UL Needs

[CajunTime]

_ By your logic, we will need more big men than you think. Batiste is also gone after this year which would leave us with 1 post player after that. We need at least 2-3 frontcourt guys. We have an infusion of SG and SF players coming in next year. What truly leads you to believe that they are not coming? Neither has stated as such and both have said they would wait and see who was hired before coming. The three players you mentioned would be welcomed here and would be solid players but we have other needs as of right now and I don't think you can say that they would bring 1,000 fans per home game. We have local guys right now like Gary, Daigle and Batiste and our attendance has obviously not gone up. I don't buy the local players will bring more fans thing. Good teams and wins will bring more fans...Period.. _

Daigle is the only one that played for a HS team that had a large following, but your local guys will keep the fans there

[CajunTime]

_ Wrong. You sign the best players you can get especially when they fill a need first. We don't need to go after anybody just because they are local. Now, if they are really nice talents and could play for larger schools, obviously you go and try to do what you can do to get them. However, I don't value a local guy higher than someone else if that someone else is a better fit and talent _

Not just any players, read the stat lines on them. Williams MVP of his District. Colbert MVP of his District. I not saying any player, but the good ones that reside right here in Acadiana

[playincajun]

Agree. What I hear two signees have not asked for release. Ones a freshman and theother a Juco. Local players. The whole team playing after dec were from the I-10 south in Louisiana. We need BIG AGGRESSIVE players to roam the paint and produce double diget points and rebounds. For this year we need look at juco for that. You could bring in one local guard small forward but we need be careful in saying get locals just because. I agree with zepher. Winning sells tickets at this point all the post about coming back to the dome had to do with winning

igeaux.mobi

[zephyr]

_ Daigle is the only one that played for a HS team that had a large following, but your local guys will keep the fans there _

Oh, now we're talking about schools with large followings? I'm sorry my friend it just doesn't make sense. Not to mention that Cecilia isn't exactly a basketball hotbed with a huge following either. Because one person said something about St. Martin attendance doesn't make it fact. Winning and good coaching put more butts in the seats than local guys.

[zephyr]

_ Not just any players, read the stat lines on them. Williams MVP of his District. Colbert MVP of his District. I not saying any player, but the good ones that reside right here in Acadiana _

Again, those credentials don't make good collegiate players. The players we have right now have credentials similar. The guard from Florida is ranked in the state at the position and was MVP of one of the larger AAU travel tournaments last year. I don't doubt these local guys are solid players and they should certainly be recruited. However, as a staff, you have to be able to project players at the next level and how they compliment your team and if all things are equal, sure take the local guys as that makes sense but you likely know nothing about some of the players that Marlin may be recruiting so its hard to take that approach until you've compared those with our locals.

[CajunTime]

_ Oh, now we're talking about schools with large followings? I'm sorry my friend it just doesn't make sense. Not to mention that Cecilia isn't exactly a basketball hotbed with a huge following either. Because one person said something about St. Martin attendance doesn't make it fact. Winning and good coaching put more butts in the seats than local guys. _

If you would have watched those guys play, they all are good basketball players, from your backyard, it makes sense that a good player from right here will bring more people to the games then Joe Blow from out of state. Lets win with good players from here and mix in a couple of studs from other places. Hey this new guy can coach, right!!! he could do it with players from here. Local talent brings in fans. Who are some of the Big Name Players from the last ten years that people really remember and know them around town?

[CajunTime]

_ Again, those credentials don't make good collegiate players. The players we have right now have credentials similar. The guard from Florida is ranked in the state at the position and was MVP of one of the larger AAU travel tournaments last year. I don't doubt these local guys are solid players and they should certainly be recruited. However, as a staff, you have to be able to project players at the next level and how they compliment your team and if all things are equal, sure take the local guys as that makes sense but you likely know nothing about some of the players that Marlin may be recruiting so its hard to take that approach until you've compared those with our locals. _

Again have you seen them play? Not saying those kids cant play, but I know the players I mentioned, can play and are from your backyard.

[SlappyCajun]

If you would have watched those guys play, they all are good basketball players, from your backyard, it makes sense that a good player from right here will bring more people to the games then Joe Blow from out of state. Lets win with good players from here and mix in a couple of studs from other places. Hey this new guy can coach, right!!! he could do it with players from here. Local talent brings in fans. Who are some of the Big Name Players from the last ten years that people really remember and know them around town? _

Orien Greene - Gainsville, Florida
Dwayne Mitchell - New Orleans
Brian Hamilton - Houston, Texas
Michael Allen - Lexington, KY
Michael Southall - Wisconsin
Tiras Wade - Tampa
Chris Cameron - Australia
Anthony Johnson - Chicago

I'm just messing with you. I'm all for signing local guys if there are good enough. But winning is better than the 15-20 local people that local guys bring.

[CajunTime]

Orien Greene - Gainsville, Florida
Dwayne Mitchell - New Orleans
Brian Hamilton - Houston, Texas
Michael Allen - Lexington, KY
Michael Southall - Wisconsin
Tiras Wade - Tampa
Chris Cameron - Australia
Anthony Johnson - Chicago

I'm just messing with you. I'm all for signing local guys if there are good enough. But winning is better than the 15-20 local people that local guys bring. _

Brad Boyd - Opelousas, LA
Orlando Butler - Houma, LA
Blane Harmon - Rayne, LA
Chris Manuel - New Iberia, LA
Kelvin Price - New Iberia, LA
Kevin Figaro - Lafayette, LA
Ross Moutan - Lafayette, LA
Immanuel Washington - Franklin, LA

[zephyr]

If you would have watched those guys play, they all are good basketball players, from your backyard, it makes sense that a good player from right here will bring more people to the games then Joe Blow from out of state. Lets win with good players from here and mix in a couple of studs from other places. Hey this new guy can coach, right!!! he could do it with players from here. Local talent brings in fans. Who are some of the Big Name Players from the last ten years that people really remember and know them around town? _

This is why we are not the coaches. Again, you assume that these players can transition to D-1 ball better than others. The funny thing is you say lets win with local players first. What makes you think we can win with local players? What makes you think that these guys are better than some that the new staff is currently recruiting or will recruit? Again, if all things are equal, I'd rather take a local guy and this university has had a fairly bad track record of keeping in touch with local coaches and visiting their campuses even when there is limited talent. However, the thought process that winning with "local" guys is not supported, especially when you start talking about increasing attendance, and high schools that have large followings. It's just not very valid. The idea is to be able to recruit not onlly locally but regionally and nationally to bring in the best talent. I have no doubt that the players you mentioned are solid players as I've seen all of them play. However, they will not do more for our program just because they are local rather than addressing specific needs such as frontcourt help which is obviously the primary concern.