Kevin Foote MBB article

[Cajunsmike]

https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana...c591195d6.html

Kevin wrote a very good article on the status of the Ragin Cajuns MBB team at this stage of the season. Link to article is shown above. Hopefully many of you can read it without going through the Advocate paywall.

[ZoomZoom]

https://www.theadvocate.com/acadiana...c591195d6.html

Kevin wrote a very good article on the status of the Ragin Cajuns MBB team at this stage of the season. Link to article is shown above. Hopefully many of you can read it without going through the Advocate paywall.

Cut n paste?

[Cajunsmike]

Cut n paste?

I thought about that. However several advertisements appear at various points in the article.

[Turbine]

Facebook is making record profits with mostly open access while newspapers are recording record losses with pay per view.

Go figure

[jaxmc1023]

Facebook is making record profits with mostly open access while newspapers are recording record losses with pay per view.

Go figure

Facebook databases everything you do on their platform (and some things outside of it) and sells that info to third parties so they can send you ads that are targeted to your interests/history

[CajunAlan]

Kevin Foote: Cajuns delivering consistency way beyond their years so far this season

BY KEVIN FOOTE | Staff writer Feb 5, 2024 Updated 18 hrs ago
2 min to read
ACA.ulmenhoops.020524.439.jpg
UL forward Joe Charles (1), shown here driving on South Alabama forward Thomas Howell (13) Wednesday, has helped the Cajuns in nearing every category this season.

Surely there are times that UL men’s basketball coach Bob Marlin wishes he had a little more depth or talent.

But it would be very difficult for Marlin to expect any more consistency out of his Ragin’ Cajuns after the first 23 games of the season.


The Cajuns are on a seven-game winning streak and sit at 15-8 overall and 8-3 in the Sun Belt heading into a 7 p.m. Wednesday game against Georgia State in the Cajundome.

“It’s talked about a little bit, but the team just knows it’s about the next game,” Marlin said of the winning streak. “They know you have to take them one at a time and keep playing. We just have to continue to go play good basketball. We’ve done that for the last month. If we continue to do that, it’ll take care of itself.”

Peel back a few layers and the streak looks even better. Although UL hasn’t defeated any of the Sun Belt’s top three teams during the stretch, it has dominated the competition by an average of 12.5 points a game.

No buzzer beaters or last-minute heroics have been needed. The closest margin of victory was six in the Arkansas State rematch, but that came after a late Red Wolves’ flourish when the Cajuns controlled the game.

The winning formula largely has been the same — good defense, good free-throw shooting, balanced scoring and winning the battle at the 3-point line. UL begins the week second nationally in 3-point percentage allowed at 26.7% for the season.

“Defensively, we’ve been better,” Marlin said.

Going back to the start of the season, the Cajuns have suffered only two double-digit losses — 88-65 at Samford and 75-61 at Marshall.

Six of UL’s eight losses were on the road — not counting a neutral-site loss to Wright State — and the home teams that have beaten UL have a combined home record of 66-8 this season, including three teams that are undefeated at home.

The Cajuns are putting together this season without a senior on the roster and without four seasoned contributors from last year’s 26-8 NCAA tournament roster.

“I think it goes back to our staff,” Marlin said. “Our coaches have done a tremendous job in practice and scouting.

"Oliver Houston, our strength coach, is fantastic. He keeps those guys grounded pretty good. B.J. Duplantis, our trainer, has had his hands full with sickness and different things going on, and he’s been a champion as well. That’s a big part of it.”

Three of the four bench options are freshmen.

On paper, this roster seems to have all the makings of a team that would be inconsistent, but the club has been steadier than anyone could have imagined.

Of the six main cogs, Hosana Kitenge is a newcomer and Kobe Julien isn’t as seasoned as his age indicates because of two knee surgeries during his college career.


Early on, the Cajuns made a ton of 3-pointers, including 18 in two separate games. The early conclusion was this young team would live and die by the 3-pointer. Well, that just hasn’t been the case.

The Cajuns have found a way to be remarkably steady behind unsung glue players such as Joe Charles and Kentrell Garnett.

The young group also impressively managed a long road stretch of nine games over 12 in the middle of the season. Next week, UL becomes the only team in America to face its second four-game road stretch in conference play.

So far, the Cajuns haven't blinked.

“We’ve got good character guys that we recruited that’s been here,” Marlin said. “Back in the summer, even more when Hosana got here, I told the returners — Themus (Fulks), Kentrell, Kobe, Joe, Mike Thomas and Kyran (Ratliff) — ‘You’re going to be our core. If we can go out and play and be solid, we can win, but you guys have to be at your best.’ ”

Challenge accepted.

Of course, the battle isn’t over.

With challenging road games at Appalachian State and Southern Miss, as well as a home game against Troy, still left on the schedule, much more work must be done for the Cajuns to polish off a second consecutive special campaign.

But a month away from March Madness, it’s not too early to recognize the progress achieved thus far.

[zephyr]

"The winning formula largely has been the same — good defense, good free-throw shooting, balanced scoring and winning the battle at the 3-point line. UL begins the week second nationally in 3-point percentage allowed at 26.7% for the season."

And as I've talked about most of this year, you have to add rebounding to this key list. We were getting absolutely killed on the boards in our early losses, even if we outshot teams. We are now keeping those margins about even or outrebounding teams altogether and we've been really aggressive on the offensive boards too.

[Cajunsmike]

Thanks for doing that Alan.

[R1Letterman]

Facebook is making record profits with mostly open access while newspapers are recording record losses with pay per view.

Go figure

Thats you and fan of 71's peeps.... but hey those markets that p5 and AAC want

[R1Letterman]

Wow....something else disney/espn wont report:

second nationally in 3-point percentage allowed at 26.7% for the season.

Why not make top 3 in certain key stats automatic bids? Other than RP not wanting us to get an auto-bid and thus another marlin extension

[zephyr]

Wow....something else disney/espn wont report:

second nationally in 3-point percentage allowed at 26.7% for the season.

Why not make top 3 in certain key stats automatic bids? Other than RP not wanting us to get an auto-bid and thus another marlin extension

While it is nice to hang our hat on, I think that stat also has something to do with who you play. If you look at that list, outside of Houston, there aren't many good teams in the top 20.