louisiana vs Milwaukee

[ulXrunner]

Every season it starts out dismal and we end up making up ground. Hopefully this year will be the same

I hope so

[cajunfan79]

I am guilty of it also but I think we'll really miss peyton before the season is over. I know coach says we have more depth than last year but we don't have a first round pick at the point

[Ragin4U]

I am guilty of it also but I think we'll really miss peyton before the season is over. I know coach says we have more depth than last year but we don't have a first round pick at the point

We didnt when the season started last year either.

[cajunfan79]

We started the year 6-2 with quality wins against Oakland, Coastal Carolina and Louisiana Tech. And we lost against Baylor and Arkansas who were good teams.

[Ragin4U]

We started the year 6-2 with quality wins against Oakland, Coastal Carolina and Louisiana Tech. And we lost against Baylor and Arkansas who were good teams.

And then lost to Jackson st, ULM, s.al. My point is that we didnt really look all that different early last year. Sloppy, lots of turnovers, no rebounding. I believe we have a better team overall this year. Marlin just needs to figure out the first 5 and the next two.
I think having some help for Long will be huge down the stretch.

[Cajunsmike]

There are so many new guys playing significant minutes it will likely take until late December until the team starts to jell. Yesterday 38 of our 52 points were scored by guys new to the team. In the game against Auburn, our top four scorers were new comers. The returnees have to improve as well. Against Auburn, Rimmer struggled defensively. Yesterday he did score 12 points but he only shot 1 for 7 on his three ball. Last season he was around 40%. JJ Davenport shot 1 for 5 yesterday after hitting a high % from the field last year. On the positive side, we did hit 87% of our free throws yesterday and played pretty good defense. Although Milwaukee had more turnovers than we did, we had two at a critical juncture late in the game, one by Wright and one by Walker. Both of those guys are newcomers and have to get better at protecting the ball. Walker just needs to stop handling it and play near the basket where he is more effective. Personally, the slow start somewhat surprises me. I know part of the reason for it is Shawn Long's injury. I did not anticipate the turnover issue would be so pronounced. Looking back at my first sentence, maybe I should have anticipated it since we have so many new guys playing significant minutes, including two pure freshman.

[zephyr]

There are so many new guys playing significant minutes it will likely take until late December until the team starts to jell. Yesterday 38 of our 52 points were scored by guys new to the team. In the game against Auburn, our top four scorers were new comers. The returnees have to improve as well. Against Auburn, Rimmer struggled defensively. Yesterday he did score 12 points but he only shot 1 for 7 on his three ball. Last season he was around 40%. JJ Davenport shot 1 for 5 yesterday after hitting a high % from the field last year. On the positive side, we did hit 87% of our free throws yesterday and played pretty good defense. Although Milwaukee had more turnovers than we did, we had two at a critical juncture late in the game, one by Wright and one by Walker. Both of those guys are newcomers and have to get better at protecting the ball. Walker just needs to stop handling it and play near the basket where he is more effective. Personally, the slow start somewhat surprises me. I know part of the reason for it is Shawn Long's injury. I did not anticipate the turnover issue would be so pronounced. Looking back at my first sentence, maybe I should have anticipated it since we have so many new guys playing significant minutes, including two pure freshman.

Rimmer, to be honest, has played pretty poorly thus far in the season. He is being outplayed by Stove and Rimmer is just not comfortable. He's turning the ball over and trying too hard. Walker has absolutely killed me so far. When his hands get on the ball, he has tunnel vision for the basket and he just makes way too many mistakes. Don't know what it is but seems like that first game of being the leading scorer got to his head and he wants to replicate that game.

While I agree that it will take time due to having new players, it doesn't make it any less frustrating to have trouble putting anything together this early and getting drilled by the Tulsa's and losing winnable games to Milwaukee. Guys like Shepherd and Rimmer have to play better in order to help us. They are being outplayed by the younger guys and transfers but we will need their experience and leadership to start winning games

[CajunNation]

Gunna be a long season watching these boys!

Yeah, but they are athletic!

[Cajunsmike]

Rimmer, to be honest, has played pretty poorly thus far in the season. He is being outplayed by Stove and Rimmer is just not comfortable. He's turning the ball over and trying too hard. Walker has absolutely killed me so far. When his hands get on the ball, he has tunnel vision for the basket and he just makes way too many mistakes. Don't know what it is but seems like that first game of being the leading scorer got to his head and he wants to replicate that game.

While I agree that it will take time due to having new players, it doesn't make it any less frustrating to have trouble putting anything together this early and getting drilled by the Tulsa's and losing winnable games to Milwaukee. Guys like Shepherd and Rimmer have to play better in order to help us. They are being outplayed by the younger guys and transfers but we will need their experience and leadership to start winning games

Everything said in the above post is correct. One thing we may not have emphasized enough is that the health of Shawn Long is impacting our team. He needs to be full go for us to be at our best. I wonder if he is playing tonight. Anyone know?