The future of Robert Lee

[jllanclos]

this is the best method of evaluating talent unless you have a chance to watch both teams on a consistent basis. It's also hard to compare numbers from the players given the fact they play in much different conferences. Overall, I think it would be a tough task to prove that UL-Lafayette is indeed more talented than LSU. _

Correction: this is the best method of evaluating High School talent and a person's best guess of potential future college success.

I'd say that LSU's recruiting has put them in a position to be 2 points better than Louisiana. I think that's a fair estimate given the data available.

[DestinCajun]

The Cajuns have more talent individually than LSU. LSU is doing more with the talent that they have.

I don't know you Bug but I respect your opinions. HOWEVER, we have no one like their Chris Johnson or Tasmin Mitchell. Plus, they have 3 battle hardened seniors who shoot well and handle the ball well. Our best guys are young and still maturing as players. They also need plenty of weight room work.

More individually talented? Uh-huh, not this go around we aren't.

[DestinCajun]

Again, there are "busts" and "sleepers", but this is the best method of evaluating talent unless you have a chance to watch both teams on a consistent basis. It's also hard to compare numbers from the players given the fact they play in much different conferences. Overall, I think it would be a tough task to prove that UL-Lafayette is indeed more talented than LSU.

LSUAMCBR always gets more stars than UL or anyone else instate. We all know that so spare yourself the effort.

When they are healthy and "on" Gradnigo, Bureau and Daigle are all fine offensive players. What we lack most of all is an inside offensive threat and a defensive stopper/rebounder.

You began this thread by posting a question about Coach Robert Lee's future at UL. None of us really knows but the chances are fairly good he will coach out this season and next season. That's about as good an answer as we can give you.

[bballholic]

_ Correction: this is the best method of evaluating High School talent and a person's best guess of potential future college success.

I'd say that LSU's recruiting has put them in a position to be 2 points better than Louisiana. I think that's a fair estimate given the data available. _

First of all, I didn't come to compare the two teams so this will be my last post comparing the talent of the two teams. I wasn't sure how you came to such a conclusion, so I researched both teams from top to bottom.

Here are the star ratings for 13 players from UL-Lafayette:

Bureau- 1 star
Daigle- 1 star
Gradnigo- 3 stars
Johnson- Not rated
McCoy- 2 stars
Gary- 3 stars
Roberson- 3 stars
Batiste- Not rated
Barr-4 stars
Adeife- 1 star
Lago- Not rated
Bloom- 2 stars
Wallace- 3 stars

Total= 13 players with total of 23 stars


Here are the star ratings for 11 players from LSU:

M. Thornton- 3 stars
Mitchell- 5 stars
Spencer- 3 stars
Johnson- 3 stars
Temple- 3 stars
Martin- 4 stars
Q. Thornton- 3 stars
Farrer- 1 star
Warren- 3 stars
Graham- 4 stars
Bass- 2 stars

Total= 11 players with 34 stars

[bballholic]

_ LSUAMCBR always gets more stars than UL or anyone else instate. We all know that so spare yourself the effort.

When they are healthy and "on" Gradnigo, Bureau and Daigle are all fine offensive players. What we lack most of all is an inside offensive threat and a defensive stopper/rebounder.

You began this thread by posting a question about Coach Robert Lee's future at UL. None of us really knows but the chances are fairly good he will coach out this season and next season. That's about as good an answer as we can give you. _

My apologies, I wasn't coming here to talk LSU hoops. However, I will defend my position when certain issues are raised. Guys like Bureau and Daigle are perfect examples of how the "star" system is flawed. There is no doubt these guys could play ball somewhere in the SEC. As far as Lee's situation, thanks for the input.

[jllanclos]

First of all, I didn't come to compare the two teams so this will be my last post comparing the talent of the two teams. I wasn't sure how you came to such a conclusion, so I researched both teams from top to bottom.

Here are the star ratings for 13 players from UL-Lafayette:

Bureau- 1 star
Daigle- 1 star
Gradnigo- 3 stars
Johnson- Not rated
McCoy- 2 stars
Gary- 3 stars
Roberson- 3 stars
Batiste- Not rated
Barr-4 stars
Adeife- 1 star
Lago- Not rated
Bloom- 2 stars
Wallace- 3 stars

Total= 13 players with total of 23 stars


Here are the star ratings for 11 players from LSU:

M. Thornton- 3 stars
Mitchell- 5 stars
Spencer- 3 stars
Johnson- 3 stars
Temple- 3 stars
Martin- 4 stars
Q. Thornton- 3 stars
Farrer- 1 star
Warren- 3 stars
Graham- 4 stars
Bass- 2 stars

Total= 11 players with 34 stars

I came to that conclusion by observing the head to head match up. 81-79.

igeaux.mobi

[bballholic]

_ I came to that conclusion by observing the head to head match up. 81-79.

igeaux.mobi _

Gotcha. I have to give the Cajuns credit, they fought back hard after trailing the entire game. Daigle was in a zone down the stretch, and he made some ridiculous shots. For whatever reasons, LSU played very close games against quite a few in-state schools. In the end, they were all victories for LSU. They seem to be a little more focused now coming off back to back blowout victories against South Carolina and Ole Miss.

[CajunProud]

_ Speaking of the administration, how are things going since Authement retired? Has the new administration showed any signs of taking athletics a little more seriously? LSU is very fortunate they have a cash cow in football that trickles down to the other sports. Thankfully they didn't have to pay too much money for Trent Johnson because Stanford doesn't pay premium coaching salaries. _

I can't really comment on the new administration as Dr. Savoi has only been in office for a few months. What I do know is that we have heard nothing concrete from the new administration in terms of where they see the athletic department in 1, 5, 10 years from now and how they plan on getting us to that next level. Supposedly, we are going to hear something from them on Feb 4, but after 30 years of utter failure and disappointment, I'll have to see and hear it to believe it. My concern is that we still have too many remanants from the old regieme such as our AD, so that it will continue to be politics as usual. We will see.

[zephyr]

_ I'm an LSU basketball season ticket holder, and I've had the chance to watch the Cajuns play on two occasions this season. I was obviously in attendance for the New Year's Eve battle between LSU and UL-Lafayette, and I also had the chance to see the Cajuns host ULAR last week. Considering the Cajuns finally got healthy, I both expected and hoped they would win the Sun Belt. So far, it doesn't appear that will be the case, but it's obviously too early to write them off completely. It appears they have a pretty talented nucleus in Gradnigo, Bureau, and Daigle. I was blown away by Daigle's late game heroics in Baton Rouge, but that was obviously somewhat of an aberration. So finally, that brings me to question the coaching of this team. Is Lee close to being on the hot seat? Having seen most of the Louisiana schools play this season, I'm convinced the Cajuns are the most talented behind LSU. I'm hoping the state can send at least a couple of teams dancing this March. I'm new to this site, and I'm sure it has been discussed in the past. Having said that, I'd appreciate any insight. Thanks.

I lived in Lafayette for nearly 10 years, and I've been to my fair share of UL-Lafayette athletic events. My wife was a graduate of UL-Lafayette and some of my best friends graduated from your school as well. _

I'm not saying this because I'm a homer but to prove my point and yours futher. I think the Cajuns are possibly the most talented team in this state. I think LSU has players that play as a team but the Cajuns talent wise are quite possibly the best. However, there is just a poor coaching philosophy that permiates through this team. It is also very hard to develop any chemistry when you have so many guys capable of playing and trying to spread minutes around. We have had no inside scoring presence and the paper constantly says we try to play an up tempo game but that just isn't so. I was a sympathist for Coach Lee heading into this season but to be honest, I don't know if I'll even use my season tickets the rest of the year. Its bad.

[zephyr]

_ No offense, but I'd have to respectfully disagree with this comment. I don't put too much stock into star ratings, but it's the best evaluation method we have at this time. I don't know a lot about UL-Lafayette recruiting, but I think they would have a hard time matching these ratings (according to Scout).

Tasmin Mitchell- 5 stars
Delwan Graham- 4 stars
Chris Johnson- 3 stars
Marcus Thornton- 3 stars
Garrett Temple- 3 stars
Bo Spencer- 3 stars
Quinton Thornton- 3 stars
Storm Warren- 3 stars
Chris Bass- 2 stars
Dennis Harris- 2 stars (redshirt)
Garrett Green- 2 stars (medical redshirt)


As far as UL-Lafayette is concerned, I was able to dig up the following players:

Wallace- 3 stars
Grady- 3 stars
Bureau- 1 star
Daigle- 1 star


Again, there are "busts" and "sleepers", but this is the best method of evaluating talent unless you have a chance to watch both teams on a consistent basis. It's also hard to compare numbers from the players given the fact they play in much different conferences. Overall, I think it would be a tough task to prove that UL-Lafayette is indeed more talented than LSU. _

You're right, you can't put stock into the star method. Why? Because Wallace isn't very good at all but you say he was a 3 star guy? Bureau was recruited and wanted by LSU but they didn't have any scholarships left. We got a steal with him. Delwan Graham hasn't exactly lit it up for LSU has he? Also, if Graham had gone to UL, he wouldn't be a 4 star guy I guarantee it. These systems are subject to change especially once a player has committed to somewhere. I do think that the Cajuns have more overall talent but as stated earlier, they don't play well as a team and LSU does along with being much better coached. LSU had to have a career day from Tasmin Mitchell and Bo Spencer to beat the Cajuns when they obviously played poorly as they have lately and you still escaped with a 2 point win.

[CajunZ1]

_

How can we claim to be "more talented" when only 2 (maybe 3) of our guys can put the ball in the basket?

Yeah, LSU's two guys did have career nights. But Daigle had a freakishly amazing three point day (remember the double-pump prayer he drained?).

LSU won by 2 points, but it wasn't that close. The only time we had a possession that we could threaten for the lead, we threw the ball away (sound familiar?).

Sorry to be doom and gloom, but I just can't see winning a "talent" argument against anybody right now considering how terrible we are.

[zephyr]

_ How can we claim to be "more talented" when only 2 (maybe 3) of our guys can put the ball in the basket?

Yeah, LSU's two guys did have career nights. But Daigle had a freakishly amazing three point day (remember the double-pump prayer he drained?).

LSU won by 2 points, but it wasn't that close. The only time we had a possession that we could threaten for the lead, we threw the ball away (sound familiar?).

Sorry to be doom and gloom, but I just can't see winning a "talent" argument against anybody right now considering how terrible we are. _

Talent level and level of play are two different things. I agree that it appears we have no offense and that is true but when you have Bureau, Gradnigo and Daigle all averaging double digits, they are having to essentially score 1 on 3 or even 4 because we have no offense to set up open shots for our shooters and easy baskets around the hoop. These guys are having to create for themselves constantly and that makes it that much more difficult. Also, I think talent wise we are better than LSU. We have several guys who can play multiple positions, shoot from inside and out, play above the rim and play good D. I certainly can't argue that we are not playing well. However, i think with some chemistry and coaching, this team would be immensely better.