Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns guard Carter Domingue is surrounded by a myriad of stars on this talented UL basketball roster, giving him the chance to soak up the knowledge of his teammates day in and day out.
Despite this Cajuns squad not having the regular season many had hoped for, their postseason run in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament showed this team has the chance to be special next year. For Domingue, getting acclimated with the speed of college basketball took time, but he wouldn’t trade his freshman year for anything.
“My freshman year went great,” Domingue said. “There’s a lot of things that went really well. We made a really good playoff run at the end and I was glad I could help the team when a couple of guys got COVID. I was able to get in there and play and I think it was good to show that I can play on this level.”
Domingue, a walk-on for the Ragin’ Cajuns, sat behind elite guards like Brayan Au, Trajan Wesley and Michael Thomas this season. The trio of guards gave Domingue pieces of their game to dissect routinely and helped him continue to grow as a player.
“I got to learn a lot. Learned a lot from the point guards on our team,” Domingue said. “How Brayan [Au] controlled the game when he was in there. How Trajan [Wesley] controlled the game when he was in there. How Mike [Thomas] controlled the game when he was in there. I think this year was a lot of learning for me, just adjusting to the speed, and I think I was just trying to be the sponge absorbing everything that I could.”
After a freshman campaign where Domingue learned from his teammates, he now enters his first full offseason with Louisiana. Rather than coming in over the summer leading up to his freshman year, Domingue has the entire spring and summer to gain more continuity with the guys.
Domingue detailed what he looks to improve on this offseason after getting this year under his belt.
“I think I can get my handle tighter. The speed of this game and the guy’s hands are quicker,” Domingue said. “So, I think I need to get my handles tighter so I can navigate the game. I’m excited to improve my game off the dribble, catch and shoot. A lot of things I did improve during the season but I think this offseason my game is going to skyrocket. Especially just being in the program for a year and learning everything.”
Along with Domingue, this entire team is rejuvenated after such a promising ending to their rollercoaster 2021-22 season. Dropping winnable games early on, but finishing so strongly towards the back end of the year, it gives this team hope for their 2022-23 season.
“I think it gives us energy,” Domingue said. “We’ve been capable of doing that all season. And we were capable of winning that last game. I think everyone’s ready to get back, excited to bring the whole team back. We’re ready to dominate again.”
As Domingue and this Louisiana squad lock in this offseason and build off of their Sun Belt Conference Tournament run, the sky’s the limit for what this Ragin’ Cajuns group is capable of heading into next year.