CADY-NIU.JPG
Massachusetts' Cady Lalanne blocks a shot by Northern Illinois' Jordan Threloff (42) in the first half of an NCAA basketball game in Amherst, Mass., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2013.
(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
This is the sixth entry in an 8-part series that will review the 2013-14 University of Massachusetts basketball team's roster player by player. Check back each day between now and Thursday, April 3 for the complete list.
Cady Lalanne | C | Jr.
- 29.0 min/G | 33 G | 33 GS
- 11.3 PPG | 0.2 APG | 7.9 RPG
- 55.3% FG | 67.2% FT | 25.0% 3PT
It seems like ages ago now, but way back on Nov. 10, at the very start of the UMass basketball season, the Minutemen looked pretty good.
Sure, they took a 36-32 deficit into halftime. But in the final 20 minutes, UMass looked like a team ready to make a run to the NCAA tournament and the Eagles – who were getting votes in the Associated Press poll at the time – looked like a team ready to spiral downwards through an 8-24 season.
I wrote after the 86-73 UMass victory that Boston College coach Steve Donahue – who's since been fired – looked and sounded during the postgame press conference "almost as if he'd just seen a ghost".
But it wasn't a ghost. It was Cady Lalanne.
The junior center played like a man possessed that afternoon in TD Garden. He scored a career-high 27 points pulled down 12 rebounds (eight offensive) and blocked three shots.
The Boston College front court had absolutely no answer for Lalanne. In the following weeks, it looked as if answers would be hard to come by across the board for teams matching up with the Minutemen.
Here was Lalanne, a true physical specimen at 6-foot-10, 250 pounds, coming into his own as a player. After a slew of injuries in his first two seasons with UMass, he was finally back healthy, staying out of trouble and he was punishing opponents as a result.
Through his first 12 games, Lalanne racked up seven double-doubles. He was averaged over 10 boards a game, and his offensive rebounding rate was near the best in the nation.
There was talk of the All-Atlantic 10 first teams, of conference titles. There was even talk of a potential future NBA career if Lalanne stayed healthy and continued to improve.
Somewhere along the line, those whispers faded away.
Flash forward to the days preceding UMass' NCAA tournament loss to Tennessee and all the talk surrounding Lalanne had morphed from "What can't this kid do?" to "Whatever happened to that guy?"
UMass made an attempt to get Lalanne going early against the Volunteers' intimidating front-court duo of Jarnell Stokes and Jeronne Maymon, but it didn't last long. The Minutemen were out of it early and Lalanne finished with a disappointing eight points and seven rebounds.
It was a long way from the domination of Boston College four months earlier.
So, what exactly happened to Lalanne that sapped him of his effectiveness as the season wore on?
Maybe he grew tired. Maybe he grew too content. But most importantly, teams started game planning for him. It was only so long until multiple defenders began to collapse on Lalanne whenever he touched the ball in the paint. Swarmed and harassed, he often became visible hesitant with the ball in his hands – something you wouldn't ordinarily expect from someone as big and strong as Lalanne.
Rarely, if ever, did he attempt to pass out of the double teams and keep the half-court offense going. Instead he went up and had far too many shots blocked.*
[*People immediately began clamoring for Lou Roe to step in and aid Lalanne, like had been written about in the past. But Roe, for as incredible as he was as a player in 1990s, had his influence as the team's graduate assistant highly exaggerated this season. Per NCAA rules, he wasn't even allowed to step foot on the practice court.]
Suddenly, those friendly putbacks at the rim dried up. The easy looks were gone, replaced by tough, veteran Atlantic 10 forwards and centers who'd seen Lalanne before and knew well enough to go right at him.
That was maybe the biggest mystery of all. How could Lalanne, who'd banged bodies so effectively against the likes of Johnny O'Bryant – who declared for the NBA draft Tuesday – and Alex Kirk, struggle so mightily against less-heralded opponents?
The answer isn't exactly clear. Not even Lalanne himself quite knew, and he turned to film for answers.
"I'm just watching film and going back to what was working against the bigger guys like that," Lalanne said before the Tennessee game. "What I was doing on offense and how the transition was working towards the big guys that were on the floor. I'm just looking back on that and seeing what I can do to adjust to bigger guys."
It... didn't quite work out as planned.
For as frustrating and confounding as Lalanne's season was, there's still plenty to work with going into next year. It's really just a matter – we think – of that little light bulb flicking on. For a guy who aspires to suit up in the NBA one day, that should be motivation enough.
Lalanne is still every bit the 6-foot-10 monster that can swat lazy shot attempts and gobble up rebounds in the paint. His block percentage (6.8) and offensive rebounding percentage (12.1), while down from his torrid start, still ranked near the top 100 player in the country at 107th and 111th, respectively
The tools are all there. He just needs to be more aggressive, even if that sometimes means getting into a little more foul trouble than he did this season. If there's a fire, a controlled rage that Lalanne can tap into during his last go-round in Amherst, he and the Minutemen would be well-served if he could locate it. And quickly.
Bottom line: After a strong start to the season, Lalanne faded down the stretch and became one of UMass' biggest question marks. A talented, physical specimen, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound giant wasn't the intimidating, dominant force he ought to be. Fortunately for him (and UMass), there's still time to figure it all out.
Previous entries: Seth Berger, Clyde Santee and Demetrius Dyson | Raphiael Putney and Sampson Carter | Chaz Williams | Tyler Bergantino | Maxie Esho