Louisiana vs Pepperdine

[wcd35]

JaKeenan Gant MIZZOU
Malik Marquetti USC
Marcus Stroman SOUTH CAROLINA

Too bad we won't get to see this connection. Jay Wright to Jakeenan Gant oop from high school:

[RaginDave]

Too bad we won't get to see this connection. Jay Wright to Jakeenan Gant oop from high school:

sweet.

[zephyr]

You are correct, JW is not a 2 guard, he is much closer to a Combo Guard, meaning he can play both the 1 and 2, but his natural position is much closer to a 1. The advantage to a Combo Guard is that he gives you a scoring threat, like JW does, the disadvantage is that he is not a true PG that can make things happen by passing, don't get me wrong, he is a capable passer, just not natural like an Aaron Mitchell type. I think Michael Allen was more of a Combo Guard that played the point for us as well, but I believe even though he was a combo guy, he was better playing the 2, than the 1.

But he does make things happen by passing. That is where our offense is the best.

[RaginDave]

But he does make things happen by passing. That is where our offense is the best.

He does, and I wish he would do more of it. He is a dangerous when he does, I think mostly because teams are not expecting that, they are expecting him to drive and shoot or shoot jumpers. What makes him the most dangerous is when he passes rather than shoots because it catches opponents off guard. That is why I said he is much more of a Combo Guard than a true 1 or 2. But resembles a 1 more than a 2.

[zephyr]

He does, and I wish he would do more of it. He is a dangerous when he does, I think mostly because teams are not expecting that, they are expecting him to drive and shoot or shoot jumpers. What makes him the most dangerous is when he passes rather than shoots because it catches opponents off guard. That is why I said he is much more of a Combo Guard than a true 1 or 2. But resembles a 1 more than a 2.

Yep

[SlappyCajun]

JaKeenan Gant MIZZOU
Malik Marquetti USC
Marcus Stroman SOUTH CAROLINA

Let's also not forget that we will be adding Cedric Russell, who is probably Marlin's most highly regarded recruit since he got here.

http://247sports.com/Recruitment/Ced...cruitInterests

[Cajunsmike]

10 and 3 . Wow, I did not see this team being this good. I'm very pleased and it's nice to have a dog in the hunt for basketball,

Angeleast, very few saw the team being this good. I thought they would not be as terrible as some of you indicated but I was guessing 8 and 5 or 7 and 6 at the break. Also, we may be the 2nd best team in the state this year. Not the worst as you promised everyone we would be after we beat a non D1 by 70 points. Go back to what I said in the summer, there would be so many new guys on the team it was impossible to make any prediction with any confidence. That went for either poor or good seasons. It is possible we will have won more games by mid January than most of you predicted we would win all year. I guess most of you were assuming the guys being brought in would not be quality players. Despite his slump, I knew Bartley was a strong player and I figured Miller would be due to his HS accomplishments in Kentucky. While I figured all you recruiting experts who thought signing Hardy was a mistake might be a little unfair, I had no idea he would be the zone buster and steady player he has become. Of course none of us figured Washington and Wright would improve to the degree they have. Jay Wright has played at a level the last two games that would easily warrant an all conference selection. I love the way he is not forcing the drive and punishing teams with his mid range pull up jumper. Of course no one plays harder than he. So far we are all eating a little crow, some more than others. Going forward, how they bounce back after they hit a rough stretch is still something I am interested in seeing. That is almost guaranteed to happen and how they handle it will determine the season.

[Cajunsmike]

B defensively
C+ offensively
A+ in transition
C on the boards

And still destroyed a WCC team. I think this team has a very high ceiling. Because they are young, we may only see them put together a few complete games. But it feels like they are one of those groups that find ways to win games.

Only grade I disagree with is the C+ on offense. I would move that to a B as we shot over 50% and only had 3 turnovers in the 2nd half. Granted we did have trouble finishing early in the game but we were around 60% in the 2nd half. I agree we gave up too many offensive rebounds which may warrant the C rating. You are correct in that they seem to find ways to win which is due to team chemistry and all the guys focusing on the team vs themselves.

[CajunAmos]

Only grade I disagree with is the C+ on offense. I would move that to a B as we shot over 50% and only had 3 turnovers in the 2nd half. Granted we did have trouble finishing early in the game but we were around 60% in the 2nd half. I agree we gave up too many offensive rebounds which may warrant the C rating. You are correct in that they seem to find ways to win which is due to team chemistry and all the guys focusing on the team vs themselves.

And we scored 90 points again.

[Cajunsmike]

UNO likes to get in the open court but their plan was to limit us in doing that. That is why I was somewhat critical of the amount of offensive rebounds we gave up because they literally had 1-2 guys max hitting the boards and still getting that many while the rest were playing centerfield.

UALR already likes to play in a half court set and they will be one of the better teams for sure. I'm not sure on the style of most of the other teams but I don't think any are real running teams. We are going to have to improve in the half court sets for sure.

UTA likes to play at a fast pace. They can also be effective in half court sets which is why they were picked first in the league. Personally, I think our very first conference game will be one of our most difficult. Ark State is always a physical team and seems to have jelled with their new coach. You don't win at Georgetown without having a quality team that is well coached. It will be tough to even get one on that Arkansas road trip. We went 0 and 2 in Arkansas last year and responded with a long winning streak. There will still be a story to be told in conference play regardless of how that trip turns out.

[Cajunsmike]

We'll definitely be experienced team next year with Washington, Stove, Bartley, and Stalcup as seniors and juniors Stroman, Marquetti, Gant, and Plaisance. That doesn't even consider the current freshmen class who will be getting a lot of playing time this year. We may have to go with a 12-13 man rotation next or redshirst some current members.

At least one and maybe as much as three of the guys playing now will redshirt next year. My guess is it will be two.

[Hatch]

At least one and maybe as much as three of the guys playing now will redshirt next year. My guess is it will be two.

Are you saying Hardy, Miller, and Brown could all 3 redshirt next year? I could maybe see Brown but Hardy and Miller seem to be integral parts. Even adding Stroman I would still think that there needs to be a back up PG so Hardy would be needed. I know Cedric Russell has made it clear he is expecting to start next year so asking him to redshirt probably wouldn't go over too well. I say just play 12-13 deep and run the other team out of the gym.