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Men’s Basketball: Cajuns eager to see where Payton lands – Rebounders Club hosting viewing partyThe Rebounders Club will be meeting at the Alumni Center on Thursday, June 26th at 5:45pm to watch the NBA draft! Members & prospective members are welcome. Cost is $15 per person and includes food & drinks. Please help spread the word to other Ragin’ Cajuns fans. Thanks! Eric Narcisse, The Advertiser, June 24, 2014 It’s been quite some time since the UL Ragin’ Cajuns basketball program have had a player tabbed as one of the elite prospects in the NBA Draft, but the drought is expected to come to an end on Thursday as Elfrid Payton is projected to be a first round pick and possibly a lottery pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Although Payton, who will be in New York for the NBA Draft which can be viewed on ESPN at 6:30 p.m., will be eagerly awaiting to hear his name called, he won’t be the only one as his former coaches and teammates are equally looking forward to him fulfilling a lifelong dream. "This is a very exciting time for all of us," Ragin’ Cajuns head basketball coach Bob Marlin said. "It’s an exciting time not only for Elfrid and his family, but for our coaches, players, the university and the Sun Belt Conference. The excitement for Elfrid goes beyond just us here in the basketball program." Members of the Ragin’ Cajuns basketball team and coaching staff will get together for a draft party to be held at the alumni house in an effort to show their support for their former teammate. "Everyone is super excited for him," Marlin said. "Everyone is just as excited for him today as we were when he made the U19 team. They are all looking forward to see where he goes." Payton was projected to be an early second-round pick when he declared for the draft following his junior year with the Ragin’ Cajuns. But after attending the NBA Draft Combine last month and working out for several teams, the 6-foot-2 point guard has now moved to either a mid-first-round pick, and could sneak into the lottery. Marlin said the fact that Payton, who averaged 19.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.9 assists this past season, could possibly go as high as No. 8 overall to the Sacramento Kings which some NBA Mock Drafts have projected, has been a win-win for his star guard and the program. "It’s like going to the NCAA Tournament or making it to Omaha in baseball, you’re talking about getting an extra week or two of free advertising," Marlin said. "The NBA Draft is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we’re talking about a player in Elfrid who has a chance to be the highest drafted player in the university’s history. So, yes this is a very exciting time because it isn’t something that happens all of the time. It is certainly something that is going to have a great impact on our program." And it’s an impact that Marlin has wasted little time using when talking to recruiting prospects. "Father’s Day was the first day we could make calls to rising juniors," Marlin said. "I called about nine guys and I told them to watch the draft in a couple of weeks and you’ll see our junior point guard be taken in the first round. That is something that is impressive to young people and it is certainly something we can’t do every year. It was great to be able to say that to them. Elfird is giving our university some national attention and that is always a good thing." It’s always been said that it doesn’t matter where a player goes to school, because if he is good enough NBA scouts will find them. "That has always been said and it has always been true," Marlin said. "But what Payton is set to accomplish is only going to validate it." 2014 NBA Draft When: Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Where: New York, New York Watch It: ESPN
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