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Men’s Basketball: Cajuns Host Oakland On Sunday To Open 2012-13 Season, Shipley Bust to be DedicatedGame 1 SETTING THE SCENE: Louisiana opens its 100th season of basketball when the Ragin’ Cajuns host Oakland on Sunday, Nov. 11 beginning at 4:00 p.m. in the Cajundome. Under the direction of third-year head coach Bob Marlin, the Cajuns are coming off a 2011-12 season that saw them go 16-16 and appear in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, the school’s first post-season appearance since 2002-03. Marlin has his work cut out for him as UL returns just four players from a year ago, opening the year with 10 players who will see their first action for the Cajuns. Oakland returns four starters and eight lettermen from the squad that went 20-16 last year, advancing to the third round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. This will be the first meeting between Louisiana and Oakland. The contest is the first of four games in the Spartan Showcase presented by Auto-Owners Insurance that wraps up Sunday, Nov. 25 at Michigan State. THE COACHES: OAKLAND •GREG KAMPE (Bowling Green ’78) LOUISIANA PROBABLE STARTERS 2011-12 Statistics * – Statistics from last school during 2011-12 season PREVIEWING LOUISIANA: With a lineup featuring six freshmen and four sophomores, third year head coach Bob Marlin is excited about the possibilities for the 2012-13 season, knowing that the team that takes the court in November will grow and improve all season. As the new faces get acclimated to the collegiate game, the Cajuns will lean heavily on junior Bryant Mbamalu (7.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and sophomore sensation Elfrid Payton (7.2, 3..6, 3.0 apg). Guard Alan-Michael Thompson (3.9, 0.6), the lone senior on the squad, should also play an increased role this year. Freshman center Shawn Long, a transfer from Ole Miss, and power forward Eldridge Moore, a transfer from Nicholls State. will unite to form the nucleus of the inside game SHIPLEY BUST TO BE DEDICATED SUNDAY: A bust honoring legendary Ragin’ Cajuns basketball coach Beryl Shipley will be dedicated prior to the Oakland game on Sunday. The bust, which will be located just inside the main entrance of the Cajundome, honors a coach who compiled a 293-126 record (.699) in 16 seasons from 1958-73, setting records for most victories and career winning percentage. His teams won 20 or more games seven times. In 1970, Shipley guided the Cajuns as they moved to the NCAA Division I competition level, winning 71 games in the next three seasons. SOTO AWAITS DECISION: Freshman guard Josh Soto did not play in Tuesday night’s exhibition game as he awaits a ruling from the NCAA on whether the courses he took as a freshman in San Juan, Puerto Rico allow him to meet the NCAA initial eligibility guidelines. The NCAA has already approved a waiver allowing him to be on scholarship and practice with the team. No time table on a decision regarding his eligibility is available. RAGIN’ CAJUNS CELEBRATE 100TH SEASON: The Oakland game tips off the 100th season of basketball for the Cajuns. The first season was in 1911-12 when the Cajuns posted a 4-1 record. Louisiana has gone on to win 20 or more games 21 times since, entering the year with a 1,296-984 overall record. Louisiana did not have a team in either 1973-74 or 1974-75 because of NCAA sanctions. In the first 99 seasons, the Cajuns have advanced to postseason play 18 times, including 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, winning 16 conference titles. Eight UL players have earned All-America honors with 94 being named all-conference. REBOUNDERS CLUB TO MEET: The second meeting of the Rebounders Club, a group of supporters of the Ragin’ Cajuns basketball team, will be held on Wednesday (Nov. 14) beginning at 12:00 noon at the Petroleum Club (111 Heymann). Information on becoming a Rebounds Club member is available by contacting Karren Hays at (337) 988-4557. SUN BELT CONFERENCE TO TELEVISE WKU GAME: Both games of the Feb. 23 doubleheader against Western Kentucky have been selected for the Sun Belt Conference Game of the Week package. The women will face the Hilltoppers at 5:00 p.m. followed by the men’s game at 7:30 p.m. FILLING THE DOME: Like most sports at Louisiana, the Cajuns have a rabid basketball following that has translated into strong attendance numbers. In 2010-11, the Ragin’ Cajuns led the Sun Belt Conference by averaging 4,700 fans a game. Last year, UL was third with a 3,566 average. Strong attendance figures are nothing new for the Cajuns. In 27 years playing in the Cajundome, Louisiana has averaged 4,671 fans for the 380 games played. . . . AND STRONG ATTENDANCE ABOUNDS: Basketball isn’t the only sport that annually hosts large crowds. In both softball and baseball, Louisiana has led the Sun Belt Conference in attendance every year since 2000, while the football squad is currently second in average attendance (24,136). In softball last year, UL set school and league records for overall (29,171) and average attendance (1,287). In postseason play, softball led the 16 NCAA Regionals in total (14,097) and averaged attendance (2,350). MAKING THE GRADE: One thing that head coach Bob Marlin has emphasized in his three seasons at Louisiana is the necessity that his players give 100% both on and off the court. This demand has led to positive results in the classroom. During the spring 2012 semester, the Ragin’ Cajuns recorded their third straight semester with a team GPA of better than 2.50, a feat accomplished just one other time since 1982. The last three semesters account for three of the top six terms for the basketball team during that time. In the two semesters last year, seven Cajuns posted a 3.0 GPA or better. IT WAS RAINING THREES: Head coach Bob Marlin said throughout the preseason that the three-point shot would play a more important role in the Cajuns offensive game plan this year. That was certainly the case against Loyola-New Orleans as UL made 16 of its 31 three-point attempts (.516) en route to a 20-point win. The total, had it occurred in a regular season game, and not an exhibition, would have broken the school record of 15 three-point field goals in a game set against Troy (1/10/09), Western Kentucky (3/2/96) and Ohio State (12/1/96). Even more impressive was the the Cajuns did most of the damage in the first half, going 14-for-18 from beyond the stripe (.778) with seven different players knocking down treys in the game. . . . AND IT WAS QUITE AN IMPROVEMENT: The three-pointing shooting exhibition that the Ragin’ Cajuns put on against Loyola is a considerable improvement from a year ago when they went 172-for-525 from three-point (.328) for an average of 5.5 three-point field goals a game. Darshawn McClellan was the only player to average at least one three-pointer a game last year, leading the team with 36 treys. IT WAS A LONG TIME COMING: The exhibition win over Loyola-New Orleans marked the Cajuns debut for forward Shawn Long. Long transferred to Louisiana last December after spending the fall semester at Mississippi State. The 6-9 native of Morgan City, La. practiced with the Cajuns during the final three months of the year but was not eligible to play. During the summer, he was granted a waiver of transfer rule that would have made him ineligible until early December, allowing him to play immediately. Eager to make up for the lost season, Long scored 11 of UL’s first 18 points against Loyola, finishing the night with 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds, going seven-for-11 from the field with a pair of blocks. MORE MOORE: The Loyola game also marked the debut of forward Elridge Moore, who played one season at Nicholls State before transferring to Lamar State last season. Moore, a 6-5 forward from New Orleans, earned the start at forward, scoring six points on three-for-four shooting with four rebounds and a pair of steals in 20 minutes of action. DOUBLE THE PLEASURE FOR CAJUN FANS: Cajun basketball fans will once again have the opportunity to see the men’s and women’s squads in action on the same day as Louisiana will play five home doubleheaders in the Cajundome this year.The first doubleheader comes on Dec. 29 when the Cajuns host UALR. Arkansas State is the guest on Jan. 12) and UL plays ULM (Feb. 10), Florida Atlantic (Feb. 16) and Western Kentucky (Feb. 23) on successive weekends in February. In addition, the two squads will also play road twinbills at North Texas (Dec. 1), FIU (Jan. 5), Middle Tennessee (Jan. 19) and Troy (Feb. 2). BOB MARLIN SHOW: The one-hour show originates from Walk-On’s in Lafayette (2336 Kaliste Saloom). The first installment of the show is from 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3. RAGIN’ CAJUNS SPORTS ALL-ACCESS: The weekly 30-minute television show on UL Athletics airs every Monday night at 9:00p.m. on KATC CW, cable channel 10 in Lafayette (LUS channel 20, Direct TV channel 4 and digital channel 3.2). The show is hosted byTravis Webb with Bob Marlin and features highlights, player interviews and features. NEXT UP: After the Oakland contest, the Cajuns take to the road for four of its next five games, starting with a road contest at Texas Southern on Friday (Nov. 16) and a trip to Boise, Idaho to face Boise State on Sunday (Nov. 18). Both games are part of teh Spartan Showcase. Brian McCann
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