Departure surprises Greene
LOUISIANA Là — Ragin’ Cajun basketball players were mulling their futures on Thursday after Jessie Evans left for the University of San Francisco and assistant Robert Lee was named UL Lafayette’s interim head basketball coach.
The news of Evans’ departure was especially hard for point guard Orien Greene, who transferred to the Cajuns from Florida and had developed a close relationship with his head coach.
“It was a big shock to me that he left,” Greene said. “I didn’t know anything. He did his job here.
“I had a pretty good relationship with him, so that added to the toughness of it. But, he thought this was the best move for him, and you’ve got to respect that. He’s got to do what he’s got to do.”
Greene, who helped the Cajuns drive to the Sun Belt Conference championship and an NCAA Tournament berth, is on academic suspension but hoping to straighten out his progress in school in time for next season.
“I’ll go to summer school, and then I’ll be back here and be ready for next year’s coach, whoever it is,” Greene said. “I hope it goes to coach Lee, or somebody like that — someone who knows how things go around here.”
Forward Brian Hamilton, a junior college transfer who excelled in 2003-2004, wasn’t stunned by the change in coaches.
“I had been thinking that he (Evans) probably might leave,” Hamilton said. “It’s crazy, but stuff like this happens and you just have to get over it.
“I hope we get the next coach pretty soon. We need someone to be in control of the program over the summer, instead of someone coming in at the next term and trying to run it. The sooner the better.”
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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.comPlayers attending press conference look on as Nelson Schexnayder, and coach Lee field questions from the media.
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