The Book: Lady Cajuns 2004-05 Basketball Season

[RaisingCajun08]

It is good to see that local talent is staying home. We need to see more of this in ALL sports.

[El Sidonio]

I tell you what, this really gives me lots more hope and excitement than I already had about our women's team. We're constantly getting better, and Coach Hall is an awesome recruiter. Sucks that I won't be around next season for when they really explode. (provided they don't do that this season.)

God Bless.

[gorcajun]

From Daily Advertiser

“First of all, it’s home,” Brodhead said. “And secondly it’s always been important to me for my family to watch me play. Especially my grandparents and they are getting older, so I want them to see me play college ball. I also really liked the girls on the team a lot.”

This is a great quote from any recruit.

She will make a fine player in due time.

[RedBug58]

I've seen her play against my daughter.......she's a keeper!!

[NewsCopy]

University of Louisiana Ragin Cajuns & Lady Cajuns basketball programs to make 2004-05 debut

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's and women's basketball programs will host an exhibition doubleheader here Wednesday evening at the Cajundome beginning at 4:45 p.m.

The session will serve as the 2004-05 season debuts for both squads who begin their regular seasons on Friday, Nov. 19.

The Lady Cajuns will face Everyone's Internet, a traveling team consisting of former collegiate players coached by the WNBA's Houston Comets assistant coach Kevin Cook, in the opener at 4:45 p.m.

The Ragin' Cajuns conclude the evening with a 7:05 p.m. tilt against Division II Arkansas Tech.

The Lady Cajuns, beginning its third season under head coach J. Kelley Hall, returns three starters including 2003-04 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Anna Petrakova.

The Ragin' Cajuns will be beginning its first season under new head coach Robert Lee. The Cajuns will be debuting a new look this season as just two starters - Chris Cameron and Brian Hamilton - remain from last season's Sun Belt championship squad.

Wednesday's game will be the men's team's lone exhibition contest of the season before opening the regular season on Friday, Nov. 19 against Louisiana Tech at 5:30 p.m. in the first round of the LSU Louisiana Classic at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

The women will be playing the first of two scheduled exhibition contests. The Cajuns host The Jackson Babes on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in Earl K. Long Gym.

LOUISIANA SI

[RaginFan2]

"I've seen her play against my daughter.......she's a keeper!!"

Who? Your daughter? I should hope you'd feel that way! Oh.... you mean Brodhead? Nevermind! LOL

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA LA. — University of Louisiana women’s basketball coach J. Kelley Hall isn’t afraid of challenges.

Today’s 4:45 p.m. exhibition game at the Cajundome is proof of that, as the Ragin’ Cajuns play an Everyone’s Internet team that is loaded with talent.

Saturday’s exhibition against the Jackson Babes at Earl K. Long Gym will be a similar test.

“I believe playing those kind of teams gets you ready to play,” said Hall, whose Cajuns were 13-15 last season after playing the same two foes in exhibitions.

“Everyone’s Internet has outstanding talent,” Hall said. “They’re WNBA players in their offseason. They’re a very good team. Jackson is probably the same thing.”

Hall said this year’s Cajuns are better equipped for the challenges ahead.

“We’ve put in a lot of hard work,” he said. “And, what I like about it is, we’re going to shoot the ball a lot better. I try to recruit kids that can score with the basketball, kids that are hard to guard. We can teach them defense and rebounding.

“We can go 8-9 deep tomorrow. I like our athleticism and our depth.”

Senior Anna Petrakova earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year honors in 2003-2004 after averaging 18.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, hitting 50.4 percent from the field and 81.9 percent of her free throws.

She won a gold medal last summer at the 20-under European Championship playing with the team from her native Russia.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana-Lafayette head women’s basketball coach J. Kelley Hall announced on Wednesday the signing of five players to National Letters of Intent.

Heading the list is Lafayette native, Blair Brodhead. Brodhead is a 5-foot-7 guard from Teurlings Catholic High School. During her junior year, Brodhead averaged 19 points, five assists and two steals while leading the Lady Rebels to the Class 3A state runner-up. She was named to the 6-3A All-District first team, Class 3A All-State first team and named the Lafayette Daily Advertiser’s Parish Most Valuable Player.

“Blair gives us instant credibility in recruiting,” Coach Hall said. “She was one of the most sought after point guards in the country, as evidenced by the number of schools who recruited her and who we beat to get her.

“She is a tremendous point guard who can run the show and will be read to play as a freshman. Blair was well coached in high school and knows and understands every phase of the game. A tremendous competitor, Blair reminds me of the old saying ‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog’.”

A second sought-after recruit will join the Cajuns in the form of Yolanda Jones. Jones will join the Cajuns from the five-time junior college national champion Trinity Valley Cardinals. She was the NJCAA National Tournament MVP, leading TVCC to a perfect 36-0 record and national championship in 2004. Jones, a Kodak All-American, was named to the NJCAA all-region and all-conference team. She averaged 17.4 points and 6.8 rebounds, shooting over 59 percent from the floor.

“Yolanda was the No. 1 rated junior college player in the country,” Hall stated. “She is an intense competitor, refusing to lose – and didn’t last season. She will inspire our team by pressing her teammates to raise their play to another level.”

Whitney Dunlap, out of Bishop Sullivan High School in Baton Rouge, is the Cajuns’ second Louisiana prep signee. Dunlap is less than 600 points from breaking Bishop Sullivan’s scoring record for a boy or girl. Her 48-percent 3-point average helped lead her to a 22 point-per-game average. She has been named to the 6-4A all-district first team all three years she has played.

“We are getting a true shooting guard in Whitney Dunlap,” Hall added. “She has the potential to start as a freshman, and score on anybody in this league – period.

“Whitney plays the game the right way; she is relentless, with that warrior mentality about her. She’s a true competitor that can’t stand to lose, the type of kid we’ve been looking for over the last three years.”

Two Texans round out the list in Ovigwerade Agbuke (pronounced Oh-veeg-wah Ah-boo-key) of San Antonio and Erin Kacey of Beaumont.

Agbuke, whose first name (Ovigwerade) means ‘hope’, is a 6-foot-5 center. She averaged 12 points, 12 rebounds and five blocked shots a game en route to leading Cornerstone Christian to the state semifinals of the Catholic League.

“OV has great size and strength and very good hands and feet,” said Hall. “She has competed on the National AAU level for seven summers, which says something about her commitment. She’s a legitimate 6-foot-5 low post player with inside presence.”

Kacey, a 6-foot-2 center, averaged 10 points and 15 rebounds for Monsignor Kelly Catholic High. She is a two time All-District at the Class 5A level.

“Erin is a terrific kid who is a banger down low,” Hall commented. “She loves to compete and hates to lose. I see her with the potential to play the 4-spot, but she’ll have to learn the system when she gets here.

“Erin is very strong and athletic and runs the floor well for someone 6-foot-2. She has a great work ethic.”

The signing class is the third for Hall. Last season, Hall’s class ranked as one of the best in the country. In 2002, UL Lafayette’s class ranked No. 48 in the nation by All-Star Girls Report.

“This is the best signing class in school history, no question about it,” Hall noted. “It will be ranked in the top 25 in the country in every scouting service.”

LOUISIANA SI

[DaddyCajun]

Great work and I agree with the assessment!

BEST EVER!!

DaddyCajun!!!

[DaddyCajun]

Using the infamous words of Fred Sanford, "You Big Dummy!" LOL


She is a VERY good one!!

DaddyCajun!!!