Bob Marlin Announces First Recruiting Class

[CajunCanaille]

_ The thing i'm most excited about is seeing a team that has an actual offense and doing things other than running down the court and jacking up a three. While it is hard for a new coach to come in and have immediate success his first year i think we can do it for a few reasons. My biggest reason is new coaches usually take a couple of years or so to succeed b/c they have to bring in the type of players that fit their system. Marlin likes to have athletic players who play up tempo on his team and he already has those types of players.

You said you're not sure about Bureau, Daigle and Batiste. Why? Daigle is a good shooter and solid defender. Batiste is gonna be a beast this year IMO. remember he started basketball late (i think he only played 2 years of high school basketball) but he has the athleticism. I remember last year seeing him make some very nice defensive plays. Bureau is a best IF and WHEN he is healthy.

The biggest question this year is if those newcomers can come in and play well. If they can, then I wouldn't rule out a conference championship.
Even if we dont make it to the conference championship, we should at the very least see some quailty basketball and i dont know the last time we saw the cajuns play that. _

I have to agree with you much more that lcitsh....why are we worried about Daigle at all. They guy has proven he can be a good shooter and PG. Bureau is a very good player. Last year he played an entire season hurt and still showed flashes of great play. He's still young and I expect him to be a stud this year. I do understand worrying about Batiste. He played well toward the end of last season but he's tough to figure out.

As for the rest of the team, I'm hoping he actually redshirts Mitchell unless he truly believes he has a serious shot at winning this year. I think that's one thing coach Lee screwed up in an effort to keep his job. Mitchell should have been redshirted last year to develop. But with Wallace coming back he can easily play behind Batiste. Gary will be a question mark b/c we don't know how his knee will hold up. As for Andruws...no worries. As for the newcomers I don't know much about them but from what I get from Josh at least one of them will be a stud.

[randyleb]

None of us know if the coach can take this combination of players and make a "great"team out of them but my knowledge of Coach Marlin and his staff makes me feel he can get the best out of what the athlete has to offer. First year coaches always have issues that get resolved in second and subsequent years. Obviously, I am very impressed with them. I see some of his players from time to time and I can tell you they are ready to PLAY HARD. They are more excited about the coming season than all the bloggers are.

[awadelewis]

_ I have to agree with you much more that lcitsh....why are we worried about Daigle at all. They guy has proven he can be a good shooter and PG. Bureau is a very good player. Last year he played an entire season hurt and still showed flashes of great play. He's still young and I expect him to be a stud this year. I do understand worrying about Batiste. He played well toward the end of last season but he's tough to figure out.

The effect of new coaches on Daigle and Batiste is one of the more interesting story lines amongst the returning players. But for very different reasons. Daigle has always shown some talent at either the 1 or 2 spot. More important he's always struck me as being very coachable and I think he would react well to Coach Marlin's style of play. With Batiste's late start in picking up the game, he always came across as depending upon his athleticism out on the court. It was the the signs of improvement he showed last year that is going to be interesting to see what the impact of some individual skills work and some discipline have upon his performance on the court.