SB Nation - Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns

BtB 2009-10 Sun Belt Preview

Chris Dobbertean — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:21 -0000

Undoubtedly, the story of the Sun Belt's offseason was Isiah Thomas' arrival in Miami, where the former Detroit Pistons point guard and New York Knicks head coach takes over a struggling Florida International program. In just about his first act as coach, Thomas threatened to pull the Golden Panthers out of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament, after the tournament's organizer, the Gazelle Group, scheduled FIU to play North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Thomas wanted his team to play at Ohio State instead. Things were eventually smoothed out, which means that FIU will remain host of the "subregional" round, featuring four of the non-major participants in the tournament.

Outside of the circus in South Florida, the other big story to watch in the league this year is whether anyone will seriously challenge Western Kentucky for the league crown. Demetri Goodson took a second straight Sweet 16 from right under the Hilltoppers' noses, and Ken McDonald's 2009-10 outfit, featuring most of those performers, will still be a prohibitive favorite, even if they are a bit thinner this season. An earlier indicator of the 'Toppers chances will be the NIT Season Tip-Off. WKU has been placed in the South region in Baton Rouge. If they can get by Horizon contender Milwaukee, they could face an LSU side that's significantly weaker than last year's tournament squad. The winner of that contest books their ticket to New York. Even if the Hilltoppers don't make the semifinals, as the fifth seeded team in the competition, they'll host one of the consolation rounds in Bowling Green.

Additionally, for the second straight year, the conference has put itself in the early season showcase business. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky will host the second ever Sun Belt Classic in Nashville. The Blue Raiders will take on Tennessee there, while the Hilltoppers will face Vanderbilt.

More on the rest of the conference after the jump.

Let's first take a look at last season's Sun Belt standings.

Sun Belt Conference Standings

(updated 3.22.2009 at 12:14 AM EDT)

East	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	15	3	25	9
Troy Trojans	14	4	19	13
South Alabama Jaguars	10	8	20	13
Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders	10	8	18	14
Fla. International Golden Panthers	7	11	13	20
Florida Atlantic Owls	2	16	6	26

West	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Ark.-Little Rock Trojans	15	3	23	8
North Texas Eagles	11	7	20	12
Denver Pioneers	9	9	15	16
Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns	7	11	10	20
New Orleans Privateers	6	12	11	19
Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks	6	12	10	20
Arkansas St. Red Wolves	5	13	13	17

Now, here are my picks for 2009-10, presented in reverse order, starting with the West Division.

West Division

New Orleans (last NCAA: 1996) The Privateers are one of the many teams in this conference who struggle away from home, as they went winless in conference road games last season. They managed to win six at home; however, UNO will struggle to improve that their three returning starters aren't scorers. 6-10 Czech center Jaroslav Tyrna, is the leading returning scorer, and he only averaged 6.5 points per contest. Joe Pasternack will have to find someone to replace swingman Kendall Dykes (17.3 ppg) and forward T.J. Worley (16 ppg), along with point guard Darrian McKinstry, who was kicked off team after being suspended three times last season. Pasternack may have to lean heavily on 3-star recruit Jacolby Pittman, a 6-10 F/C, and fellow freshman Devin McDonald, a 6-1 guard, along with 6-3 Georgia transfer Billy Humphrey.

Arkansas State (last NCAA: 1999) John Brady's team struggled at the end of last season, as they dropped 10 in a row. They also only won once in the Sun Belt away from Jonesboro, and that was against Denver. The Red Wolves had enough defense and rebounding, but struggled to score. These are all things that may not change this time around. Brady obtains the service of Oklahoma State transfer Martavius Adams, a 6-8 forward, and he'll be called on to replace F Eric McKinney, a stout defender who averaged 8.6 points and 6.1 points a game. Brady also welcomes back 6-5 G Donald Boone, the team's leading returning scorer, averaging 13.6 a contest, and 6-7 F JeJuan Brown (7.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg). 6-2 guard Trey Finn will come off a redshirt year to join Boone in backcourt, while Daniel Bryant, a 5-10 sophomore who averaged nearly 7 points and a little more than 2 assists a game, could be drafted to play point.

Louisiana-Monroe (last NCAA: 1996) The good news for Orlando Early is that he gets all five starters back from last season. The bad news is that those starters only managed to win 10 times in 2008-09, six times in the Sun Belt, and twice in league away games. However, the Warhawks could improve significantly, as Early also gets guard Tony Hooper back. He was granted a fifth year of eligibility after he missed the bulk of last season because of injury. That means five Warhawks averaged in double-figures last time they played: 6-6 G/F Malcolm Thomas (12.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg), 6-7 F Lawrence Gilbert (10.9 ppg), 6-8 F Rudy Turner (10.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg), 6-2 reserve guard Dynile Forbes (11 ppg), and Hooper (15.1 ppg in 07-08). 5-8 PG Kenneth Averette (6.1 ppg, 3.2 apg) should join Hooper in the backcourt to run ULM's offense.

Louisiana-Lafayette (last NCAA: 2005) The Ragin' Cajuns were yet another bad Sun Belt road team last year, winning only once on their travels (at Troy!). They managed this with five returning starters. This time around, Robert Lee has four returning starters, with only center Jeremy Barr gone (5.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg). Next year, Louisiana-Lafayette will be probably be down to three returning starters, as two seniors feature this time around, 5-10 guard Randell Daigle (11.3 ppg) and 6-8 forward Tyren Johnson (7.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg). The two returning juniors are the Cajuns leading scorers, 6-7 guards Chris Gradnigo (13.3 ppg) and Travis Bureau (12.4 ppg. 4.3 rpg) Lee gets another 6-7 player back, forward LaRyan Gary (6.9 ppg. 4 rpg) who is coming off knee injury. In the backcourt, Ryan McCoy (7.3 ppg, 2.1 apg) is a key performer off the bench.

Arkansas-Little Rock (last NCAA: 1990) Steve Shields' squad won the West Division and won 20 games for the second year in a row, but the Trojans could have done so much more. Unfortunately, the team fell apart after point guard Steven Moore was dismissed in late February, culminating in a loss to South Alabama in the Sun Belt semis, a game where UALR had a bit of a homecourt advantage. The two players who fell immediately behind Moore on the team's scoring chart, F Shane Edwards (11.8 ppg) and G John Fowler (10.5)--also a key defensive player, are also gone, as is 6-6 G Brandon Patterson (6 ppg, 4 rpg). Arkansas native and South Florida transfer Soloman Bozeman, a 6-foot guard, will be Moore's full-time replacement. Matt Mouzy, who averaged more than 10 points per contest last year, will have to increase his scoring output, but he is another good defender for Shields. The Trojans need 6-7 Mike Smith (7.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) to develop into more of a frontcourt force, as last year's lone returning frontcourt starter, 6-8 Wayne Burton (3.4 ppg, 2.8 rpg) is offensively limited.

Denver (last NCAA: None) The only team in the Sun Belt to have never made the NCAA Basketball Tournament could rid itself of that title this season. (Now, for hockey, it's a completely different story.) Joe Scott's Princeton offense is really taking root in the Mile High City, and the Pioneers seem to have put their road woes behind them. DU won two straight road games at the end of the regular season, ending a drought that began after a February 11, 2006 win at Middle Tennessee. Scott's team features all five starters from a year ago, led by 6-5 G/F Nate Rohnert (15.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.7 apg), a serious threat for SBC Player of the Year, 6-7 F Rob Lewis (12.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg), 6-3 G Brian Stafford (11.4 ppg). Plus, 6-9 forward Andrew Hooper actually led the Sun Belt three-point percentage, nailing 46.6 percent of his attempts as he averaged a little more than 9 points per contest. The Pioneers were as solid on both offense (47.9 team FG percentage) and defense (top 25 in the nation in scoring defense), as you'd expect a Princeton-style team to be.

North Texas (last NCAA: 2007) The Pioneers' main stumbling block to the West Division crown is a team based in Denton, Texas that also returns all five starters. The Mean Green seek a return to the NCAAs after a two year absence, while picking up their fourth straight 20-win season. Four of Johnny Jones' returning starters averaged in double figures last time around. 6-7 F Eric Tramiel (12 ppg, 6.6 rpg) is another serious contender for Sun Belt POY. 6-5 guard Tristan Thompson, 5-10 point guard Dominique Johnson (3.8 apg), and 5-10 guard Josh White all averaged more than 11 a contest, with White being nearly automatic from the foul line (90.6 FT%), Inside, 6-8 George Odufwa is a monster on the boards, grabbing nearly 7 a game, to go along with 6-plus point. The Mean Green also get back 6-4 guard Collin Mangrum, who has struggled with injuries over the past two years. The two senior starters, Tramiel and Johnson want to go out on top, and they may have the supporting cast to do it.

East Division

Florida International (last NCAA: 1995) Isiah Thomas should be in for some rough sledding in his first year at the helm of the Golden Panthers. FIU's leading scorers of a year ago, forward Alex Galindo (14.4 ppg) and center Freddy Asprilla (13.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg) are both gone. Guards Michael Dominguez and Josue Soto, who also averaged around 10 points a contest are also gone. That means 6-9 forward Nikola Gacesa is the lone remaining starter for FIU. As you'd expect of a team hit by sudden departures, Thomas' first recruiting class heavy on JC transfers, but he does gain the services of 6-2 Temple transfer Martavis Kee.

Florida Atlantic (last NCAA: 2002) Mike Jarvis begins his second season in Boca Raton completely overshadowed by Isiah Thomas' arrival at archrival FIU. The Owls were terrible last season without Xavier Perkins (academics) and Carlos Monroe, who did manage to average 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds a game despite dealing with foot and eligibility problems. And they may not be much better this season, as they only return two starters, 6-8 forward Brett Royster (7.1 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and 5-11 point guard Alex Tucker (6.1 ppg, 4.8 apg). Jarvis will be expecting big things out of 6-2 sophomore Shavar Richardson, who averaged almost 12 points and four boards a game from the bench. He has a great chance to fill the void left by Paul Graham III's (18.5 ppg) graduation. Jarvis' team will be young, as he brought in seven freshmen and only one JC transfer this offseason.

Middle Tennessee (last NCAA: 1989) Kermit Davis was forced to start four guards last year after 6-10 center Theryn Hudson injured his foot. Hudson is back, but three of the guards are gone, with the graduation of MT's all-time assist leader, Kevin Kanaskie (3.8 apg), being the most painful. Last year's SBC Preseason Player of the Year, Desmond Yates, is the key returnee. He should move back to his natural position, power forward, thanks to Hudson's return. Yates averaged over 17 points and 4.5 boards a contest last time around. Davis will expect JC transfers Rod Emmanuel (6-2) and James Washington (6-0) to fill the holes in the backcourt. 6-4 guard Calvin O'Neil should also see more action this season, as he averaged 5.6 ppg and 3.7 rpg in '08-09.

South Alabama (last NCAA: 2008) Ronnie Arrow's team won 20 games last year, and made it to the Sun Belt championship game, but the season had to feel like a disappointment for Jaguars fans. USA may struggle to win 20 again, as Arrow returns only one starter, 6-5 guard LaShun Watson, who only averaged 7 points a contest. However, 6-0 point guard Bryan Sherrer did take on a starting role late in the season (5.3 ppg, 1.6 apg overall). 6-7 G/F Gary Redus joins the Jaguars from Centenary, where he averaged 12 points and 3.4 boards a game last year. (He's eligible immediately as the Gents' announced their move to D-III this offseason. Otherwise, Arrow will again lean on JC transfers, including Allyn Cooks, Raymond Sims, Bacari Moulton, Tim Williams (Moulton and Williams both averaged over 21 a game last year), Brandon Noble, and Adrian Sims to fill the void left by the graduation of Domonic Tilford, Brandon Davis, and DeAndre Coleman.

Troy (last NCAA: 2003) The Trojans will be a serious threat to Western Kentucky's reign atop the East Division, as they bring back four starters from team that won 14 league games and earned a CBI home game last year The only starter gone is 7-foot center Tom Jervis (6.7 ppg. 6.5 rpg), but 6-9 Alabama transfer Yamene Coleman will step in to replace him. The four returning starters for Don Maestri are all seniors, led by All-Sun Belt selection Brandon Hazzard, a pure scorer who averaged 16.2 ppg, while finishing as the nation's seventh best 3-point shooter, converting nearly 45 percent of his attempts. Richard Delk, who started his career at Mississippi State is another dangerous scorer, averaging nearly 14 points a contest. Point guard Michael Vogler is responsible for getting them the ball, and he did a great job last season, averaging nearly 6 assists a game and over 10 points. 6-6 Antywan Jones averaged 4.5 points and almost 3 boards a game in the frontcourt, which will be bolstered by the return of 6-8 junior Trayce Macon who returns after a year off (7.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg in '07-08).

Western Kentucky (last NCAA: 2009) Ken McDonald very nearly got the Hilltoppers where Darrin Horn led them before his departure for South Carolina, but a last second loss to Gonzaga kept WKU from traveling to Memphis for the South Regional. The 'Toppers will miss Sun Belt Player of the Year Orlando Mendez-Valdez (14.2 ppg, 4.1 apg), but the other four starters return, including 6-3 senior A.J. Slaughter (16 ppg, 3.6 apg), 6-5 junior swingmen Sergio Kerusch (11.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Steffphon Pettigrew (12.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg), and 6-9 F Jeremy Evans (8.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg) McDonald won't have the deepest team; however, especially with recruits Terrence Boyd, who would've provided substantial backcourt support, and David Laury dismissed from the team.

Despite their depth issues, I'm picking Western Kentucky to win yet another Sun Belt title, so they'll take the league's auto bid in my 2009-10 Final Preseason Bracket, which I will release on November 9. To wrap up this preview, here is my preseason All-SBC team, featuring the best returning players from last season.

Preseason All-Sun Belt Team

Player of the Year: A.J. Slaughter, 6-3 G, Sr. (Western Kentucky)

Remainder of the Team
Brandon Hazzard, 6-2 G, Sr. (Troy)
Nate Rohnert, 6-5 G/F, Sr. (Denver)
Eric Tramiel, 6-7 F, Sr. (North Texas)
Desmond Yates, 6-7 F, Sr. (Middle Tennesee)

Poll

Who is your pick to win the Sun Belt this season?

Arkansas-Little Rock

1 votes

Arkansas State

0 votes

Denver

1 votes

Florida Atlantic

1 votes

Florida International

2 votes

Louisiana-Lafayette

1 votes

Louisiana-Monroe

0 votes

Middle Tennessee State

1 votes

New Orleans

0 votes

North Texas

2 votes

South Alabama

0 votes

Troy

3 votes

Western Kentucky

5 votes

17 votes | Poll has closed

Conference tournament wrap: 3/4/09

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:00:14 -0000

Nothing outside of the opening round in the Belt and the Patriot League and a single game in the A-Sun on Wednesday, but things go up a notch on Thursday and then kick into high gear on Friday.

Game of the Night

6) Colgate 64, 3) Navy 59 (OT) (Patriot)

Navy, which lost on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer in last year's Patriot League Tournament, was upset in the first round for a second straight season, falling 64-59 to sixth-seeded Colgate in the postseason's first overtime game.

Ben Johnson was the star for the Raiders, scoring 22 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Yaw Gyawu added 20 points, including the final four points of the game on free throws to seal the deal.

Colgate had ended the regular season on a five-game losing streak, including a 77-64 loss to the Middies in the season finale.

The Raiders get No. 2 Holy Cross in the semis.

Upset of the Night

9) Florida International 71, 8) Louisiana Lafayette 69 (Sun Belt)

The only other upset Wednesday night was a slightly smaller surprise.

Florida International shot 62.1% from the field in the first half and then held on down the stretch to pull the mild upset of eighth-seeded Louisiana Lafayette.

Freddy Asprilla led the way for the Golden Panthers with 15 points and 11 boards.

FIU now faces No. 1 Western kentucky, a team they defeated by two points on Jan. 8.

Player of the Night

Kevin Tiggs (East Tennessee State/Atlantic Sun)

Tiggs dropped a career-high 37 on Stetson as second-seeded East Tennessee State cruised into the A-Sun semis.

Honor Roll

R.J. Evans (Holy Cross/Patriot)

Scored 31 points in the Crusaders' 31-point victory over Bucknell.

Derrick Mercer (American/Patriot)

The Patriot League Player of the Year led the Eagles in scoring (20), assists (5) and rebounding (7).

Ben Johnson (Colgate/American)

Notched as double-double (22 and 10) in Colgate's overtime upset of Navy.

Full Results

Patriot League (Quarterfinals)

1) American 78, 8) Lafayette 56
2) Holy Cross 75, 7) Bucknell 56
6) Colgate 64, 3) Navy 59 (OT)
4) Army 53, 5) Lehigh 50

Sun Belt (First Round)

4) North Texas 79, 13) Florida Atlantic 73
5) Middle Tennessee 69, 12) Arkansas State 62
6) South Alabama 62, 11) New Orleans 60
7) Denver 77, 10) Louisiana-Monroe 57
9) Florida International 71, 8) Louisiana-Lafayette 69

Atlantic Sun (Quarterfinals)

2) East Tennessee State 90, 7) Stetson 76

Talking points: on needing Pearl, Prince, and Chism edition

Joel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 14:44:28 -0000

21,863 in attendance last night for Tennessee's basketball game. Against UL-Laf. In December. When the students haven't even returned to campus. Kiss the kiss-cam goodbye, says VolQuest. Pearl and his guys are all the show you need.
J.P. Prince returned to action last night and oh, what a relief. He didn't even get double figures in points and he apologized to the crowd for taking his foot off the accelerator on some of his dunks, but Pajamas is sneaky and wily, and he really makes a difference.
Wayne Chism's injury is likely just a stinger. For those of you who missed the story last night, Chism fell awkwardly and hard after running back to block a shot. Ten minutes or so later, he was immobilized on a stretcher, loaded into an ambulance, and taken to the hospital for evaluation. His extremities were moving and he was conscious, but he didn't know where he was or what was happening. In any event, Pearl said via ESPN that it's likely just a stinger, so go ahead and exhale now.
Alabama defensive tackle and Outland Trophy winner Andre Smith won't play in the Sugar Bowl versus Utah. He won't even be there. Premature contact with an agent tends to blow things up like that.
Yahoo! has the top ten college football stories of 2008. I guess. Nothing about Fulmer in there, though, so you know.

The Curious Case of the 08-09 Vols

Will — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:46:13 -0000

It's not that the honeymoon is over with Bruce Pearl. We just tend to get confused when the marriage looks a little different in its fourth year.

Tonight's 89-62 win over Louisiana-Lafayette improves Pearl's Vols to 9-2 on the season as the calendar turns to 2009. Those eleven games include wins over Marquette and Georgetown by a dozen points each on neutral floors, the latter looking especially impressive as it's the Hoyas' only loss this season, and because they just disposed of #2 and previously unbeaten UConn in Storrs in a game they never trailed in.

The eleven games also include a tough tourney loss to Gonzaga that could be avenged next week, and an upset thumping in Philadelphia against Temple.

And it comes on the heels of an SEC Championship and two straight trips to the Sweet 16, which came on the heels of a decade and a half of mediocrity and general apathy...which is why we love Pearl so much.

And the Vols might accomplish those championship dreams again this season.

It's just going to look a lot different in getting there.

Make no mistake: this team will still jack threes with the best of them. Through eleven games, the Vols are putting up an average of 21 per contest.

But as demonstrated in tonight's 7-for-26 performance, the economy is bad for Bert Bertelkamp too. The Vols are hitting only 31.8% for the season, and there's just not that sense of confidence when the ball goes up no matter who's taking the shot.

As Pearl pointed out in the postgame tonight, it's not just that you lost Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith. It's that you replaced three seniors as your best shooters (those two plus the pre-cold-streak-of-death Jordan Howell) with three freshmen (Cameron Tatum, Scotty Hopson and Renaldo Woolridge).

Maybe the percentages will improve with maturity (though you do have to wonder about the grind of a 30+ game season in Pearl's system on young legs). And either way, you haven't heard much from Bruce about poor shot selection because apparently he wants them to keep going up. Perhaps the return of Ryan Childress will help.

Either way, the Vols are very balanced inside and out - tonight eight players scored seven points or more (and none of it in garbage time since the Vols scored only six points in the last seven minutes) and the Vols' leader in minutes played was...surprise, Josh Tabb at 27. When healthy - and that includes the present state of both JP Prince and Wayne Chism - this is a team that can still hurt you in a number of ways, even if it's not dictating tempo and hitting a ton of threes.

The real question is, exactly how good is this Tennessee team?

And with that...exactly when are we going to figure that out?

Eleven games down, now the fun begins: it's at Kansas Saturday (31 game winning streak at home), Gonzaga in Knoxville for the rubber match next Wednesday, and our old friends from Tiger High School later in January to fill out the non-conference slate.

It looks good on paper and sounds good to the national eye: the two participants in last year's national championship game, and a team that's already beaten the Vols once this season.

But Kansas and Memphis are unranked, the Jayhawks having lost two of three (including an 84-67 thumping from Arizona), and the Tigers are also 8-3. Still very good, but not quite what we saw from these guys last year. Gonzaga has also come back to earth, losers of three of their last four after ascending to a #4 ranking.

Maybe it's just North Carolina's college basketball world this season and everybody else is merely passing through; UConn falling to a team the Vols beat leaves no solid arguments for anyone else in their class right now.

We shake our head sometimes at new faces and a slightly different style of play. We don't quite know what to make of the same team that beat Georgetown, struggled with Belmont and got attacked by Temple.

If we haven't figured it out by now, and can't be sure that the answers will come against Kansas, Gonzaga and Memphis because they too are in that same questionable class...what could the SEC tell us?

The Vols, at #14, are currently the only team in the conference ranked in the AP Poll, which is much the way it's been all season. In fact, only the Gators are also receiving votes.

Including Tennessee, every team in the conference looks vulnerable, and in some cases that's being generous in a backhanded way. Seven SEC teams have already lost at least three games, and two others haven't played anybody (South Carolina and Arkansas, though that changes Tuesday when the Pigs get the Sooners).

The Vols might struggle early. Aside from the non-conference, the SEC slate provides a January to survive and a February to thrive:

January: at Kansas, vs Gonzaga, at Georgia, vs Kentucky, vs South Carolina, at Vanderbilt, vs Memphis, vs LSU, vs Florida

February: at Arkansas, at Auburn, vs Georgia, vs Vanderbilt, at Ole Miss, at Kentucky, vs Mississippi State

But whether the Vols start slow and finish strong, or if they tear through the whole slate and prove that they're once again the best team in the conference...if the field stays this weak, how much will we really learn?

The Vols could make the tournament at 26-4 or 20-10, and I'm still not really sure how much we'll really know about this team for sure.

But then of course, it's all about March in this game...which in turn is all about the draw and the matchups.

Bruce Pearl's first two teams were less talented and less experienced, but got tremendous draws in March - the first group would've played George Mason in the Sweet 16 had they not been upset by Wichita State, and the second was twenty minutes away from an Elite Eight rematch with a Memphis team they'd obliterated in Knoxville earlier that year before they blew the Ohio State game.

Last year, Pearl's best team reached #1 and won the SEC Championship...but faced a nightmare draw that saw them survive Butler in the second game, face by far the most talented #3 seed in Louisville next...and even if they'd won there, it would've been UNC two days later. Some years it works out well, some years it just doesn't...and you never know until you get there.

Which is really how I feel about this team.

The first two years of Pearl spoiled me to the point where, when we weren't always blowing teams out last year and the cancer no one knew Lofton had was messing up his shooting touch, I told some of my friends I felt like we'd make the Final Four and I wouldn't enjoy it along the way.

This time, I'm trying to enjoy the moments more...I just have no idea what to make of them.

We're young, but is that everything to blame when we don't look good? If Wayne Chism gets back on his feet, how good is he going to play and at what level of consistency from here on out? Can Tyler Smith win games by himself the way Chris Lofton did when we needed it? Is the three point shooting going to get better or worse?

Pearl has put the Vols in the center of the relevant basketball conversation, and for that we must remain thankful. Tonight was the first game I've been to this season, and they were one butt short of having the biggest crowd of the season against a 4-7 Sun Belt foe the week after Christmas with no students to be found. And that one butt short still left them with 21,863. I remember being a student in the early part of this decade, and even in Jerry Green's best years, against an opponent like the Rajun Cajuns the place was so cavernously empty that the referees heard every syllable of every word we said. Now no one can hear anything because most of the crowd has stuck around just to see if they can win a free chicken sandwich.

The conference may be thin and the group of teams who might be second fiddle to the Tar Heels may be deep, and the Vols find themselves in the midst of both groups. And like all sports, the season will continue to tell its own story, and the journey will give us a chance to picture the destination more clearly.

Right now, that destination could be the Final Four or an early flame out. And right now neither would surprise me. This team is likely to continue to answer some questions and raise others, and the field being the way it is we may not fully know how good we are until it's over.

But along the way, Pearl and the Vols will continue to make it worth our while.

...even when we can't quite bring home the chicken.

Scary injury to Wayne Chism dampens an otherwise excellent game against Ragin' Cajuns: UT 89, UL-Laf. 62

Joel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:17:10 -0000

Wayne Chism had another monster performance, putting in 18 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, dishing out three assists, knocking away two shots, and taking away one steal against the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns in an 89-62 victory for the Vols. I was late to the party, so I didn't actually see any of this. All I saw was Chism falling to the ground head first and laying there while Bob Kesling and Bert Bertlekamp speculated on why the trainers were strapping Wheezy to the stretcher and whisking him away to the hospital.

The most preliminary of reports is that that Chism suffered a "neck and back injury" on the play and that the whole stretcher/ambulance/hospital thing was merely precautionary. Let's hope, and not only because we have Kansas, Gonzaga, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, and Memphis on the horizon. Let's hope he's all right just because.

Chism wasn't the only Vol to have an eventful game against the Cajuns. Tyler Smith was also in double figures and had four rebounds and one each of a block, steal, and assist. There were seven other players to score, including Josh Tabb, Scotty Hopson, and Cam Tatum, who each contributed nine points.

As a team, Tennessee hit 48.4% from the field, 26.9% from three-point range, and 69% from the free throw line. The stat line shows that the Vols had 35 bench points to UL-Laf's 29 and that Tennessee had a whopping 31 points off turnovers.

All of that is secondary to Chism's status, though. We'll presume for now that the immobility routine was in fact just precautionary. We'll have updates as we learn more.

[Note by Joel, 12/29/08 10:26 PM EST ] Mike Griffith was there and says that Chism was moving his fingers and talking to folks, but that he didn't open his eyes for several minutes after falling. Still no report from the hospital at this time.

[Note by Joel, 12/29/08 10:39 PM EST ] WBIR has this quote from Pearl: "[Chism had] movement everywhere but his right hand." Chism will have an MRI to determine the extent of his injuries. The articles also says that Chism was conscious the entire time but that "it took him a while to realize where he was and what happened."

[Note by Joel, 12/30/08 9:12 AM EST ] Just a stinger, according to Pearl via ESPN. Thanks to Will for the find and the link below.

Talking points: he will, he won't, he's here, he's there edition

Joel — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 16:58:55 -0000

The basketball Vols get back into the swing of things tonight against Louisiana-Lafayette. J.P. Prince, who might not have played, will play, and Travis Bureau, who might have played, won't. The BruceBall Blog has the game preview. Enjoy the ease-in, guys, because we've got Kansas and Gonzaga coming up.
Monte Kiffin's on his way to Rocky Top after his Tampa Bay Bucs lost their last game of the season against the Oakland Raiders Sunday. He says season-ending losses motivate him, so even though this one was with the Bucs, maybe some of that will carry over.
Auburn's Gene Chizik has hired Tulsa's Gus Malzahn as his offensive coordinator. Smart Football addresses the question of whether this is something new or take 2 of Auburn's experiment with the dreaded spread.
Mike Strange of GVX looks back at 2008 on Rocky Top.

Tennessee Volunteers vs. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns: stat comparison

Joel — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:54:13 -0000

Keys to the game

Can we score? The Ragin' Cajuns appear to be a strong defensive team, holding their opponents to 66 points per game and 40% shooting from the field. They also block shots at an average of 6.4 times each game. Of course, our scoring offense is 8th in the nation with the guys putting up an average of 84.1 points per game.

Rebounding. Tennessee is 13th in the nation in rebounding margin, grabbing an average of 9.7 more boards than its opponents. UL-Laf. gives up an average of 1.7 more to its opponents per game.

Louisiana-Lafayette players to watch

Travis Bureau. Bureau is an excellent shooter, both from the field and from behind the arc. He hits over 50% from two-point range and nearly 47% of his threes.

Tyren Johnson and Colby Batiste. The Cajuns have not one, but two, shot blockers ranked in the top 100 in the nation. You'd think that they'd be a better rebounding team until you consider the possibility that they're still coming down when the rest of the players are going up for the board.

KEY STATS COMPARISON
Category	Rank	Actual	Rank	Actual
Scoring Offense	8	84.1	239	65.3
Scoring Defense	267	73.2	144	66.0
Scoring Margin	60	10.9	215	-0.7
Field-Goal Percentage	62	47.1	188	43.2
Field-Goal Percentage Defense	180	43.0	78	40.0
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game	128	6.7	208	5.8
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage	204	32.4	209	32.2
Three Pt FG Defense	144	0.329	207	0.346
Free-Throw Percentage	128	69.7	293	62.2
Rebound Margin	13	9.7	235	-1.7
Assists Per Game	10	18.3	318	9.3
Assist Turnover Ratio	43	1.2	293	0.67
Blocked Shots Per Game	148	3.4	13	6.4
Steals Per Game	158	7.0	284	5.4
Turnovers Per Game	217	15.3	119	13.8
Turnover Margin	199	-0.6
Personal Fouls Per Game	303	21.4	182	18.9

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Category	Player	Rank	Actual	Player	Rank	Actual
Points PG	Tyler Smith	100	17.6
FG%				Travis Bureau	79	53.5
3-Point FG PG				Travis Bureau	32	3.2
3-Point FG%				Travis Bureau	25	46.8
FT %
Rebounds PG	Wayne Chism	97	7.9
Assists PG	Bobby Maze	82	4.7
Blocks PG				Tyren Johnson Colby Batiste	53 91	2.1 1.7
Steals PG
Assist-TO Ratio	Bobby Maze	26	2.76	Ryan McCoy	56	2.25

Talking points: they're baaaack edition

Joel — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 15:18:03 -0000

Tennessee returns to the hardwood Monday against Louisiana-Lafayette, and there was some good news yesterday when J.P. Prince returned to practice. Depending on how Pajamas' ankle responds to the work, he may or may not actually play against the Ragin' Cajuns. Oh, and whatever happened with Ryan Childress? Dislocated kneecap in the offseason and six months of rehab, which is now, thankfully for everyone, over. He's nowhere near game ready, but he is ready to contribute. I don't know whether these guys will help us with the threes -- did you know that the Vols are not only worse shooting them this year but also worse defending them? -- but I do know that they will help in some way. Pearl's like that.
The 10 most defining stories of the 2008 SEC football season. Tennessee bookends this great list from the Chattanooga Times Free Press. No. 10 is "Eric Berry, destroyer of men," and No. 1 is The Papa's tearful resignation. There's some other good stuff in there, too, so it's worth the read.
And yes, there is some football today:

Car Care Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia 1:00 ESP

Champs Sports Bowl: Florida State vs. Wisconsin 4:30 p.m. ESPN

Emerald Bowl: California vs. Miami 8:00 p.m. ESPN

Open thread, anyone? It's been pretty quiet, so I don't know.
And finally, this sounds like fun. Lane Kiffin's former team, the Oakland Raiders, travels to Tampa Bay to take on Monte Kiffin's Buccanneers tomorrow at 1:00. It's like how much more love lost could there be, and the answer is none. None more love lost. That could be fun.

Car Care Bowl: North Carolina vs. West Virginia	1:00	ESP
Champs Sports Bowl: Florida State vs. Wisconsin	4:30 p.m.	ESPN
Emerald Bowl: California vs. Miami	8:00 p.m.	ESPN