The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team opened practice on Tuesday before they officially hit the court on Nov. 5 in the Cajundome against Loyola.
Head coach Bob Marlin, who is entering his tenth season with Louisiana, opened practice at the Moncla Indoor Practice Facility and welcomed nine new players to the 2019-2020 roster.
There are two returning starters in P.J. Hardy and Cedric Russell. The other returning players are Mason Aucoin, Kristian Lafayette and Trajan Wesley. They all took part in leading the team to a 19-13 overall record in 2018-19.
Junior forward Jalen Johnson will play in his first season with the Ragin’ Cajuns after transferring from Saint Louis. It will also be Kobe Julien’s debut season after sitting out last year due to an injury he suffered in high school. The rest of the Ragin’ Cajun newcomers are freshmen Mylik Wilson, Calvin Temple, Chris Spenkuch, Javonne Lowery and transfers Tirus Smith, Dou Gueye and Durey Cadwell.
Marlin said in a statement:
“It was a really good first day, the guys are working hard at building off what we did this summer. The freshmen are coming along nicely, the junior college transfers and our returning players are coming along nicely. We had a couple of guys out as a precaution, but they’ll be back later in the week.”
Louisiana is scheduled to play 15 home games during the 2019-20 season, highlighted by non-conference and in-state opponents McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana. The Ragin’ Cajuns will play McNeese Nov. 9, just four days after their season opener, and Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 3.
“We’ve got 30 practices within 42 days, so we’re going to go four to five days per week and try to make sure we’ve got some legs left,” Marlin said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do and November 5 will be here before you know it.”