope to see more of that fire!

Sidenote: Western Kentucky beat Georgia last night.. they may be a top 25 team when they come to the CajunDome.. could be fun..

[reddot]

Sidenote: Western Kentucky beat Georgia last night.. they may be a top 25 team when they come to the CajunDome.. could be fun.. _

The Cajuns play Western in Bowling Green this year (and just about every year)
The Cajuns also play them there in football next season.:

[cajun4life]

_ The Cajuns play Western in Bowling Green this year (and just about every year)
The Cajuns also play them there in football next season.: _

How in God's name do we not get them at the Cajundome ever! It seems like every time we play them its at their place. I know they played here last year I think but that was a rare occasion.

[LSUConnMan]

Gradnigo definitely adds another dimension to the offense. After the first 5 minutes of that game, any suspense over who would leave victorious was gone, UL was up by 18 at one point in the second half, while shooting over 50% from the field and behind the arc.

But, the lack of size combined with their reliance on the slow tempo offense will continue to be the achilles heal. I counted 5 UL fast breaks all night, and 3 of them were in the final 1:30. No matter what shape Gradnigo's in, there's not much more he can do to add to last night's production...Maybe one or two fewer PFs and TOs, along with 2 or 3 more baskets a game.

Ultimately, they either need to tap another resource for production or alter the gameplan. The way this team's built, their success hinges on either a) averaging 70pts/gm or b) wearing teams down with their 9 man rotation and pushing the tempo to create turnovers.