MBB Final: G1 Louisiana 83, Texas St. 77

[RaginDave]

Harper played more minutes because Au's knee was really bothering him. You can tell the kid is going to be a good one.

I just marvel at how good Wilson is. You look at the end of the night at his line and he's got 20, 10, 4 (asst) 2 blk and 3-4 steals. There are guards who score more and shoot better. I wouldn't trade Wilson for any of them.

You are correct about Wilson, man, I just wish he could shoot the 3 a little better, he is shooting at 10% at 2 of 19 on the season. I think that is his only weakness. He is a great on the ball defender, he has one of the sweetest mid range jumpers since Byron Starks and he drives to the hole as good as anyone. He can block shots and rebounds well above average for a guard.

By the way, and I know it is early, but the Cajuns REALTIMERPI is 70 right now. The SBC has 5 teams in the top 100 including Georgia State (44), Coastal (59), USA (67), UL (70) and Troy (81). The SBC conference RPI is 13 mostly because ULM and Arkansas St are horrendously bad (ULM is 308 and that is up because of their win last night) and stAte is 331 and has not defeated a D1 opponent yet. They have lost to Marshall, Morehead State, Memphis, UAPB and ULM. Their wins have been against Crowleys Ridge College, Central Baptist College and Champion Christian.

I really like what I saw from Harper last night, he is going to be fine. He had a point in the game last night where it looked like he wanted to do it by himself but thought better of it and backed it up and gave the ball to a teammate. He needs to learn the plays a little better and understand what he has to help him.

Man I wish we had Julien back, this team could be really good if he was available. I will tell you who else has impressed me as a walkon, and that is Kentrell Garnett. I can really see this kid earning a scholarship and contributing at times.

My assumption is that Chris Spenkuch will not be with the team next season. He has played a total of 6 minutes in 1 game this season and also depending on health we could see Trajan Wesley retire from basketball (no inside knowledge, it just seems like he is having some issues).

Just so you guys know, here are a few of our players from last year and what they have done and/or not done as they have transferred out.

Jalen Johnson has been the most successful and he is not having the NBA type year he has expected. He has played in all 9 games starting 3 for Moo State. He is shooting 38% from the field and 37% from 3. Averaging 7.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Moo State is 6-3.

Javonne Lowery transferred to Kilgore CC, they have not played a game yet, they have their first game scheduled for January 20th.

Tirus Smith transferred to MVSU to play with his brother and as of today I do not see him on the roster at MVSU. Not sure what is up with him. MVSU is 0-8.

Calvin Temple transferred to Jackson State, where he has played in 2 games and is still showing on the roster but has not played since 12/10 vs Ole Miss. He played well in the two games averaging 7.5 points vs Ole Miss and Moo State. Jackson State is 0-5.

Walkon Jaylon Williams, I can not find him anywhere he may have quit basketball.

Kristian Lafayette has played in 3 games for Colorado State Pueblo (they have played 4) and is averaging 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He did not play in their last game vs Colorado Mesa, the team is 0-4.

[CajunEXPRESS]

Harper played more minutes because Au's knee was really bothering him. You can tell the kid is going to be a good one.

I just marvel at how good Wilson is. You look at the end of the night at his line and he's got 20, 10, 4 (asst) 2 blk and 3-4 steals. There are guards who score more and shoot better. I wouldn't trade Wilson for any of them.

I view Malik like a smaller version of Zion, except he makes his free throws. He can get to the basketball better than anyone I recall at Louisiana. If our three point shooting improves then Malik, #10, and the guards will prove to be very salty.

I’m frankly amazed at how quickly Harper has gotten used to the college speed. I’m very thankful for him.

[zephyr]

I have only seen a few games, but I think this team is on the right track if it can keep this core together. Akwuba is a steal. An athletic big who can rebound, block shots and actually stay out of foul trouble. Everyone already knows how valuable Wilson is.
The obvious weaknesses are PG play, 3pt shooting and turnovers (probably related to PG play). Butts can shoot so he needs to be our primary 3pt guy. I don’t know enough about our squad to say we have the PG of the future on the roster.
Not sure we are conference contenders, but at least we are playing hard and trying to play team basketball.

The turnovers are a team thing. We have guys like Dou, for instance, who lead the team in turnovers every game that are not just at the PG spot. We need to get better in that regard. I saw a lot of miscommunication last night with guys not on the same page with one another. Again, I hope we start correcting some of that as the season moves along.

[cajuns80]

Harper played more minutes because Au's knee was really bothering him. You can tell the kid is going to be a good one.

I just marvel at how good Wilson is. You look at the end of the night at his line and he's got 20, 10, 4 (asst) 2 blk and 3-4 steals. There are guards who score more and shoot better. I wouldn't trade Wilson for any of them.

Au is quickly turning into another Jeremy Hayes.