MBB G6 M2: Louisiana 73, New Orleans 63

[JayWalker]

And, more were coming in. Several big boys were after him, which is one reason why they are bringing him in now.

And, in response to another comment in this thread...Akwuba is not Shawn Long or Michael Southall. But he was three blocks away from a triple double tonight.

If he's Theo Akwuba, I'll take it.

[Cajunsmike]

Ty Harper was rated as a 4 star player. They are counting on him to help. Maybe he can improve our playmaking and outside scoring. Obvious to all that the turnovers are still a problem but most of them occurred in first half when subbing was constant. Better in second half when rotation cut. Second team has to be more consistent. Most encouraging thing about this team is they don’t let their shooting problems impact their defense. That is a mark of a squad with priorities straight. I do wonder if strategy will change a little with the three point issues. Tonight seeing a few more mid range shots taken and a couple drop in made this old school guy smile a little.

[Cajunsmike]

And, more were coming in. Several big boys were after him, which is one reason why they are bringing him in now.

And, in response to another comment in this thread...Akwuba is not Shawn Long or Michael Southall. But he was three blocks away from a triple double tonight.

If he's Theo Akwuba, I'll take it.

I think Theo is a better free throw shooter than either of those guys and may be a better defensive player soon. He will never be the offensive player they were as he simply was not given that talent by God.

[Hatch]

Just got to finish watching definitely sloppy but a nice job to pull out a scrappy win when things weren’t clicking. I do like that they made the adjustment once again to move away from the 3pt shot when it wasn’t falling. To see Russell put up 20 points on a night when he was 0-7 from 3 shows just how much he has developed as a player. If you look back at his Freshman year he only had 12 2pt Field goal and 5 made free throws all season, 165 out of his 194 points came from 3. Those turn around jumpers from Wilson down the stretch were big as well. And just to reiterate yes Awkuba is not on the level of Long or Southall. I’ll put it this way, if the transfer portal had existed in their time and either one of them had entered it after their sophomore year they would have had a whole lot of interest and probably ended up at a major program (well maybe not Southall with where he actually ended up after his sophomore year). With the numbers Akwuba had at Portland I don’t know who else was contacting him but it probably wasn’t P5 schools. I think he has come back down to earth a little bit offensively as tonight showed he can struggle sometimes getting the ball in the basket whenever he can’t slam it home. I think Jay said it best, just let him be Theo, he is still a beast and certainly wouldn’t have won either UNO game without him.

[Jacob81]

This team kinda reminds me of the football team early in the year.

You know there’s talent there, just waiting to see it all work together. I think we saw a half against tech. Hopefully they get it figured out and are peaking at the right time. The competition will get tougher in conference but the talents there to win a lot of games.

[RaginDave]

I am really getting more and more impressed with Butts, Richards and even Jacobi Gordon. "My" jury is still out on Thomas, as I think he will be fine, he just needs to learn how to play D1 basketball at the point.

At first I thought that Au would end up being pure "GOLD". At times he really impresses me with his passing, but his shooting and driving to the basket at this point are suspect.

Gordon and Butts both came off the bench last night and played really well. Richards has shown what he can do as he gets more playing time. We know what we have in Julien when he comes back. This team has the potential to go really deep.

I really want to see what Harper brings to the table, he will clearly take some minutes away from Au, Thomas, Butts and others if he is as good as advertised.

We shall see.

Geaux Cajuns.

[cajuns80]

I am really getting more and more impressed with Butts, Richards and even Jacobi Gordon. "My" jury is still out on Thomas, as I think he will be fine, he just needs to learn how to play D1 basketball at the point.

At first I thought that Au would end up being pure "GOLD". At times he really impresses me with his passing, but his shooting and driving to the basket at this point are suspect.

Gordon and Butts both came off the bench last night and played really well. Richards has shown what he can do as he gets more playing time. We know what we have in Julien when he comes back. This team has the potential to go really deep.

I really want to see what Harper brings to the table, he will clearly take some minutes away from Au, Thomas, Butts and others if he is as good as advertised.

We shall see.

Geaux Cajuns.

Butts has to play more, taking some minutes away from Au. Devin plays defense and i think can become the best shooter on the team. Gordon showed some shooting last night but is horrendous on the defensive end. Richards should be start taking more and more of Dou's minutes. Dou, once again, is turning the ball over at an alarming rate. All he can do is give you a couple putbacks a night, his turnovers out weigh that.

[Turbine]

I am really getting more and more impressed with Butts, Richards and even Jacobi Gordon. "My" jury is still out on Thomas, as I think he will be fine, he just needs to learn how to play D1 basketball at the point.

At first I thought that Au would end up being pure "GOLD". At times he really impresses me with his passing, but his shooting and driving to the basket at this point are suspect.

Gordon and Butts both came off the bench last night and played really well. Richards has shown what he can do as he gets more playing time. We know what we have in Julien when he comes back. This team has the potential to go really deep.

I really want to see what Harper brings to the table, he will clearly take some minutes away from Au, Thomas, Butts and others if he is as good as advertised.

We shall see.

Geaux Cajuns.

I still wish the available bench had gotten more "experience" in the season opener.

I think the ones you mention would be further along if they had seen some game speed against the #2 team in the country.

[JayWalker]

I am really getting more and more impressed with Butts, Richards and even Jacobi Gordon. "My" jury is still out on Thomas, as I think he will be fine, he just needs to learn how to play D1 basketball at the point.

At first I thought that Au would end up being pure "GOLD". At times he really impresses me with his passing, but his shooting and driving to the basket at this point are suspect.

Gordon and Butts both came off the bench last night and played really well. Richards has shown what he can do as he gets more playing time. We know what we have in Julien when he comes back. This team has the potential to go really deep.

I really want to see what Harper brings to the table, he will clearly take some minutes away from Au, Thomas, Butts and others if he is as good as advertised.

We shall see.

Geaux Cajuns.

Au was supposed to be a big shooter. He hasn't shown that yet. He shot 41% from 3 last year in JUCO.

He had seven assists last night. He's distributing the ball better. He's also got a sore knee but played through it last night.

[Turbine]

Au was supposed to be a big shooter. He hasn't shown that yet. He shot 41% from 3 last year in JUCO.

He had seven assists last night. He's distributing the ball better. He's also got a sore knee but played through it last night.

I heard you say you noticed him favoring the knee coming off the floor in the first half.

[Hatch]

Au has become the defacto PG, a role I didn’t even realize he could play. That has helped Russell and Wilson tremendously as they get to play off ball when he is in the game. Last night was his best game thus far in my opinion, I’ll take 7 assists to 1 turnover from a starting PG any day. I’ll agree I would like to see him finish at the rim better when he does drive. Jay also mentioned in pre game that he dealing with a knee issue as well. Thomas has the potential to be a decent PG as well but he just needs some size, in a normal year he might be redshirting this year. It is good to see Gordon slowly come around. I hope he can gradually give more minutes. I know some may have expected more from him coming from a P5 program and top high school recruit but he has been riddled by injuries for a few years now. Some may not agree with this comparison but in a way his game reminds me a little of Justin Miller. You can tell there is a lot of skill there, but the athleticism is not quite on pace with it. Where Miller was hampered by his weight Gordon is hampered by that achilles and other injuries.

[cajuns80]

Au was supposed to be a big shooter. He hasn't shown that yet. He shot 41% from 3 last year in JUCO.

He had seven assists last night. He's distributing the ball better. He's also got a sore knee but played through it last night.

I didn't realize he shot the ball like that in JUCO. His form is pretty bad so i just assumed he wasn't a very good shooter. He just flicks the ball and doesn't follow through.