Louisiana Hosts Texas State In Blackout Game

[cajun_lannister]

So the early part of Marlin's tenure was the takeover of Lee's roster, the fear the beard run, that falling apart and the rebuild, and eventually the tournament run. I did take issue with the amount of roster attrition during that time but you have to give a new coach some time. You could see the improvement going into that 4th season and that ended with the trip to the NCAA so overall no complaints. The next 2 seasons with Long as a Junior and Senior could be looked at as a disappointment because that was certainly a nice piece to build around. However those teams were by no means terrible as they still both finished 4th in conference and made it to the semi finals losing to good teams that would both go on to win a game in the NCCA tournament. It was around this time that I really began to question some of Marlin's defensive philosophies which I still do. The season after that was a clear rebuilding year but that team surprised me and was very competitive. After that is the years I have already discussed.

I have seen others compare Marlin to Bustle and I think that is pretty accurate. If Bustle would have been here a decade later he would have made a few bowl games because of the way football and the Sunbelt's place in the FBS has changed. I think his tenure would be looked at slightly different because of that but yes nowhere near the same light as Napier's is. In comparison I think that mid major basketball has changed as well, and what a lot of this fan base views as success is harder to achieve than it was 20 years ago. An example is the Jessie Evan's teams from 02 and 03 would not be in the NIT but instead sitting at home or (gasp) playing in the CIT today because they weren't regular season or tournament champs.

Like I said I am by no means fully supportive of Marlin but I do think I look at things and measure success different than some other's here.

So why pay him a top dollar if we should not expect sustained success. Could put the extra 200-300k to use elsewhere in the department. If he was making what Richard I could understand keeping him around, but as the top paid guy in the league, he has to provide some kind of return on investment more than once every 10 years.

[zephyr]

So the early part of Marlin's tenure was the takeover of Lee's roster, the fear the beard run, that falling apart and the rebuild, and eventually the tournament run. I did take issue with the amount of roster attrition during that time but you have to give a new coach some time. You could see the improvement going into that 4th season and that ended with the trip to the NCAA so overall no complaints. The next 2 seasons with Long as a Junior and Senior could be looked at as a disappointment because that was certainly a nice piece to build around. However those teams were by no means terrible as they still both finished 4th in conference and made it to the semi finals losing to good teams that would both go on to win a game in the NCCA tournament. It was around this time that I really began to question some of Marlin's defensive philosophies which I still do. The season after that was a clear rebuilding year but that team surprised me and was very competitive. After that is the years I have already discussed.

I have seen others compare Marlin to Bustle and I think that is pretty accurate. If Bustle would have been here a decade later he would have made a few bowl games because of the way football and the Sunbelt's place in the FBS has changed. I think his tenure would be looked at slightly different because of that but yes nowhere near the same light as Napier's is. In comparison I think that mid major basketball has changed as well, and what a lot of this fan base views as success is harder to achieve than it was 20 years ago. An example is the Jessie Evan's teams from 02 and 03 would not be in the NIT but instead sitting at home or (gasp) playing in the CIT today because they weren't regular season or tournament champs.

Like I said I am by no means fully supportive of Marlin but I do think I look at things and measure success different than some others here.

I think its the opposite. Years ago the tournament field was smaller and rankings were a much bigger component to postseason access. Now. there are more metrics to view teams and compare. I believe the landscape, especially this year, is much more wide open. Other schools have been able to build programs to where many don't feel they are mid majors any more. I think its the opposite. I think some people make it out to be harder than it is.

So basically, back to Marlin and in ten years it started off promising to have hit a lull and now we are in a downward spiral. If you agree with that as that is the impression I got from your overall view why is it not time to consider other options? When is enough enough?

[CajunVic]

I think its the opposite. Years ago the tournament field was smaller and rankings were a much bigger component to postseason access. Now. there are more metrics to view teams and compare. I believe the landscape, especially this year, is much more wide open. Other schools have been able to build programs to where many don't feel they are mid majors any more. I think its the opposite. I think some people make it out to be harder than it is.

So basically, back to Marlin and in ten years it started off promising to have hit a lull and now we are in a downward spiral. If you agree with that as that is the impression I got from your overall view why is it not time to consider other options? When is enough enough?

Not yet, baby cakes.

[ULGrad@HOU]

When Marlin was hired, I thought he would help elevate the program to a higher level. In reality, he never was able to gain traction on any positives he obtained and as soon as things looked more promising, then the slippage would occur. I can't see how anyone would expect anything different than what we have already seen. Interest continues to decline, time goes by.

[Cajunsmike]

We lost to a 5-15 Wyoming team when we were above 90%

Not true. We only had 10 of 14 players available when we played Wyoming. That is 71%. Caldwell, Smith, Lowery, and Aucoin were all out. If you remove Aucoin that is 10 of 13 scholarship players which is 77%. That being said, the loss to Wyoming was very disappointing as they are a poor team. Playing anywhere near their potential, the 8 Cajuns who played that night would have won the game. They played nowhere near it. The Cajuns shot the ball terribly from the field and the line that night. As I said, very disappointing. I just wanted to set the record straight on the percentage of players available that night.

[cajun_lannister]

Not true. We only had 10 of 14 players available when we played Wyoming. That is 71%. Caldwell, Smith, Lowery, and Aucoin were all out. If you remove Aucoin that is 10 of 13 scholarship players which is 77%. That being said, the loss to Wyoming was very disappointing as they are a poor team. Playing anywhere near their potential, the 8 Cajuns who played that night would have won the game. They played nowhere near it. The Cajuns shot the ball terribly from the field and the line that night. As I said, very disappointing. I just wanted to set the record straight on the percentage of players available that night.

So Julian & Wilson played right well the excuse from last years team was Julian not playing was the reason for the losses and this year Wilson was blames for the skid yet both played ... We barely snuck past a awful Mcneese team and lost to a terrible Wyoming heathy or not this team would not have been good

[cajuns80]

Not true. We only had 10 of 14 players available when we played Wyoming. That is 71%. Caldwell, Smith, Lowery, and Aucoin were all out. If you remove Aucoin that is 10 of 13 scholarship players which is 77%. That being said, the loss to Wyoming was very disappointing as they are a poor team. Playing anywhere near their potential, the 8 Cajuns who played that night would have won the game. They played nowhere near it. The Cajuns shot the ball terribly from the field and the line that night. As I said, very disappointing. I just wanted to set the record straight on the percentage of players available that night.

Wrong. Smith played. You really going to count aucoin and lowery in that number. Mason Aucoin shouldn’t be playing any minutes. You don’t really think lowery was going to play this year do you? He was a surefire redshirt candidate.

[RaginDave]

So Julian & Wilson played right well the excuse from last years team was Julian not playing was the reason for the losses and this year Wilson was blames for the skid yet both played ... We barely snuck past a awful Mcneese team and lost to a terrible Wyoming heathy or not this team would not have been good

I am paraphrasing someone that knows this team pretty well going into the Texas State game.

With everyone healthy we would be 6-2 in the conference, right now we are 2-6, by the way 6-2 would lead the conference. Not saying we would be good if we had the full roster for the entire season, but we would be good enough go challenge for the conference Championship. I said this earlier, look at the injuries that we currently have, not what we missed earlier, but what we are missing now:

Mylik Wilson---Starter
Cedric Russell--Starter
Kobe Julien---Starter
Durey Cadwell---Potential Starter
Trajan Wesley--Backup Point Guard
Javon Lowery---Quality minutes off the bench

Now lets look at what we have missed previously who have come back

PJ Hardy--Early guard off the bench
Tirus Smith--Big presence in the middle, when he does not foul out, but this would not be an issue if we were fully healthy, because he would not be forced to have the minutes he does now.
Mason Aucouin--Senior Leadership, forced into action now, with injuries, but if nothing else a practice body.

I count 8 would be contributing bodies that are not on the court now, or have missed significant time this season. I don't think we would be 20-0, but I feel confident that instead of being 7-13 we would be better than 13-7. Just my opinion, take it for what it is worth.

[zephyr]

I am paraphrasing someone that knows this team pretty well going into the Texas State game.

With everyone healthy we would be 6-2 in the conference, right now we are 2-6, by the way 6-2 would lead the conference. Not saying we would be good if we had the full roster for the entire season, but we would be good enough go challenge for the conference Championship. I said this earlier, look at the injuries that we currently have, not what we missed earlier, but what we are missing now:

Mylik Wilson---Starter
Cedric Russell--Starter
Kobe Julien---Starter
Durey Cadwell---Potential Starter
Trajan Wesley--Backup Point Guard
Javon Lowery---Quality minutes off the bench

Now lets look at what we have missed previously who have come back

PJ Hardy--Early guard off the bench
Tirus Smith--Big presence in the middle, when he does not foul out, but this would not be an issue if we were fully healthy, because he would not be forced to have the minutes he does now.
Mason Aucouin--Senior Leadership, forced into action now, with injuries, but if nothing else a practice body.

I count 8 would be contributing bodies that are not on the court now, or have missed significant time this season. I don't think we would be 20-0, but I feel confident that instead of being 7-13 we would be better than 13-7. Just my opinion, take it for what it is worth.

6-2? Yeah. We lost the last three games by nearly 90 points combined. That's pure speculation there and of course you're using the comment from a staff member who would use such excuses.

[cajun_lannister]

I am paraphrasing someone that knows this team pretty well going into the Texas State game.

With everyone healthy we would be 6-2 in the conference, right now we are 2-6, by the way 6-2 would lead the conference. Not saying we would be good if we had the full roster for the entire season, but we would be good enough go challenge for the conference Championship. I said this earlier, look at the injuries that we currently have, not what we missed earlier, but what we are missing now:

Mylik Wilson---Starter
Cedric Russell--Starter
Kobe Julien---Starter
Durey Cadwell---Potential Starter
Trajan Wesley--Backup Point Guard
Javon Lowery---Quality minutes off the bench

Now lets look at what we have missed previously who have come back

PJ Hardy--Early guard off the bench
Tirus Smith--Big presence in the middle, when he does not foul out, but this would not be an issue if we were fully healthy, because he would not be forced to have the minutes he does now.
Mason Aucouin--Senior Leadership, forced into action now, with injuries, but if nothing else a practice body.

I count 8 would be contributing bodies that are not on the court now, or have missed significant time this season. I don't think we would be 20-0, but I feel confident that instead of being 7-13 we would be better than 13-7. Just my opinion, take it for what it is worth.

I don't trust anyone on or close to the team to not blow smoke up anyones ___ ... we hear the same ____ every year "wellll we would have won but"

[ULvictory]

I am paraphrasing someone that knows this team pretty well going into the Texas State game.

With everyone healthy we would be 6-2 in the conference, right now we are 2-6, by the way 6-2 would lead the conference. Not saying we would be good if we had the full roster for the entire season, but we would be good enough go challenge for the conference Championship. I said this earlier, look at the injuries that we currently have, not what we missed earlier, but what we are missing now:

Mylik Wilson---Starter
Cedric Russell--Starter
Kobe Julien---Starter
Durey Cadwell---Potential Starter
Trajan Wesley--Backup Point Guard
Javon Lowery---Quality minutes off the bench

Now lets look at what we have missed previously who have come back

PJ Hardy--Early guard off the bench
Tirus Smith--Big presence in the middle, when he does not foul out, but this would not be an issue if we were fully healthy, because he would not be forced to have the minutes he does now.
Mason Aucouin--Senior Leadership, forced into action now, with injuries, but if nothing else a practice body.

I count 8 would be contributing bodies that are not on the court now, or have missed significant time this season. I don't think we would be 20-0, but I feel confident that instead of being 7-13 we would be better than 13-7. Just my opinion, take it for what it is worth.

Nothing against people close to the program, but to automatically say that this team would be 6-2 with a healthier roster is a stretch. Some of the “propaganda” spewed last season was why I was so hard on them especially after we would lose to inferior competition.

For example, we lost to a 5-14 Wyoming team because we went 13/28 from the FT line with a lot healthier team than what we have now. The starting 5 that night included Julien, Gueye, Wilson, Johnson, and Russell. Loss. For TCU, we played TWELVE guys. Lost by 33. For Little Rock, we blew a 14 point lead in the 2nd half at home. And even without Julien, we were good enough to jump to that lead. Loss.

There’s no doubt now that we are struggling due to injuries, but some of the losses earlier in the year before all of this wasn’t injuries. It was bad play and some questionable coaching. Going into this season, all I heard was “wait and see what happens.” Well, with ten years into a coaching tenure, that’s the last thing fans want to hear especially after running off four guys in the offseason.

[Cajunsmike]

Wrong. Smith played. You really going to count aucoin and lowery in that number. Mason Aucoin shouldn't be playing any minutes. You don't really think lowery was going to play this year do you? He was a surefire redshirt candidate.

Somehow I missed that Smith played in the Wyoming game. So we had 11 of 13 scholarship players healthy which is still not 90 percent. Lowery would not have been redshirted with Caldwell healthy. I am fairly certain that is the case. Spenkuch was the most likely candidate for a redshirt and likely would have with a healthy roster. As far as the way Julien and Wilson played, Julien did well in that game with 15 points while Wilson struggled. Wilson is a pure freshman however and that was his first road game. Wilson was improving tremendously prior to his injury. His loss has been a big factor in the recent struggles.