The City of Ruston Louisiana is located in the Northeast corner of the state is the biggest city in the Ark-LA-Tex region. In this area 20,000 citizens is a big city and Ruston is the cultural epicenter of this area primarily due to the fact that Louisiana Tech is located there.  With 12,000 students this diverse college brings many students together for a wonderful educational experience.  Of course that wasn’t always the way it was in this part of the Deep South.  The first black students were not admitted until 1965 and the first athletes did not come until a few years later and let’s just say none of these courageous kids were treated too kindly.  Way behind their brethren from down south in Lafayette who started recruiting black athletes much earlier than the Bulldogs (who ironically used to have the same nickname) these Dawgs are trying to catch up.  Not only did they fall behind in recruiting from the ‘Ragin Cajuns’ but lagged behind when the high profiled team jumped from the Southland which they had entered D-1 together to the Sun Belt.  They were a year behind in joining and were nowhere near as complete of a roster and were projected to finish in the bottom half of the conference in their inaugural year playing with the Big Boys.  But that did not stop them this team filled with an overabundance of PF’s from having one terrific season that could have (and should have) ended with a post season berth.  Of course compared to the final four bound Lady Techsters in pales in comparison but you got to get your kicks where you can get them. 

 Louisiana has been long been known for years for developing some great big men who know to play in the paint.  Names like Hayes, Petit, Parish and Reed have become synonymous with superb low-post play by large talented men of color who all hail from the Pelican State.  And let us not forget that the great Bill Russell was born and raised here until he was about 12 before he moved to San Francisco and became a legend.  And all but Petit were born in the Northern half of the state so their really must be something in the water.  Last year another name was added to this indelible list. His name is Karl.  Malone that is. And he is the very definition of the power forward position.  The ‘Mailman’ as he is now known is big at six nine and strong at two hundred and fifty chiseled in granite pound. He definitely has the physical features required of this position.  Malone was not heavily recruited (though Arkansas did make an attempt to bring him to Fayetteville) coming out of tiny Summerfield Louisiana, that sits right on the Louisiana-Arkansas border.  He wanted to stay close to home anyway to be near his single-parent mother.  He was not eligible for his first few games at Tech due to his grades so he got a late start on his first season.  When he finally got in he had limited skills and he really tried to power and jam the ball every time he got it near the paint.  Malone and his teammates propensity for slamming the ball led some sports writer to come up with the nickname the ‘Dunkin’ Dog’ and it stuck.  But this kid works his tail end off both in the weight room and on the court and is fast becoming a complete player.  Malone is developing a turn-around shot that Hayes made famous but also loves to use his explosiveness in the open court.  He will finish with a jam on any opportunity in the open court still and nobody gets in the way of this runaway locomotive.  Malone does not mind contact however and is adept at drawing fouls (sometimes that is the only way to stop him) but must get a bit better at making his free shots as he gets to the line almost ten times a game.  Malone is also developing a nice little jump shot which he seems to take a little further out every game he plays.  He is so big and strong the ball looks like a tennis ball in his hands but he does get nice rotation on his jumper.  Somebody is teaching him well.  He has a nice rapport with fellow Sophomore Wayne Smith who runs the pick and roll with this monster who might be the best roll guy EVER!  His screens are like walls and when he gets the ball back he can either go strong to the hoop or hit that unguardable jump shot to up to 18 feet.  He is an offensive machine.  A terrific rebounder who plays the game to win and not to necessarily get statistics, he could average 20 a game easy but Robertson kept him in check and there are many mouths to feed up front on this roster.  He will be the go to guy and will produce in the clutch but his best attribute is his unselfishness and willingness to what it takes to succeed.  He is even starting to pass the ball a little bit as his first few games he was a black hole when he got the ball in the paint.  He is something special.  Now the key is will he stay around for his sophomore season or answer the non-stop calls from the pros to join them and unleash his incredible game on their league.  Here is hoping he stays at least one more year as he still has some things to work on (which he most definitely will do) and this team has a chance to be really special this season but only if the Mailman delivers to Ruston.  Then again it is hard to pass up the chance to take care of your Mom and his eight older siblings especially when you grew up as poor as Malone did!  He actually became an avid hunter primarily to help feed his family.  Either way this kid is a stud and Karl Malone just might be the best player in the country that you have not heard of.  Yet! 

Supporting Malone is a great group of front court players challenging any mid-major in the country for supremacy.  Junior Mike Green is a solid center.  He can score and rebound and would be the star of any other team as he was the first two years in Ruston.  Green was a star at this program immediatley and he came just at the right time as the Bulldogs were transitioning from the lower divisions (his first year was in the college division and he put up crazy numbers against that lesser competition) to D-1.  Coming from small town McComb Mississippi on the Gulf Green was another stud the SEC schools missed on.  Green averaged almost 18 a game last year with almost ten boards a game.  ‘Count’ was supposed to be again this year but Malone just seemed to take over as the year progressed.  Still, he does not mind being second fiddle and produces big numbers with a diverse offensive game.  Green can score inside or can take it out to the corners for a nice jump shot that is unblockable.  He is a good board guy and a solid rim protector. The Bulldogs do play solid defense it seems somebody is always there on the weak side picking up the slack when a teammate gets beat.  Green is also tremendous ballhandler for a six ten guy.  Heck with the team’s weakness at point guard Robertson had this guy bringing it down at times as he does have ‘some’ point guard type skills.  His consistency is Green’s best ability but he needs to get stronger if he is going to succeed at the next level as he did wear down and he did  miss a few games due to injury.  At six ten and only 200 pounds he is a bit thin for the post and does not seem to have the same propensity for hitting the weights as Malone (and many other Bulldogs on the front line).  If Green had half of Malone’s muscles he would be a great player.  Still, he is a solid player and has been as important to the success of this program as any individual person. 

Senior Jackie Moreland started the season next to Malone and Green up front (well actually next to Green and senior Charlie Bishop as Malone was ineligible for the first three games due to grades) Moreland is a good compliment to Malone and Green but like those two is more of a power player then the wing he was playing.  Moreland was ‘the’ superstar at one point before Green arrived as he led the Bulldogs to success in the old school Gulf Coast Conference after one heck of a recruitment ride when he came out of high school from just up the road in tiny Minden.  Moreland was a legend at both Minden and Arcadia (he scored over 5000 points in high school, yes that’s a 5 with three zeroes) and was recruited by everyone including Kentucky, North Carolina State and Texas A&M where he took an infamous recruiting visit.  Apparently the very confident Moreland asked as he got off the plane in College Station ‘What’s the offer?’  He actually enrolled at NC State for a minute but most everybody involved in the process with Moreland got NCAA violations against them with the Wolf Pack getting the worst of it after it was discovered they had given Moreland’s girlfriend a 7 year medical school scholarship.  He never actually played for the Wolf Pack and came back home but had to sit out a year due to the recruiting fiasco.  The fans around here did not care as their hero was coming home and he instantly became the ‘man’ in Ruston.  Moreland was an All-American in D-2 as he is a tremendous all-around player for the Bulldogs.  He led them in scoring and rebounding and when Green took over his mantle as the ‘lead dog’ he gladly accepted his new place on the sled.  Moreland is a six seven 215 pound lefty who can flat stroke it from mid-range but can also get to the hoop and is a solid rebounder.  Moving to the three and guarding much quicker and more athletic wings was a bit of a transition for this terrific athlete who also excels as a pitcher on the Bulldog basketball team.  He will answer the bell once again in Ruston. 

The Bulldogs have no shortage of big powerful men up front.  Sophomore Randy White looks like a Malone clone.  The ‘Mailster’ has the physique and definitely emulates his teammate but needs to get off the JV if you know what I mean.  None of these were the kind of wing player that Russo needs however so he had to make due.  Speaking of making due there were a pair of big men who got moved down the totem pole on the depth chart last year.  Seniors Rich Peek and Charlie Bishop. Both are humongous men (6’11 and 7’1 respectively) with different styles that were actually part of the vaunted Triple Towers (with Big Bob Watson who geos 6’10 and plays the three in that set) that was all the rage in these parts. Bishop is a corn fed kid who came from the same town as Malone.  He actually convinced the Mailman to come to Ruston.  This big redhead is a hard-working 252 pound softie who was making headway in his battles under the boards.  Inconsistent for sure, Bishop’s progress was obvious as he even went to a camp in the Catskills with Wilt and the Big O and Jerry West and was ready to have a terrific year next to Green on the posts.  Green fits this kid to the T and Peek was brought in from Florida (he transferred the old fashioned way and had to sit a year but got to practice and showed Bishop some skills and worked hard against his protégé).  This duo never really got on the court together though the first six games were fun to watch these two rotating in and out and dominating the key.  Peek went down in game 7 with a knee injury and Bishop became Green’s backup after Malone took over. He relished his role and did not blink an eye as his hometown friend became the star and his minutes regressed to almost single digits by the end of the year.  Foremost of all Bishop is a winner and will do whatever it takes to contribute to a team’s success.  This is the type of guy all coaches love because he comes to work every day (he did not miss a game or practice all season) and puts on his hard hat and does the dirty work others won’t do.  Bishop does all of the little things to help his team (he sets the best screens on the team and that is saying something with Malone on the same team) and does not have to score 20 points a game to be happy as long as the team is winning.  And this kid is happy.  This duo will be back but with a new sheriff in town Green will have to play the five and their minutes already split might be hard to come by.  It must be nice to have two seven footers waiting in the wings for an opportunity and it is not like these guys are mined meat.  They can play and will probably get a shot at the next level but for this year it is all about doing whatever they can to get to dance.  And everybody on this team wants to see Charlie Bishop dance. The Bulldogs are so deep at the forward positions they had two or three guys on the JV that could have started or at least contributed for half of the teams in the Sun Belt. Juniors Lanky Wells and Victor King have size (King played center for the JV) and game on both ends but did not even get on the court except for a few cleanup games.  That will not change much this year unless there are injuries and there time on JV is done.  That transfer portal is looking might nice for some of these guys but they are loyal to a fault.

One might wonder with a team with this kind of wonderful front line why they did not dominate everyone?  Well the Bulldogs did not have the best set of perimeter players.  Robertson went into the season with senior Billy Wiggins at point next to Junior Mike McConathy at the guards.  Very consistent for sure but also very limited athletically, this pair of guards struggled trying to defend other guards in the Sun Belt as well as out of conference.  John Stockton ripped them apart for 24 points and 12 assists early on and things did not get any better trying to guard the likes of Pistol Pete (34 points) or Otis Birdsong (23) or Bo Lamar (56 in two games). These guards were dang good of course so maybe that wasn’t fair but when Derek Fisher scores 53 in two games you know you have problems guarding quick physical players who can shoot.  McConathy is a solid shooter who can light it up from the perimeter but has real issues against more athletic guards.  He is smart and comes from a basketball family and really was needed on this team but trying to guard Andrew Toney or Courteney Lee was way above this kid’s pay grade.  Robertson could have gotten away with one unathletic guard but two was very difficult.  Still, McConathy led the team in minutes played per game and gave the Bulldogs the kind of long range shooting it desperately needed with all of the inside strength.  At six three he can get his shot off with a quick trigger but also gets to the hoop well and does draw contact.  He is also a terrific passer who averaged almost 3 assists a game and if he was a little quicker might have a shot at playing at the next level.  At it is this gym rat will have to settle being the go to perimeter marksmen for the Bulldogs and will continue to work his tail end off to be the best he can possibly be.  He showed how good he can be in the opening game of the year scoring 37 against Northwestern State in the trip to Natchitoches to lead the Bulldogs to victory and set the year off right.  This was the highest game of the year for any Bulldog and he was well on his way to averaging over 15 a game but got slowed down by an ankle injury due to his crazy workout regimen.  He missed some games but played the second half at about 80 percent knowing how valuable he was to the team’s success and because this kid just loves playing the game.  He did give up some minutes to some younger more athletic guys but you will have to kill this kid to get him out of the starting lineup for his final year in Ruston because he knows that is probably is for him as a player.  This gamer will probably go into coaching like his father but for now he is the starting two guard for the Bulldogs. Sophomores Dave Simmons, Rennie Bailey and Chad Godbolt are in the mix for minutes this year on the wings. Simmons is the best shooter of the trio and has the best chance but the other two are good athletes and this team needs athleticism on the wings.

Wiggins is an old school player who loves to set up his teammates and is very effective on the offensive end.  He is a terrific ballhandler who can score going to the hoop or pass off to a team mate or an easy basket.  He teamed with Moreland and Ray Germany to lead this team to some glory in D-2 days but his glory days might be behind him.  His inability to guard quick points really hurt this team and Robertson tried some other options.  None really stole the job from Wiggins or McConathy and this duo stayed together all year.  Sophomore Wayne Smith got a shot and was okay. Smith is a true point and the best distributor on the team who Malone loves but he is also not really quick enough to guard other points in the Sun Belt.  At six four though he has nice size to feed the aforementioned one on his favorite pick and roll.  The perimeter is by far the weakest spot on a team with an abundance of big, strong muscular men.  Russo knows this and has recruited accordingly.  Six guards are coming to Reston this fall looking to play.

Coach Scotty Robertson emphasized defense on last year’s Louisiana Tech Bulldogs team.  Even with unathletic guards the Bulldogs were the top defensive team in the league.  The Bulldogs also have one of the most physically gifted front lines in the country.  Led by the incredible beast of a man that is the Karl Malone at power forward this team will deliver the goods down low. That is if the Mailman continues to deliver his sensational game instead of seeking the fame and fortune of the pros?  New Coach Andy Russo has big shoes to fill in Ruston but he has the players to get the job done if he can find just a couple of guys who can pass and shoot on the perimeter to keep things honest down low.  If he finds that Russo can writer his ticket in Ruston as this city longs for the attention it deserves.  After all is smack dab in the middle of the greatest big man hotbed in the country.  And the Bulldogs might just have the best in show.