Mid-major Basketball Focus: Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
The Sun Belt conference comes into focus this week as we gander at the league-leading Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
The path of the Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana has been a one of great turmoil. However, much of this has gone unreported outside of the Sun Belt circle. As we examine the program closer, we will see a pattern of transgressive behavior that has marred the program for decades. The most notable of these behaviors was when the school, then called Southwestern Louisiana, was given the death penalty. At the time, they were only the second university to be given that penalty.
Copious amounts of violations were found including paying players and forging high school transcripts. Therefore, the school was stripped of their 1972 and 1973 NCAA Tournament appearances. They also canceled the next two seasons of basketball competition.
Fast forward to 2007 when Louisiana had sanctions weighed against them again. This time, it was in regards to a former player, Orien Greene. Greene had taken courses at another university to remain academically eligible, an obvious violation of NCAA rules. Despite the school claiming they overlooked the error, it was far too obvious of a mishap to forgive. Louisiana vacated 43 games, including two NCAA Tournament appearances due to that infringement.
Needless to say, the program has had its share of tumultuous times. Up until the hiring of current head coach Bob Marlin in 2010, the Ragin’ Cajuns failed to win over 15 games since vacating their 2003-’04 and 2004′-05 seasons. It took Marlin a few seasons to turn the program around, which is understandable given the mess he inherited.
Yet, Louisiana won the Sun Belt and made the NCAA Tournament in the 2013-14 season. It was their first legitimate tournament berth since 1999-’00. They did this, in large part, thanks to players like Shawn Long and Sun Belt great Elfrid Payton.
Louisiana has yet to win the Sun Belt since despite winning 20 or more games in two of the last three season. That is due to the wide-open nature of a conference like the Sun Belt. The league has featured seven different conference tournament champions since 2006. More recently, there have been five different automatic bids in the last five seasons. While the Ragin’ Cajuns are the clear favorite this season, but the Sun Belt continues to be one of the most unpredictable conferences in the country.
Still, with 11 conference games remaining, Louisiana sits at 17 wins. This high win count has much to do with a manageable non-conference schedule. Their three losses on the year came to Ole Miss, Wyoming, and Clemson. Truthfully, those are the only three difficult opponents they have faced outside of the Sun Belt. As I have said before, non-conference records do not matter to one bid leagues. The Sun Belt is one of those conferences.
Therefore, we can look at their 7-0 conference record and stand in awe. Especially when half of the league is at or above .500 in Sun Belt play. With that being said, the Ragin’ Cajuns have had arguably the easiest conference schedule so far. The only team they have played that is relatively competitive in the league is Texas State. However, they did clobber the Bobcats on the road by 25 points. That win alone has to bode well for their overall chances.
Quick diversion before I dive into why this team is so good because I need to represent the greatness in the “Ragin’ Cajuns” nickname. Sure, Tigers and Wildcats are neat, but the name “Ragin’ Cajuns” is not only terrific, it completely aligns with the school’s locale and culture. The name obviously derives from the ethnic and cultural group known as Cajuns, an array of people that make up a vast amount of the state’s population. It fits in with the history and people of Louisiana, and I love it. Okay, moving on.
What makes Louisiana such a good team is that they pretty much do everything well. They can score, piling up 84 points per game, 22nd best in the country. They distribute the basketball, racking up the ninth most assists per night this season. The Ragin’ Cajuns are also 35th in the nation in rebounds per game and they allow only 69 points per game, a decent mark. Put all of those numbers together and you have a dangerous mid-major basketball team.
Veteran players are what make Louisiana such a complete team too. They are led by seniors Frank Bartley IV and Bryce Washington. Bartley, a 6-foot-3 guard, is averaging 16.5 points per game while shooting 42 percent from the field. As for Washington, he is dropping in 10 points and 10 rebounds per game. That rebounding rate is best in the Sun Belt conference. Another offensive weapon, junior forward JaKeenan Gant, is best in the conference in field goal percentage at 60 percent. Tack that on to his 14.8 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game and you have the best frontcourt tandem in the Sun Belt with Gant and Washington.
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Much of the cohesiveness you will see on the floor is due to the regional recruiting strategy Bob Marlin has employed. While any coach looks outside their base, Marlin has found gems in his own area. Of the 15 players on the Ragin’ Cajuns’ roster, nine of them are from either Louisiana or Mississippi. That fact alone adds a level of chemistry unseen in other college programs. Perhaps that is what sets them apart from the rest of the Sun Belt too.
The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns are the absolute favorite to win an always contentious Sun Belt. The question remains how high of a seed will they be when March comes around. Given their schedule, I do not think it will be a 12 seed, but a 13 or 14 seed is very possible. As we know, those seeds are always poised to upset their higher seed counterparts.