How much $ does it take to buy a quality home game?

[VObserver]

So you want Marlin to go out and raise a few hundred thousand dollars to buy games that will entertain you better? Look, I'd love to see a better OOC schedule too. TRUST ME. But as far as I can tell spending more money on a better OOC schedule would hurt the team financially.

Personally, I expect Marlin to put a good UL team on the court. That's his job. Instead of spending money to bring in good opponents, I'd rather him spend that money on making OUR team good.

Well, he is doing neither. I want a coach who does not write off every game until the conference tournament as practice. I want a coach who has higher aspirations than one and done as a 16 seed in March, and builds his schedule and his team to do better than that. Marlin ain't the guy.

If you don't understand the connection between a better schedule and a better team, there is no hope for you.

[Duckster]

If we're going to schedule SWAC teams maybe we should alternate bringing in Southern and Grambling each year to the Cajundome. And Southern must bring a good portion of their band with the basketball team. Will be a crowd pleaser.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Southern is reported to not want to play us any longer. I'm having a hard time finding it logical for Louisiana schools to not want a home and return with any other Louisiana school. We all, except Ellis Who, suffer from a lack of dollars, and need to cooperate.

[ManAboutTown]

Southern is reported to not want to play us any longer. I'm having a hard time finding it logical for Louisiana schools to not want a home and return with any other Louisiana school. We all, except Ellis Who, suffer from a lack of dollars, and need to cooperate.

It seems like this is a trend across all sports with several other institutions.

Why don't people want to play us?

[California Cajun]

Financially, I get the trade off. But if people don't think that dull home slate after dull home slate won't affect the long term interest in basketball, I don't know what to say. It's killing us.

I think the slow starts are what's killing us.

The question I have is, can we afford to schedule more wins and more home games in order to get a better W-L record before January?

I know attendance is bad early in the season, but if the early season record is better there may be more enthusiasm for conference play.

I don't understand why schools in proximity to one another don't see the mutual benefit of scheduling one another. I think you'd have more highly contested and meaningful games, and more fans. I think our team would perform better. That would somewhat make up for not having a TV team at your place.

Basketball is in a rut and I don't see us getting out of it unless we try something else. What else? I don't know if my suggestions aren't doable.

Perhaps basketball is on the back burner in order to develop football. That might explain why basketball is in a holding pattern.

[CajunEXPRESS]

It seems like this is a trend across all sports with several other institutions.

Why don't people want to play us?

This is just my opinion nobody has said this to me, but the coaches have inferred as much, they don't trust each other to return games. Say Marlin is truthful and is willing to play xyz louisiana first with a promised return trip the next season. Well the next season schedule conflicts occur for xyz louisiana and they postpone leaving Marlin in a lurch. It is difficult for non power conference teams to piece together a good schedule.

[Cajunsmike]

I'm going to disagree. Our fans haven't paid much attention to hoops before Jan. 1 in many years. Game vs. App State drew more than games vs. McNeese or UNO. And, those are schools we should draw against no matter what.

If you pay a team 80,,000 to come in and you only sell 500 more tickets, is it worth it?

Because you're not going to "buy" a big name team. If they aren't SWAC or SLC they probably aren't coming.

Honestly, I'd like to see us start playing the teams that left the league: Middle, WKU or UNT. Middle considered it this year, then passed. They've started some dialogue with WKU. North Texas won't even return their calls. Neither will Southern Miss.

Heck, I'd even be willing to start home and home with FIU and FAU again.

Next year we will play Pepperdine and La Tech at home. Northwestern State is also likely to come and they usually do well in the SLC. That is a better non Conference schedule than we have had in some time.

[Boomer]

I threw my info in the garbage when I read that garbage. Im not watching that ____ t schedule.----Z....what did you do with Hammer---Did you throw him away??? Is he OK???

Z

[Cajunsmike]

Because basketball only has 1 backer right? Our baseball coach is getting a 10 million dollar stadium built and our basketball coach hasn't raised a dollar in 6 years.

It is not true that the staff raises no dollars. Rebounders Club donated 50 grand this year which is a record. Those funds help the team with recruiting and travel costs. Some may argue this is not "serious" fund raising. I do not know enough to comment on what is serious fund raising.

[Boomer]

Because basketball only has 1 backer right? Our baseball coach is getting a 10 million dollar stadium built and our basketball coach hasn't raised a dollar in 6 years.

---0-And don't forget that the Cajun Dome is really gonna be very basketball friendly and very nice----Not sure of the money trail, but does anybody know a ball park amount of the renovation???
Also how much the different funding areas are going to contribute---think the City is involved!!!

[Cajunsmike]

This is just my opinion nobody has said this to me, but the coaches have inferred as much, they don't trust each other to return games. Say Marlin is truthful and is willing to play xyz louisiana first with a promised return trip the next season. Well the next season schedule conflicts occur for xyz louisiana and they postpone leaving Marlin in a lurch. It is difficult for non power conference teams to piece together a good schedule.

Express you are right about coached having a concern games will not be returned. We will likely test that next year as we likely play at SLU in the first of a home and home. I also do not understand why more area schools will not play us. They include USM, Tulane, Southern, Houston, Rice, Lamar, and Stephen F. Austin I have no explanation why they will not. USM is playing Georgia State in home and home these days. Panthers drilled them this year as Eagles are down now due to NCAA troubles. I am at a loss to explain why those schools will not play us. Hell, we had to use some political capital to get UNO to play. Of course that was the night of a Saints Monday night game so no one in New Orleans noticed. UNO likely wanted it that way. All I know is I would not want this part of Mike Murphy's job.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Express you are right about coached having a concern games will not be returned. We will likely test that next year as we likely play at SLU in the first of a home and home. I also do not understand why more area schools will not play us. They include USM, Tulane, Southern, Houston, Rice, Lamar, and Stephen F. Austin I have no explanation why they will not. USM is playing Georgia State in home and home these days. Panthers drilled them this year as Eagles are down now due to NCAA troubles. I am at a loss to explain why those schools will not play us. Hell, we had to use some political capital to get UNO to play. Of course that was the night of a Saints Monday night game so no one in New Orleans noticed. UNO likely wanted it that way. All I know is I would not want this part of Mike Murphy's job.

Yes Mike but we all suffer the same problems. I guess we more than USM as they can draw teams from the north, south, east, and west while we have almost zero south of us.