Men’s Basketball: UL hoops focuses on reunion weekend

Men’s Basketball: UL hoops focuses on reunion weekend

Men’s Basketball: UL hoops focuses on reunion weekend

Joshua Parrott • jparrott@theadvertiser.com • January 18, 2011

The past and present will come together later this week in Lafayette to celebrate 100 years of UL men’s basketball.

Current and former coaches, players, managers, trainers and other personnel spanning seven decades will gather Friday and Saturday for the UL Men’s Basketball Reunion.

"We’re excited about the reunion this weekend," first-year UL coach Bob Marlin said. "It’s going to be fantastic. Basketball is back. The people that make up the committee have done a tremendous job."

Some of the former players and coaches expected to attend include Beryl Shipley, Dean Church, Bobby Champagne, Ted Lyles, Payton Townsend, Byron Starks and Tim Thompson.

The oldest expected attendee, Dr. Sam Foreman, played for the Cajuns in 1942 and is now 90 years old.

Reunion activities begin Friday with a social, including food, drinks and stories from the past and present, at the Alumni Center starting at 5 p.m.

Prior to Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. tipoff against ULM, there will be a tour of campus that morning at 9 a.m. with stops at the Walk of Honor, Earl K. Long Gym, Blackham Coliseum and the Leon Moncla Indoor Practice Facility.

Afterward, Marlin has invited alumni to view the team’s game-day shooting practice at the Cajundome. There will be a reception before that night’s game, an autograph session for fans from 6-7 p.m. and on-court recognition for the players, coaches and personnel at halftime.

Friday’s social and Saturday’s tour are only open to registered basketball alumni and members of the media.

For more information on the reunion and UL basketball history, go to www.athleticnetwork.net.

Admission will be free to fans under 12 years old for Saturday’s game on "Take a Kid to the Game" day.

Another part of Saturday’s halftime activities includes the introduction of new football coach Mark Hudspeth and his coaching staff. Hudspeth plans to introduce his new coaches himself.

Back to work

After dropping Sun Belt Conference games last week at Arkansas State and Arkansas-Little Rock, the Ragin’ Cajuns (3-14) return to action Wednesday night at home against non-conference opponent Centenary (0-19). Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m.

UL junior guard David Perez played two seasons for the Gents prior to transferring last spring as Centenary started the multiyear reclassification process to NCAA Division III. Perez scored 608 points in two years with the program and averaged a team-high 15.1 points per game last season.

Extra points

UL trails the all-time series against Centenary, 28-34. The teams started playing each other in 1921 but have faced off only once since 2002. Last season, Centenary beat the Cajuns, 73-68, on Dec. 23 in the Cajundome behind Perez’s 22 points. Perez is averaging 8.4 points per game this season at UL and had 15 in Thursday’s 73-68 loss to UALR "» Senior guard Randell Daigle needs 17 points to join the 1,000-point club "» Freshman forward J.J. Thomas, an Opelousas native, recorded double-doubles last week against Arkansas State (16 points and 10 rebounds) and UALR (11 points and 16 rebounds) "» Thomas’ 16 rebounds against UALR were the most by a Cajun since Valentino Hart had 17 vs. Tennessee on Nov. 27, 2006.