Men’s Basketball: Defense earns freshman shot with Cajuns

Men’s Basketball: Defense earns freshman shot with Cajuns 1/14/10

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • January 14, 2010

It took a little longer than UL point guard Raymone Andrews would have liked, but the freshman is finally getting the chance to contribute for a veteran squad.

While so many young players are more concerned with scoring, the former all-state guard from St. Thomas Aquinas has worked his way into the lineup with his strong defensive play.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (5-10, 2-2 Sun Belt) will need another solid effort from Andrews in tonight’s 7:05 matchup with West Division leader Denver (12-5, 5-1) in the Cajundome."We already have players who can score, so I don’t really need to score," said Andrews, who has started the past three games and four overall this season. "I’ve always been a really good defensive player. It’s what I like to do, and that’s what I do best."

UL’s opponents have learned that lesson well this season.Andrews has already helped slow down Sam Houston State’s Ashton Mitchell, Western Kentucky’s A.J. Slaughter and North Texas’ Tristan Thompson earlier this season.

Mitchell scored only four of his 18 points after halftime in a 95-85 win by the Ragin’ Cajuns on Dec. 5 as Andrews had four assists, four rebounds and three steals before fouling out.Slaughter, the preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year, suffered one of his worst games of the season with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting as Andrews scored a career-high nine points in UL’s 77-65 loss on Dec. 31.

In last Thursday’s 74-72 win over preseason West Division favorite UNT, Andrews limited Thompson to 11 points on 1-of-4 shooting. The Cajuns also forced 22 turnovers to snap a five-game losing streak.Andrews added five points, two assists and two steals in addition to his defense on Thompson, who had been averaging 22.8 points in conference play going into that game."He’s a little pest," UL forward Tyren Johnson said of Andrews. "He does the same things in practice."

For the season, Andrews is averaging only 2.3 points in 10 games but has made nine steals. He is also shooting 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from the floor and has 12 assists to seven turnovers.

But it’s the little things that don’t make it into the box score that have resulted in more playing time for Andrews, who did not play in five games earlier this season by coach’s decision.

"Raymone does all the dirty work for us," said UL forward Chris Gradnigo. "He’s a guy we send out there to mess up their best player. That’s what he likes to do, and he does a great job."

Denver also plays tough defense and shows tremendous patience in its Princeton-style offense with one of the nation’s most disciplined teams.The Pioneers have won six of their past eight games, including Sunday’s 72-67 win over two-time reigning league tournament champion WKU after shooting 66.7 percent from the field.

Senior guard Nate Rohnert, a preseason first team all-conference pick, finished with 23 points, six assists and three rebounds in the win. Junior forward Rob Lewis added 15 points, four rebounds and three assists.Rohnert was named the Sun Belt’s Player of the Week and the national Mid-Majority Baller of the Week by midmajority.com.

"Nate has been playing well all season, but he’s really stepped it up this time of year," Denver coach Joe Scott said, "and Rob Lewis played his best two games in a row. That’s what you need, because when your upperclassmen play well, your team plays well."Denver is second nationally in field goal shooting (52.7 percent) and 23rd in 3-point shooting (40.1 percent). The Pioneers are historically tough defensively but rank 311th out of 334 teams in field goal shooting defense (47.6 percent) this season.

Arguably the early favorite for Sun Belt Player of the Year honors, Rohnert is averaging 16.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season.The Cajuns lead the all-time series, 16-6. That includes a 9-1 advantage in the Cajundome.

While Denver is 11-1 at home this season, the Pioneers are 1-4 on the road."Denver is playing really well right now and coming off a big win over Western Kentucky," UL coach Robert Lee said. "They play a Princeton style of offense, which we know is very difficult to defend. They shoot the basketball extremely well and have an experienced group of guys.

"It’s going to take a great effort, a great amount of discipline and a great deal of execution for us to come out on top."