Mens Basketball: Charity Stripe Issues - UL Continues Roller Coaster Ride At The Line--Shepherd out ttp://athleticnetwork.net/site.php?pageID=37&newsID=16316 Tim Buckley, Daily Advertiser, Jan. 30, 2014 ______________________ When it comes to issues at the free-throw line, UL’s can be underlined. Three times. Or more. The Ragin’ Cajuns’ top three scorers – sophomore big man Shawn Long, junior point guard Elfrid Payton and senior shooting guard Bryant Mbamalu – all are shooting under 65 percent at the foul line this season. Long checks in at 64.8 percent, Payton at 64.3 percent and Mbamalu at 56.3 percent – which is actually is barely 10 percent better than the 46.2 percent he’s shooting from 3-point range. As a team, UL shoots 68.3 percent – seventh among 10 Sun Belt Conference teams, and 6.4 behind Georgia State’s league-leading 76.7 percent. Is it because of repetitive-form failures? Is it perhaps in their heads? Is it both? Or is it something altogether different? UL basketball operations Mike Murphy can’t pinpoint precisely what it is. “It’s case-by-case,” he said. “I think it’s game-by-game. “It’s situation-by-situation, within the possession itself. You know – how did you get fouled? Was it a hard foul? Were you picking yourself off the floor? Is it a two-shot foul? Is it a 1-and-1, or is it a chance to make a three-point play? “I think every possession unto itself,” he added, “creates a certain dynamic at the free-throw line.” As a result, opponents don’t necessarily fret over sending Long and Payton – who average 20.2 and 19.6 points per game, respectively – to the line. “Our big three – especially Shawn and Elfrid – are cognizant of the fact that they’re gonna get fouled a lot, they’re gonna get opportunities at the free-throw line,” Murphy said. “And the more opportunities they take advantage of, the better success we’re gonna have at the end of the game. “Because those two guys ranked second and third in the (Sun Belt) in scoring, so they’re gonna draw a lot of attention.” All three obviously would like to raise their averages heading into tonight’s visit to Arkansas-Little Rock, the first of 11 final regular-season games for the 12-8 Cajuns. But the good thing, Murphy suggested, is that Long, Payton and Mbamalu are all pretty good at shaking off misses at the line and simply moving on. “You have to be,” he said. “I mean, you know, the dogs bark and the caravan moves on. You can’t focus on what happened in the last game, and you can’t worry about your last possession. “You know, basketball is such a fluid game that if you focus on what happened … from the previous possession, you’re gonna get lost for the next five. “You have to have a short memory. … And they’re pretty good at that,” Murphy added. “They’re, mentally, pretty tough kids.” LINEUP ALTERATIONS: UL used the same starting lineup (Payton, shooting guard Kevin Brown, small forward Steven Wronkoski power forward Elridge Moore and Long at center) during a stretch in which it went 6-3 in the season’s first nine games. But with Moore missing five games with an ankle sprain and Mbamalu returning after missing the season’s first 12 outings with broken foot bone, coach Bob Marlin has used nine different starting groups in UL’s last 11 games – a stretch in which it’s gone 6-5. In last Saturday’s 79-70 loss to Western Kentucky, Marlin went with Payton, Xavian Rimmer at shooting guard, Mbamalu at small forward, Moore and Long. Payton is the only Cajun to start all 20 games this season. POINT PRODUCTION: UL’s Sun Belt Conference-high 82.3 points per game rank 19th nationally. Virginia Military leads at 89.0 ppg, followed by BYU (87.5) and a Northwestern State team (87.1) that the Cajuns beat 105-74 back in November. The Cajuns, however, have been 12-plus points below that average in their last two outings – home losses to Western Kentucky and Georgia State. TROJAN TIDBITS: UALR scoring leader Will Neighbour (17.2 points per game) had scored in double figures in 19 straight games, but he managed just one point despite playing 29 minutes in the Trojans’ 77-49 loss last Saturday at Arkansas State. The Trojans have played their last two games without injured forward James White, who averages 11.2 points per game. UALR assists leader Josh Hagins was suspended one game earlier this month “for his actions” following a Jan. 4 win over UT-Arlington, but he’s played 22-plus minutes in five games since then. Shepherd out indefinitely: Ragin’ Cajuns backup point guard Kasey Shepherd is “out indefinitely,” a UL spokesman said Wednesday. The spokesman would not, however, address or confirm a KPEL 1420-AM report that Shepherd tore knee meniscus in last Saturday’s loss to Western Kentucky, will have to undergo surgery and “will miss the remainder of the season.” KPEL is UL’s game-broadcast partner. UL has 11 games remaining in its regular season, including tonight’s visit to UALR, before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament gets under way March 13 in New Orleans. Shepherd is averaging 8.2 points and 1.3 assists in 16.9 minutes per game for the 12-8 Cajuns. The sophomore from Houston is shooting 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from 3-point range, but he doesn’t have enough makes (2.0 per game) to meet minimum qualifying requirements to rank among Sun Belt leaders. (Arkansas State’s Melvin Johnson III leads at 49.0 percent). Shepherd has scored 17 or more points in five games this season, including a career-high 22 in a Dec. 4 win at Louisiana Tech. – Tim Buckley
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 17:38:24 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015