Cajun Men Picked Second in Sun Belt Poll

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns have lost three (count 'em, three) 1,000 point scorers and a member of the 1,000 rebound club from last year's Sun Belt Conference regular season champions.

But the coaches around the league think the Cajuns will be in the thick of things again.

Louisiana, 27-7 a season ago, is picked to finish second in the league this year behind reigning SBC Tournament champion Georgia State, who is a unanimous choice to repeat.  The Cajuns tied with Georgia Southern for the second spot in the poll of coaches in the league.

The Cajuns return three starters from last year's club, forward JaKeenan Gant, swingman Malik Marquetti and point guard Marcus Stroman.  Gant, who was the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year a season ago, is picked second team all-conference in the poll, while Stroman is a third team pick.

Reigning Conference Player of the Year, D'Marcus Simonds of Georgia State is picked to repeat as the top player.

ULM and Troy tied for the fourth spot in the poll, while Appalachian State is picked sixth.  South Alabama, Texas State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, UTA and Little Rock round out the poll.

The Cajuns open their season November 6th against the University of the Virgin Islands at the Cajundome, before challenging a pair of top ten teams, #7 Tennessee and #1 Kansas.