SB Nation - Will Scott

Louisville 103, Arizona 64

Mike Rutherford — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:43:52 -0000

I'm off to Indy in a very short while, so let's do this quick and play ten thoughts:

1. This was an even more dominating performance than the Stanford and Oklahoma thrashings of the past two seasons, and this one took place in the Sweet 16. Just unreal.

2. Of the seven teams remaining outside of us, I don't think there's anyone I'd rather play than Michigan State. No disrespect to the Spartans, it's just that the Regional Final field is insanely strong this year.

If Louisville keeps the battle of the boards close tomorrow, they win.

3. "Scott to Swop" is now forever etched in the folklore of Louisville basketball.

I love this picture.

4. At least Kyle Kuric had about 1.5 seconds of pure joy before looking to the bench and thinking, "oh...shit." There's no question about who celebrated the least in the locker room.

5. I believe that was the best game Edgar Sosa has played as a Louisville Cardinal. Let's go ahead and have him interview his teammates before every game.

6. Terrence Jennings and Samardo Samuels are not impressed with Jordan Hill's NBA buzz.

7. Jerry Smith's two one-handed crams and three-point proficiency was impressive, but his Batman-esque leap to the top step after one of Swop's dunk in the second half was my favorite Jerry-related play of the game.

8. This was as hard and as enthusiastic as I've ever seen Earl Clark play. He does that for three more games...crazy thoughts.

9. Twenty-nine assists, 14-of-29 from three, 13-of-14 from the free-throw line, everybody on the team scoring: pick your favorite statistic.

10. Three down.

Senior Day videos

Mike Rutherford — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:00:09 -0000

Here are the starting lineups capped off by T-Will doing the KG/Lebron chalk toss:

The postgame speeches of Earl Clark, Will Scott and Andre McGee:

T-Will's postgame speech:

And here's Pitino talking about the guys during the pregame ceremony:

God I love Louisville basketball.

Louisville 95, Seton Hall 78

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 18:43:51 -0000

The amount of text messages I receive on game day is generally a pretty accurate gauge of how important or exciting that contest is, and yesterday my phone was as busy as it's been since the Connecticut loss.

A shot at a Big East title, the abhorrence for Bobby Gonzalez, the love for the quartet of Cardinals playing in Freedom Hall for the last time; it didn't matter that Seton Hall wasn't particularly interested in playing basketball, last night was big.

The game itself wasn't particularly beneficial.

Seton Hall did what Seton Hall does against good teams. They came out hitting anything and everything and put the fear of god into the home crowd. They failed to build a substantial lead by showing no interest in playing defense. They got tired and the miracle shots that were dropping earlier started coming up short. They made a mini-run but wilted the instant their opponent decided to respond.

Controlling emotions is always an issue on Senior night, but I was a little disappointed to see our guys let the way Seton Hall was playing affect them so much. There was far too much joking early in the second half, too many bad shots early in possessions, not enough attention paid to transition defense and T-Will really let Jeremy Hazell get into his head.

U of L buckled down when it had to, but the lead never should have dipped so close to single-digits. I get that this group loves to have fun, but too many times that lack of a killer instinct (Kentucky, Ole Miss, West Virginia, Villanova) has nearly cost them dearly. Teams that aren't able to let foot meet throat generally get a rude awakening at some point in March, and I'd hate to think that we could be one of those squads.

Last night was about honoring the seniors and it was OK to have fun once the game was in hand, I get it, but from now on everything should be about taking care of business. There's going to be a championship on the line every time this team takes the floor from here on out.

Bobby Gonzalez is a massive tool.

There isn't a member of Card nation who hasn't held the hope that Earl Clark would once again take his game up a notch once March rolled around, and last night was a pretty solid indication that it's a wish that may be granted.

I understand that big nights against teams like Seton Hall should be taken with a grain of salt, but Earl looked more focused and confident than he has since the Tennessee game last year. He made smart decisions with the ball, worked hard to get the best shot possible for himself (with rare exception) and never let his effort level be called into question.

Louisville doesn't have any shot at going to the Final Four without Earl Clark being better than he was in February (and he was good in February), so last night was very, very encouraging.

The media made an enormous fuss last year over Kevin Love's ability to flick his wrists and put a 75-foot chest pass on the money, but Terrence Williams can do the exact same thing.

Of course, what can't he do?

It was pretty obvious that he knew exactly what he needed to get a triple double, and it was hilarious to see his teammates get him the ball to give to Will Scott so both senior stat objectives could be met.

I'm really, really, really going to miss this kid.

The senior video was fantastic. Thanks to both TwistedEdge and Jerb for providing those of us who couldn't be there last night the opportunity to see it.

Everyone was hilarious, but the Earl cameo was the highlight for me.

It's ridiculous how happy Edgar Sosa is during these up-and-down no defense games. He carries the same look little kids have on their face during the height of present-opening on Christmas morning.

To his credit, Sosa seemed upbeat even before the game and was the first person on the floor to congratulate his teammates despite not playing for the game's first seven minutes. He also played very well with the exception of a forced jumper in transition and missing a wide-open Preston Knowles on another break (he offered up a "I know, my bad" following the latter transgression).

The national media is going to beat the fact that we don't have a big-name point guard into the ground for the next couple of weeks, but those of us who know better should sleep comfortably with the knowledge that Sosa and McGee - the second one especially - are both playing about as well as they have all season.

I wasn't able to hear it, but I'm told McGee's postgame speech was pretty awesome. If anyone wants to throw up a brief synopsis in the comments section, I'd appreciate it.

Jeremy Hazell has become even more unlikeable. Beating your chest when your team sucks and is down by 17 is no way to go to through life, son.

Also, you don't breathe T-Will's air let alone talk to him like that. That's awesome that you average so many more points. Enjoy the postseason.

Had Will Scott knocked down the three in the corner that he pushed long by about five feet, I think it would have been the loudest Freedom Hall had been since the Pitt game.

Adrenaline can do crazy things to shooters.

The color guy last night said Louisville was a three seed. Of course he also said that Williams and Clark were in the game with a minute and-a-half to go and a 19-point lead because of Seton Hall's explosive offense, so take that first item for what it's worth.

I love Billy Gillispie.

It was really nice to see George Goode get some quality PT.

Here's a guy who was a really pleasant surprise at the beginning of the season, got hurt, saw the man he beat out for playing time really emerge in his absence, and he's still been one of the most upbeat players on the bench all year.

No one should forget that we probably don't beat Kentucky without Goode. If he continues to improve then he'll be a huge asset to this program if Samuels or Jennings bail early.

Honest question: Is Terrence Jennings our best free-throw shooter right now? Seriously, who has been better from the stripe over the last three weeks?

If Jennings, who was as bad from the line at the Red-White scrimmage as anyone I've ever seen not named Joseph N'Sima, can improve that considerably in such a short amount of time, then there's no reason for guys like Clark, Samuels and Smith to have seemingly gotten worse.

We have zero shot at winning a national title if Clark, Samuels and Williams shoot free-throws the way they have been since mid-February. Zero shot.

Speaking of Jennings, another very solid performance. The progress he's made offensively is almost unbelievable, and it's not ridiculous to say that he might be the second best defensive center in the Big East.

It's scary how good this kid could end up being.

It would have been nice to have seen Samardo make more of an effort to score once he caught the ball down low, seeing as how Seton Hall has no real post presence.

There's going to be at least one game between now and the end of the season where this team really needs him to step up and have a big game offensively. Whether or not he's capable of answering that bell, I'm not sure.

Token

Got this text before the game: "Swop just missed a dunk and then tripped and fell."

It just hasn't been the man's month.

I want Reggie Delk to get an open look from three at a key moment in the Big East Tournament. For some reason, I'm insanely confident that he would drill any open look with the game on the line.

Don't ask me where that faith comes from.

Ladies and gentlemen: your final on-court, in-game Lee Steiden sighting until next year's Red-White scrimmage. Give 'em hell in warm-ups, Lee.

I legitimately could not be more excited about Saturday.

I'll post a reminder tomorrow night, but I think we're going to have to do an open thread here for the Pitt/UConn game at noon, and then we'll all have time to regroup and re-focus for the 9 p.m. tip in Morgantown.

A Big East title and No. 1 seed at stake in the GameDay game of the week would be indescribably cool.

I can't stop smiling, and it's not the drugs.

Go Cards.

On Senior Day

Mike Rutherford — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:58:08 -0000

Ah Senior Day, a night bursting with such an eclectic mix of emotions that you're never sure exactly how you should feel 20 minutes before the tip or 20 minutes after the final buzzer.

There's a game to be won, and of course that's the top priority, but properly honoring a group of players who have done absolutely all they can for four years to add to the rich history of the basketball program you love runs a pretty close second. We spend a lot of time questioning the decisions these 18-23-year-olds make over the course of a 40-minute basketball game, but something that should never be questioned is the level of effort and determination it takes to bust your ass day after day, month after month, year after year for four collegiate seasons, partly so that we as fans can have something to look forward to twice a week during the winter. That type of commitment demands respect, and to me that's what Senior Day is all about, regardless of who it is playing their last home game.

So let's take a brief look at each of the four Cardinals who will be stepping on Denny Crum Court for the final time this evening.

Don't be afraid to go grab the Kleenex...seriously, go get it....SERIOUSLY...OK, now you're not allowed to cry.

ANDRE MCGEE

Every successful team in every sport has at least one player who will never get the praise or recognition he's earned and deserves.

The thing about Louisville's is that he doesn't care.

There isn't a senior point guard in the country with an excuse to pout that rivals Andre McGee's. A starting floor general since his freshman season, McGee was brilliant down the stretch a year ago, guiding the Cards to the Elite Eight by providing a steadiness and defensive intensity that Edgar Sosa simply couldn't match. And still, he was informed before his senior season that he and Sosa would be splitting the starting duties.

Even if they tried to toe the company line, nine out of ten kids playing basketball at major programs would have found it impossible to mask their disgust if placed in the same situation. McGee took it in stride. Even after the decision was made in early January to make the consistently erratic Sosa the full-time starter, the senior co-captain's game and demeanor changed about as much as the mayor does around here.

Having a veteran whose selflessness is so impossible to ignore is a colossal boon, especially in a sport like college basketball where every freshman on every team has been told for seven years that he's good enough to be in the NBA. You never have to wonder how not starting or being taken out of a game or having an off-shooting night is going to affect McGee, he simply cares about his team scoring more points than the one it's facing.

And it's not like the man can't play.

A pure scorer coming out of high school, McGee is still capable of having nights where the rim looks like a laundry basket. He makes heady decisions with the ball in his hands, is capable of beating his man off the dribble and is just as likely to have a big shooting night as anyone on the team not named Jerry Smith or Preston Knowles.

He can also defend a little.

There have been multiple times where we've seen opposing point guards who've had to deal with McGee for an extended period get that same look on their face that the spoiled kid who always started crying and left in the middle of pickup games got just before he went home. Simply put, Andre McGee's defense makes you want to stop playing the game. He's relentless, and when the other four Cardinals on the floor see that type of energy they can't help but raise their own effort level a notch.

Though he'll never be highlighted in a pre-game "star watch"and he's unlikely to be named MVP of anything, whatever Louisville is able to accomplish over the course of the next month wouldn't have been possible without Andre McGee.

WILL SCOTT

Will Scott is smarter than you are.

In late January, Scott was accepted to study at Oxford University. At Oxford, he will pursue a master's degree in Modern Chinese Studies, a program which will prepare him for a possible position in diplomacy or business relations with China. Only 15 people in the world are accepted into the program each year.

Will Scott's also better at basketball than you are.

The high point of the Cornell transfer's Cardinal career likely came in his first season at U of L when he scored nine, 19 and ten points against Ohio, St. Joseph's and Bellarmine in a three-day, round-robin tournament. Though he's hit double figures just once since, his head coach continues to say that Scott will hit a big shot before his basketball career is over.

To date, his biggest, or at least most memorable, shot is likely a half-court heave to beat the halftime buzzer in Louisville's second round romp of Oklahoma in last year's NCAA Tournament.

Even more impressive than that shot, perhaps, is Scott's uncanny ability to be on the floor whenever the crowd rises to its feet or starts a particularly loud C-A-R-D-S cheer. Seriously, pay attention next time, it's creepy.

Whether or not Rick Pitino's prediction comes to fruition, the fact remains that Will Scott is smarter than you are and better at basketball than you are. Live with it.

EARL CLARK

Nothing about Earl Clark is customary.

He nearly records triple-doubles while you're complaining about his effort level. He scores his 25th-point two seconds after you've asked whether or not he's made a shot all night. And he knocks down the open outside shot every single time you overreact when you see him pull up.

It's oddities like these that have made Clark one of the most oft-discussed Cardinals in recent memory.

It began with multiple rumors about whether or not he was on campus as a freshman, continued with concerns over his lack of playing time once the season began, heightened with a debate over if he deserved to start over senior Juan Palacios as a sophomore, and reached unprecedented heights with his sometime brilliant, sometimes befuddling play over the course of what will be his third and final season at U of L.

There's no denying that Clark is one of the most naturally gifted players to ever don a Cardinal uniform. He's a 6-foot-9 forward with long arms and a big frame who can handle the ball, hit the outside shot with some regularity, and block shots from any spot on the floor.

He was tremendous in the '08 NCAA Tournament, averaging 14.5 points and 8.3 rebounds while shooting 62 percent from the field and serving as the matchup nightmare nobody had an answer for.

Still, it's the next month that will determine Clark's ultimate Louisville legacy.

If he steps his game up the way he did a year ago and leads U of L to Detroit, then he'll undoubtedly be remembered in the same light as Francisco Garcia, another talented player who left early and was highly criticized throughout his junior season before a magical postseason. If he doesn't and the Cardinals underachieve, then folks in the Derby City will forever link the soft-spoken Clark with disappointment and talk of what might have been.

A lot has been made of Clark's decision to leave early, but how can you judge a man who's going to essentially be paid millions to stop going to school and play the game he's been playing for free all his life?

All of us who have followed him know that if Earl is able to make the same level of progress over the next three years that he's made since arriving at U of L then he's going to be special.

Here's hoping he's special for the next five weeks.

TERRENCE WILLIAMS

Terrence Williams will never be forgotten. I think that's the only way to begin an ode to a man who does it all on the court and says it all off of it.

As charismatic as he is athletic, T-Will has been a constant source of excitement, humor, debate and praise for the past four years. The dunks, the outfits, the quotes; he's the closest thing to Elvis the new generation of Cardinal fans have experienced.

Like all great entertainers, Williams has saved his best act for last.

In his senior season - a season Williams readily admits he never thought would take place - the co-captain is averaging career bests in points (12.5), rebounds (8.5), assists (4.9), blocks (.8), field goal percentage (43.2%) and three-point field goal percentage (35.6%).

"He has the ability to not just be a scorer, but be somebody who makes the players around him better," Providence coach Keno Davis recently said. "He can have a huge scoring night, but he can beat you other ways. He can beat you with his passing, he can beat you with his defense, he can beat you with his rebounding.

"You can't really game plan against him. What do you need to take away from him? Well, he does everything."

It's no surprise that with him doing everything, Williams' team's won-loss record and national ranking are more radiant than they've been at this point since he's been here.

Five years ago, the term "T-Will-ism" meant nothing to Louisville basketball fans, now everyone can reel off their favorite on a seconds notice.

Here's a collection of the best:

--"Talking to these freshman is like talking to a pond - just because the water moves doesn't mean it's listening."

--(On how much the team feeds off of David Padgett) "How much do people eat off plates? We feed off him a lot because he's our point-center, our point-forward, our point-shooting guard. He's everything because he rebounds the ball, he passes the ball, he leads us. He could lead us out of the closet, lead us to the ocean. He's just our everything."

--"David Padgett is the t-shirt of this team. You wouldn't go outside without your t-shirt on, and we don't go out on the court without David Padgett."

--"I've realized that if we just keep winning games, eventually we'll win the national championship"

--"You know when you buy a firework? You can't light the firework without what? Fire, right? We can't get going unless PK is really in there."

--"Have you ever been walking and seen a loose dog and been like: 'Whose dog is that?' 'Cuz you know dogs is crazy. PK is crazy like that."

--"It doesn't make any difference to us who announces the games."

--"No I'm not surprised at how I shot today. If it's two in the afternoon and its dark outside, then I'd be surprised."

--"Assists make me happy. Points are just something everybody else in the country gets."

What the hell are we gonna do without this guy?

I think we need to end this post on a happy note.

While it's certainly going to be sad to see all three of these guys walk off the Freedom Hall floor for the last time, let's be thankful that this isn't where the story ends. The legacy of this quartet still won't be anywhere near complete by this time tomorrow. This group has the chance to do some very special things in the coming weeks, and a chance the chance to carve an even more special place for themselves in U of L basketball history.

Go Cards.

Cards cruise past Georgetown in D.C.

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 11:00:11 -0000

Every Big East road win is like a bear hug from Jerry Smith on Christmas morning, but to me Louisville's 76-58 victory over Georgetown Monday night was especially girly-scream/clap-worthy.

Sure, Georgetown is reeling, but this is a team that would almost certainly be a lock to make the NCAA Tournament if it resided in any conference outside of the Big East or ACC, and the Hoyas were playing at home - where they tasted defeat not once a year ago - and with their season on the line. When you add in the fact that the Cards had just one day to prepare for a team that runs a pretty complex offense, I don't think being giddy about an 18-point victory is an overreaction.

The final margin may indicate something more lopsided than the game actually was, but the truth is that the outcome was never really in doubt. Louisville was more physical, more efficient and more mature than a squad which has built its reputation on excelling in those three areas in recent years.

Thirteen and two, sixth in the country, and right in the thick of the race for both a conference title in the nation's top league and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

It doesn't get a lot better than this for diehard college basketball fans. Eat it up.

Preston Knowles actually wrote, directed, produced and starred in Slumdog Millionaire, but was too humble to show up at the Oscars on Sunday.

We thought the kid was locked in towards the end of last season, but this is absurd. I watched him catch-and-shoot on that out-of-bounds play early in the second half, I saw the ball drifting toward the left side of the rim, I said outloud, "that's off," and I was still shocked when the net didn't rip.

Oh yeah, and he's the best defender since Dr. Strange.

Williams and Clark will steal all the headlines, but it was our guards who completely outclassed their guards.

You have to praise Wright's effort, but he still had four turnovers to just one assist. Freeman, who played so well in last year's de facto regular season title game, was a non-factor. And aside from a solid defensive effort, Jessie Sapp's only real contribution was a banked in prayer (chest-thump worthy?) to end the first half.

On the other hand, we had Preston doing what Preston does, McGee harassing defensively more than Matlock, Jerry Smith not fouling once and knocking down semi-contested shots from the outside, and Good Edgar popping the question and proving that he wants this thing to be forever.

That was about as animated as I've ever seen John Thompson III. Another indication of how much this game meant to the Hoyas and, in turn, how impressive the win was.

There's nothing normal about Earl Clark.

He's easily the most frustrating player on the team, but you never want him out of the game. You criticize him for being lazy, only to see that he's two assists away from being the fourth player in school history to record a triple-double. And then there are nights like Monday, where you find yourself constantly bitching about his play, only to look up and see him easily leading the team with 22 points.

Good shooting is often the basketball equivalent of makeup, and Earl was heavy on the blush against the Hoyas.

He made several bad decisions when the ball was in his hands, got out-hustled on a handful of occasions and missed key free-throws when the game was still in jeopardy, but he was uncharacteristically hot from beyond the arc and found his stroke from the stripe when victory was well in hand.

It sounds silly to say when he scored 22 points in a game his team won by 18, but Earl has to be better.

Jumping when you haven't the faintest idea what you're going to do with the ball is one of the biggest get-your-ass-on-the-bench-worthy sins in basketball, but I have absolutely no problem with Terrence Willing doing it. Why? Well, when you can come as close to flying as humanly possible you're afforded certain luxuries, one of them being the right to break one of the most widely celebrated basketball faux-pas.

I'm sure everyone knows the play that brought this up. it's the one where Williams drove towards the basket, jumped with no one open and no way to get a shot off, hung in the air until Jerry Smith got free on the perimeter, fired a rocket pass to Smith at the nadir of his leap, and then watched his teammate knock down a momentum-shifting trey.

Of course it also helps when it comes to being able to do things like jump, get hit in the head, double-clutch and still finish a dunk with ease. The post-dunk camera stare was nearly as solid.

Simply put, another tremendous performance from T-Will. The only thing that worried me was how badly he missed his free-throws after Georgetown had blatantly singled him out to send to the line in the game's final minutes. Shooting is so mental (that's come up a lot here recently, hasn't it?), you just have to hope that Williams' current confidence didn't take any sort of a hit .

What in the world has happened to DaJuan Summers?

The man who drilled the dagger in last year's Verizon Center classic, and the man who was expected to step up and become the type of player Jeff Green was two seasons ago in Hoya land has been relegated to wandering around the perimeter and completely disappearing (literally...it's creepy) for significant stretches of time.

It's always unfair to place the blame for a disappointing season on one man's shoulders (except in golf or tennis), but it's certainly safe to say that Summers' inability to become the player most predicted he'd be by his junior season has contributed more to his team's lack of success than the performance of any other Hoya.

If he drops 30 and Georgetown knocks us out in the quarters of the Big East tourney in three weeks, I'll buy one of those sweet "We are Georgetown" shirts and wear it to next year's game in the Hall.

If I were a professional baseball player, the song that plays in the background of the whale-splashing Pacific Life commercial would totally be the music I'd use when I walked up to the plate.

It's a friggin' beat.

Terrence Jennings: free-throw machine.

In all seriousness, how fantastic is it so see a player improve so dramatically in an area of the game where work and focus play such a large role? It says a great deal about the young man as well as the men working with him.

Samardo Samuels was obviously jacked for the showdown with his fellow co-Preseason Big East Rookie of the Year, which was a positive. Rebounding and turnovers are still major issues for the freshman, but the improvement is pretty clear to see from where I'm sitting (in a chair, usually). He doesn't make that little jump hook two months ago, and he probably doesn't put himself in position to get those bunnies either.

Token

If he and Jennings make the same kind of jump in the next four weeks that they made in the last four weeks, then we could be in for a pretty special March.

We're the best road team in the Big East and have been for the past three seasons. I want to say that we might be the best road team in the country, but any time you have a 33-point away loss on your resume, well, it's not something you can bury in the footnotes.

Happy Birthday, Will Scott...sorry you had a horrendous foul called against you.

The officiating was so bad on both ends of the floor that I think it sort of canceled itself out and the game finished with a final score that would have been similar to the one a competent group of referees would have produced.

Blowing whistles with no idea what you're going to call is no way to go through life.

Just when I thought Mike Patrick couldn't jump any higher on the not cool with list, he goes and refers to Louisville as "The Cardinal" on several occasions.

In case you hadn't heard, I hate that. I really, really, really hate that. It's CardinalS. I know it's on all the pieces of paper you have in front of you, I know you've heard it pronounced that way hundreds of times over the course of your career, say it correctly you overpaid, disreputable jackass.

Just sayin'...it's a little thing, but it rubs me the wrong way.

I still think he has the potential to be a solid college player if he dedicates himself to putting on a significant amount of muscle, but Jared Swopshire isn't giving us anything but space right now. The kid's undoubtedly doing the best he can, but I cringe every time I see him check in, and only hope that we don't lose any ground before Earl's caught his breath.

Almost Dunking Marques Maybin deserves an ice cream flavor named after him.

First try: "Almost Dunking Marques Maybin Chip."

So Sunday is a "White Out," the game will be on CBS, and we're facing a longtime rival in what is essentially a Big East regular season title elimination game.

Oh my.

Notre Dame 90, Louisville 57

Mike Rutherford — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:22:08 -0000

Honestly, where do you start?

A part of me wants to lay into the team and advocate everyone panicking because of that type of effort this late in the season. Another part wants to write this off as a team in an offensive slump running into a team with its back to the wall playing in an arena that has historically been a tough place to win for visitors. And a third part wants to say that sometimes this sort of thing just happens. It's happened to Duke, it's happened to Clemson, it's happened to Wake Forest, it's (sort of) happened to Connecticut and it happened to the '05 Final Four team.

The truth is we won't know whether Thursday night was a sign of impending doom, an aberration or a complete fluke for another month or so.

Right now, it's simply embarrassing.

Let's start with the head.

Terrence Williams: if you want everything you say you do, you can't do that, my man. A hurt wrist isn't an excuse for playing devoid of any sense of energy or passion, it isn't an excuse for refusing to rebound and it isn't an excuse for leaving Ryan Ayers alone for uncontested three-pointers on a handful of key possessions.

Leaders don't take nights off, they don't let their energy level drop when things aren't going their way, and they don't let the teammates who look up to them get away with half-assing anything and everything for 40 minutes.

It's on you to get this fixed.

If anyone deserves to be spared from having their feet put to the flames, it's Samardo Samuels. Not only did the freshman come out looking to prove a point in the game's opening minutes, but he and Preston Knowles were the only guys on the floor competing when the game was out of reach in the second half.

It's a good sign for his progression, but not a real good sign for the team's.

Nobody thinks of Luke Harangody as a great shooter for his size, but if he had better form, wouldn't everybody? The shots look so ridiculous, but night after night he knocks them down with consistency, a fact that does make him a tremendous jump shooter for his size.

A shot that goes in by any other name is still worth two points.

I realize the game was, for all intents and purposes, over, but why Will Scott in that situation? Sure he can shoot, but against a team playing man, having Scott in makes the game 4-on-5 on both ends of the floor. Apparently Pitino was mad at Preston for something, but give me some Kuric or some Delk.

I was pissed at the end, but I still really, really wanted a Lee sighting.

I don't want to go through this without praising the Irish, because they played well and with heart, and they would have won even if Louisville hadn't spent 40 minutes thinking about Party of Five.

Pitino said earlier this week that the media needed to respect this team for what it is: an outstanding defensive squad that's going to have its struggles on the offensive end. That's fine, but teams fitting that description don't win national titles or make it to Final Fours. Teams like that do what last year's Washington State team did: look impressive in its opening weekend games in the NCAA Tournament and then get pounded when they run up against a team that can get it done on the offensive end against anybody.

Points off turnovers will work against a mid-major conference champion in the first round, but this team has to find a way to get points out of its offensive sets if it's serious about making a run to Detroit. The offense has to center around Williams, the one playmaker the team has who has proven himself capable of making the right decision (*cough* Earl *cough*) once he gets into the lane.

I suppose all we can do is hope something clicks in practice sometime very soon.

I love the way Terrence Jennings has been able to transform his game in such a short time, but somebody tell me why we were so adamant on feeding him in the post when we were down 18 early in the second half? What has he shown offensively to make the other four guys on the floor so confident that he was going to be able to score consistently on Harangody and Hillesland? That made no sense to me, but then again neither did the whole night.

Simply put, our points guards have to be better. They don't have to be Ty Lawson or Steph Curry, but they just can't be as bad as they've been for the last three games.

Why in the world did Mike Brey have Jackson, McAlarney and 'Gody in the game with his squad up 30 and less than three minutes to play? I don't think he was trying to run up the score or anything, I just think it's odd to put yourself in a position where if one of those three guys goes down you're going to be crucified by your fan base and the local media.

You really only go seven deep and those guys just had a hell of a night, let them chill for a little bit, Mike. The Big East is a rough league, I'm told.

Earl Clark seems to have adopted the pre-'08-'09 Terrence Williams mentality of making one bad outside shot justifies taking three more.

Go. To. The. Bucket. Earl.

Also, apparently it takes someone hitting him across the face with a bottle to draw a whistle. I'd be a lot more angry about it if he weren't putting up 0-fers from the charity stripe.

That's seven straight bad halves since these guys looked like national champions for 20 minutes in Morgantown. If there isn't marked improvement on Sunday against Depaul - a program whose thorough domination will be discussed tomorrow - you have my permission to loot each and every establishment on Frankfort Avenue.

Again, I apologize for not taking a firm stance one way or the other on what took place last night, the fact of the matter is I simply have no idea as far as what to make of what I witnessed. Yes, the Irish were playing for their NCAA Tournament lives, yes Louisville came into the game struggling offensively, yes the Joyce Center is a tough place to play, and yes the team was at a disadvantage not getting in until game day, but...90-57??? It's simply astounding.

Still, let's end with this: Louisville just tasted defeat on the road in the Big East for the first time all season, and still sits with a record of 9-2 and a real shot to capture the regular season crown in the toughest conference in America. The Cardinals' next seven Big East games will be nowhere near as difficult as their first seven, a stretch U of L made it through unscathed.

Last night was indescribably brutal, but the opportunity to make it a distant memory come mid-March certainly exists. This can be fixed, and Thursday can be forgotten.

What to read while hating people with garages

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 15:56:21 -0000

Let's start with the media recap of last night's win. If for no other reason than that we can.

Michael Grant's game story in the C-J looks at how important the "microwave" duo of Preston Knowles and Andre McGee were to Louisville's impressive second half.

"This is a team that shoots 43.8 percent on the season," Pitino said. "They shot 53 percent (in the first half), and that was all because we couldn't do anything defensively. We were taking bad shots and couldn't get our pressure on."

McGee and fellow reserve guard Preston Knowles helped change that.

"We stopped taking quick shots. We ran our offense," Pitino said. "Andre and Preston had to fight to get us back in the game. Then at halftime we had to get them to set the tone right away."

...

Pitino made aggressive use of his bench. Knowles and McGee replaced Sosa and Smith with 18:10 left in the half. They played most of the first half and started the second.

"In the second half we had to have a great start," Pitino said. "We had to have Preston and Andre in at the beginning of the game. They set the tone right away."

Rick Bozich's Thursday column centers around the U of L stat crew, but doesn't miss the opportunity to tie the number of people who braved the elements last night to make it out to Freedom Hall with just how important basketball is in this city.

College basketball goes on in this town, especially with this surging team, which gets West Virginia on Saturday and, now that Duke tumbled against Wake Forest, should have another shot at the nation's No. 1 team when Connecticut visits Monday night.

Pitino said he and his son, Richard, had a friendly pre-game over-and-under wager about the crowd.

The number was 7,500. Richard took the over. Dad will be buying son the dinner of his choice soon.

"To get that many is amazing, but not surprising," Rick Pitino said. "You've got to have priorities in life. For our fans, Louisville basketball is more important than their homes, more important than their lives."

Not much coverage of the game in the Sunshine State, but Greg Auman does call Louisville "the team to beat," which is something.

Another day, another Florida recruit for Steve Kragthorpe. Wednesday it was Tampa offensive lineman Hunter Stout, who chose U of L over Western Kentucky and Florida International after he wasn't offered a scholarship by Auburn.

"I'm glad to be a Cardinal," Stout said. "I really enjoyed my visit and love all of the coaches at Louisville and the attitude they have towards winning."

Stout said the Cardinals recruited him to play guard, where he is ranked No. 103 nationally by Scout.com. He's the eighth player from Florida who has committed to U of L.

The Cards have reached top-seed territory in the new CBS "Projecting the Field." I really, really want to open the tournament in Dayton.

And finally, big congrats to Will Scott who has been accepted to study at Oxford, where he will pursue a master's degree in Modern Chinese Studies.

Additional congratulations to me, who has been accepted to study at St. Matthews College of the Arts where I will pursue a bachelor's degree in Calling People Who Don't Know Me And Asking Them To Give Me Money For No Reason.

It should be an exciting ride.

Louisville 71, South Florida 57

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:17:02 -0000

I was really hoping that Sosa's shot (the time has come for "Sosa's shot" to be given an appropriately catchy official title...feel free to share your thoughts) would propel the boys to a start-to-finish throttling of the only sure thing in the Big East, but I'm willing to accept the fairly decisive, albeit not aesthetically pleasing, victory since "nothing is easy in the Big East" and this was actually our first true road game of the season.

Hope everyone enjoyed last night, because the comfortable viewing experience is on vacation until the Bulls come back to the Hall on Jan. 28.

At the risk of sounding like someone with unrealistically high expectations, Earl Clark should score 18-25 points against teams like South Florida. The Bulls have absolutely no talent in their frontcourt and even less of an answer for Clark than 95% of the teams on Louisville's schedule, which means he's basically going to be given the outside shot and he should still be able to beat his man to the tin.

Take the uncontested shot if it's given to you, go straight to the bucket if it's not. This can really be a simple game for Earl Clark.

Not that Clark's effort Wednesday night doesn't deserve to be applauded. Thirty-six minutes, nine boards, four steals AND he smiled.

Dante Cunningham awaits.

If someone out there could make this happen, I'd love to be able to juxtapose Edgar Sosa's stats from games in which he made his first shot with those from games where he missed his first shot. I said it for the first time somewhere around the halfway point of his freshman season, but the kid just plays at a considerably higher level when his first shot drops than he does when his initial attempt finds iron.

Sosa drilled a three right off the bat again on Wednesday, and just like that Good Edgar took his shoes off, put his feet up on the ottoman and got ready to read stories to adorable sick children for 40 minutes.

Sosa's been fantastic for two games, but neither Michael Porter nor Jesus Verdejo present anywhere near the challenge that the Scottie Reynolds/Corey Fisher combination will on Saturday. If Edgar plays within himself and delivers another stellar effort in a victory over 'Nova, then the "turned the corner" talk will have that much more legitimacy.

Kudos to our guards for wearing down Dominique Jones, who finished the night 1-of-10 and looked like he had zero legs after the first six or seven minutes of both halves.

I love the idea of wearing the black unis against South Florida. You can't just topple a curse in one game, you have to eat away at it slowly. During the '04-'05 season - commonly referred to as "The Year the Black Uni Curse Was Backpacking in Europe" - Louisville actually wore its black jerseys and scrimmaged the KCD junior varsity team every Wednesday from the start of practice up until the first round of the NCAA Tournament. You can't just take the power out of the jersey, you have to trick the jersey into believing that it has no power.

It was pretty obvious that Pitino was trying to get Samardo some work during the last four minutes of the game, and why not since the big man has been in foul trouble for about 110 of the team's last 120 minutes. He still looked like a man whose confidence has been considerably shaken for most of the night, but maybe that late jumper will serve as a solid boost heading into a game against another team that lacks a true center.

A very, very encouraging performance from Terrence Jennings, who seemed to be getting his hands on everything when South Florida had the ball. TJ got a chance to shine only due to Samuels' foul trouble and the fact that George Goode was resting the stress fracture in his right shin, but he played about as well as any of our big men have this season during his 17-minute stint on the floor.

Still, I don't think Jennings is a real option to play considerable minutes at the five just yet. The sloppy, up-and-down style that's always going to be prevalent in a game against South Florida allows for Jennings' raw skill to show itself, but outside of maybe Rutgers and St. John's, no one else in the league is going to allow the game to fall off to that level.

Last night showed exactly why Jennings can be a terrific center in this league, but it's going to take time and it's going to take effort, a pair of factors that are difficult to grasp for the modern prep basketball "star."

How much a power trip do you think the kid who undoubtedly spent at least one Halloween as a minor Star Wars character gets when he puts on the USF Bull costume every game? I could meet the kid before the game, know full well that he's 5-foot-3, 112-pounds, and if he told me to get him a pack of airheads while he was in that suit, I'd still sprint to the concession stand, knock over any woman or child in my way, give him his airheads, and then start bawling the moment it became obvious that he was going to let me live.

What a friggin' bad ass.

Jared Swopshire: weights and cake this summer, weights and cake.

Our first Reggie Delk experience in a couple of weeks was certainly a pleasant one. It was nice to see him have no qualms about pulling the trigger from deep, because that's an area where he might really be able to help us at some point down the road.

T-Will: still fully capable of dunking a basketball.

I wonder if Lee Steiden asked if he could dress for the game because he'd heard so many people ask who the manger was that prematurely ran on the floor after Sosa's game-winner. I'm not sure my heart is going to be able to take it if I don't witness a Lee shot attempt before the Big East Tournament.

Preston is second in the Big East in three-point field goal percentage, but I'm still not sure he's earned the right to launch an off-balance, contested trey one pass into a possession. He has, however, earned the right to a handful of any bag of candy I ever have in my possession. It's a big deal. I love candy.

"You gotta pick up your attitude or you're gonna deal with me in the locker room" instantly goes into the vault of Pitino classics. Apparently he was talking to McGee, whom he'd just gotten on for picking the ball up in the corner during the previous possession.

'Twas just not Andre's night.

Loved the pair of audible C-A-R-D-S chants at the beginning of the second half and near the end of the game. If you were in attendance, a tip of my cap in your direction.

And now we begin the two month "every night is going to give me a heart attack and I can tell that I'm driving everyone around me insane but I can't help it" tour of the Big East. I'd say that Villanova is an enormous game, but I feel it's a description that's going to be worn out before we even get into February.

Please check at this time to make sure your seat belts are securely fashioned, and that your tray tables are in their full and upright position.

Louisville sweeps Marques Maybin Classic

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:50:40 -0000

It wasn't quite the Big East Tournament, but the last three days provided exactly what Louisville fans needed to see after the disaster in Nashville: three convincing wins over a trio of outclassed opponents. That's the good news. The bad news is that after Saturday's tilt with Austin Peay - a team that lost to Ohio by 11 last month - the talent level of the opposition hits a fairly significant spike, and will remain pretty constant for the next three months.

Absolute statements pronounced in the realm of the sports world are almost always made solely for effect, and this one is no different: Earl Clark is the difference between this team being good and this team being great. When Clark is motivated, aggressive on the defensive end, willing to attack the glass, scoring points through the offense and looking to involve his teammates, then Louisville is a legitimate top five team capable of beating anyone in the country. When he's lethargic on defense and in the press, taking contested jumpers, content to go 1-on-3 and relying on T-Will or Samuels to come down with a rebound, then Louisville is a team that can lose to Western Kentucky by 14 on a neutral court.

Ninety-nine percent of the teams in the country don't have any answer for Clark, and can only hope that he takes the night off. In his junior season, it's time for that to stop being an option.

We've been over all the things that Terrence Williams brings to the table a number of times on here over the last couple of years, but if he really wants to assume the role of leader then he needs to learn what not to do. T-Will was the only one who played with any urgency down the stretch against Western Kentucky, but he spent most of his energy attempting to create shots for himself. This wouldn't be a problem if he were a good shooter; he is not. The same holds true for the holding the defender while coming off of a screen in order to draw a foul move he likes to utilize when the Cards are in the bonus. If you can't make free-throws then don't work hard to get to the line.

Williams makes this team go with his rebounding, passing and defense. He's going to go through some stretches where he knocks down consecutive outside jumpers, but this is never going to be the norm. When trailing late in the game, the best thing T-Will can do as a senior leader is play great D, board and try to create shots for his teammates. It's something he needs to understand as soon as possible.

More of the same from Samardo Samuels, who continues to eat up opposing low-major talent in the post. I'd really like to see him work more on turning to his right and hitting the face-up jumper or trying a half-hook with his left hand, because if he doesn't prove he can score in either of these manners then Big East centers are going to drape themselves on his left shoulder the same way they did with David Padgett near the end of last season.

Token Samardo picture

Yet another erratic string of performances from Edgar Sosa, which is disappointing. He has to understand that if his unneccessary, at times out-of-control right-handed drive to the bucket works about 50% of the time against the likes of Lamar and Indiana State, then it's only going to work about 20% of the time against Pittsburgh and Connecticut. Also, I'm not sure where the flying elbow on his jump shot came from, but it needs to tuck itself away.

Everyone still refers to him as streaky, but Andre McGee has proven himself to be a pretty reliable outside shooter over the last year and one month. Statistcally, McGee was U of L's best three-point shooter a season ago, and he went 5-for-13 from deep over the weekend to pick himself out of an early slump. If he can force teams to pay extra defensive attention to him around the perimeter then it will really open things up for Jerry Smith or whomever is in at the two.

I get about as excited when an opposing player goes up for a shot against George Goode or Terrence Jennings as I do when Samuels catches the ball alone in the post on offense. Jennings has the potential to be tremendous in a few years if he keeps his heart and head in the right place, and Goode has easily been the most pleasant surprise of the season to this point.

When Preston Knowles has bronchial problems, we all have bronchial problems.

Some current national rankings:

Scoring Margin: 2 (25.2)
Three-Point FG Defense: 2 (22.1%)
Field-Goal Percentage Defense: 4 (34.2%)
Assist Turnover Ratio: 4 (1.78)
Scoring Defense: 5 (52.4)
Turnovers Per Game: 6 (11)
Turnover Margin: 6 (+8)
Assists Per Game: 7 (19.6)

Obviously these would be more impressive if the team had played anyone of any real consequence, but still, good stuff.

Apparently the halfcourt shot against Oklahoma last year was just the thing Will Scott needed. Here's hoping he avoids a second straight new calendar year slump.

I needed some Lee Steiden in my life at some point over the past three days. I needed it like I need air. And that's an awful lot, girl.

The phrase "high basketball IQ" seems to be attached without hindrance to smaller white players far too frequently, but I found myself saying it with regard to Kyle Kuric multiple times over the weekend. He has a great nose for the ball, a terrific outside stroke, and he's got the potential to really help this team against some of the bigger, zone-favoring squads in the Big East.

Reggie Delk seems frustrated. Maybe I'm seeing something that isn't there, but that's how it appears to me. I'd really like to see him knock down a string of outside shots and build a base of confidence.

Jared Swopshire does not look like Barack Obama. Sorry, University of Louisville teammates.

I always enjoy the comfort that comes with December games in the Hall against completely overmatched opponents, but the past three days have left me ready for some competition...or at least some expected competition (read: I did not take Western seriously). It shouldn't come on Saturday (read: I am not taking Austin Peay seriously), but the four games after that are all very losable. And after that there's a tiny rivalry game on the docket.

It's slow right now, but we're very close to things picking up in a hurry.

Marques Maybin rules.

Red/White scrimmage report

Mike Rutherford — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:17:26 -0000

A day after seeing the Louisville football team topple the 14th ranked squad in the country and play itself right back into the middle of the Big East title chase, Cardinal fans were able to get their first look at a U of L basketball team almost certain to begin the season ranked in the top five.

Not a bad little weekend.

You can never come into these things expecting to see the same quality of basketball that the previous season left you with, but I actually thought the play was about twice as crisp as it was a year ago, which is somewhat remarkable considering how much youth was on the floor.

The athleticism on display was pretty breathtaking, and that's with Terrence Williams on the sidelines passing out towels and cups of water. It's also remarkable the shape that these guys are in already. To play at that speed for 40 minutes with limited breaks and just a five-minute halftime is something ordinary human beings just can't do.

Great crowd (just under 12,000), pretty high level of play, Rick Pitino on the mic twice, Sean Moth in midseason form and actual U of L basketball for the first time in seven months.

To sum up: this gon' be fun.

Though nothing too great should be taken from one 40-minute scrimmage, let's go ahead and look at the individual performances from last night.

Samardo Samuels

While I think Pitino was sandbagging a little bit with his "Samardo is fool's gold" comment after the game, the majority of Samuels' 36 points did come from dunks, lay-ups or put-backs, and he had a much tougher time putting the ball in the basket when he caught it in the post with Terrence Jennings on his back. Still, he's a tremendous finisher who does an outstanding job working to put himself in position to net those easy points in the lane. His free-throw shooting may have been the biggest catalyst for optimism on display, and I loved how mad he got when he finally missed one from the line. He's got a decent mid-range stroke, but has the bad habit that so many young players do of fading away when he takes jumpers with nobody guarding him. It's the same issue that plagued T-Will during his first two seasons here.

Samuels plays as hard as anyone on the floor when he's out there, and I loved how he stood up and cheered every time he got a quick breather. This is not going to be a tough kid to get behind. His first standing ovation in Freedom Hall will not be his last.

Andre McGee

We heard about it all summer, but it was amazing to see the shape Andre McGee has played himself into. He was one of the most underrated players in the Big East a season ago, but there are things he can do now that he simply couldn't during his first three years in red and white. There was one instance where he took the inbounds pass at his end's free-throw line and the other eight players were at or around midcourt, and he still beat everyone down the floor and scored on a contested lay-up.

The shooting nights are going to continue to be hit or miss, but with this newfound athleticism and a continued commitment to being a defensive nightmare for opposing floor generals, McGee is more than capable of getting this team to Detroit.

Edgar Sosa

Pitino has hyped Sosa's maturity for the last five months or so, and while those comments may have been an attempt at a psychological boost as much as anything, Edgar did look like he'd aged three or four years over the summer. He played calm, he didn't force the issue, and he took the ball to the rack when appropriate. I still don't understand why he refuses to get up to the line when he takes a three-pointer, especially since it's a foot further out than it was a year ago. Over the course of his two seasons here, he's been about twice as likely to connect from deep when he's been up at the line than when he's been a foot behind it, and I can only assume that the same will hold true in his junior year. Still, if he can keep the mindset that was on display Sunday night throughout the season, then he should be able to make all of us forget about the few ups and many downs of last year.

Jared Swopshire

I told you, you're going to love this kid.

Despite facing off against a frontcourt of Earl Clark and Terrence Jennings, Swopshire showed absolutely no fear in his first public action as a collegian, and as a result he got to the stripe ten times, second only to Samuels' 12 attempts. He's extremely active, and was the biggest reason the Red team had so much success when the White went to zone. No one's ever going to write a sonnet about that stroke, but if it puts the ball in the basket as often as it did on Sunday then who cares. The fact that he's added so much muscle in so little time exemplifies why he's going to be a fantastic four year player at the University of Louisville.

Reggie Delk

This was our first look at Delk since his impressive showing in last year's scrimmage, and for a second it looked like it was going to be short-lived. After drilling a three-pointer from the corner early in the first half, Delk came down on a photographer's leg and injured his ankle. He returned to the floor about five minutes later, but was understandably tentative for the rest of the night. Still, he made a pair of athletic lay-ins going up against Earl Clark, and made several terrific entry passes into Samuels.

There might not be a player on this team with better basketball instincts. There are guys in every sport who you can watch for five minutes and automatically assign them the undefinable quality of simply being "a player." Delk is one of those guys. The drop off when T-Will comes out of the game should be significantly less extreme than it has been for the past two seasons.

Earl Clark

We all pretty much know what we're getting with Clark, and it was out there for all to see last night. The box score says he only took 22 shots, but after the game it felt like that number was considerably closer to 40. The one-on-one stuff is OK during an October scrimmage, but let's hope Earl remembers what made him so special in last year's NCAA Tournament by the time the games that matter roll around. His final season in red has the potential to be very special

There's still nobody funnier to focus in on for 20-30 seconds.

Preston Knowles

Kid's arms are enormous. He really is the new Larry O'Bannon. It was nice to see Preston looking for his shot a little more off the dribble as opposed to camping out along the baseline and waiting for another guard to drive and kick to him. There's still a sizable drop-off from McGee and Sosa to him when it comes to ballhandling, but he made a number of impressive plays during the little time he spent running the show. I also hear he's a decent defender.

Knowles' athleticism was hard to miss when he got up to block an Earl Clark jumper and was incorrectly called for a foul. Afterward, he went over to one of the cops sitting courtside, said something to him and then gave him a high-five. George Clooney daydreams about being this cool.

Terrence Jennings

The label of being a fearsome shot-blocker was not misleading. Despite being hampered by turf toe, Jennings made several stellar defensive plays and looked like a guy who will eventually be up to the task of spelling Samuels. The fact that his arms are longer than the head alien in Close Encounters is another plus.

He does have a ways to go offensively, but not as far as some were suggesting. He made a couple of nice up-and-under moves and showed some touch on a couple of baby hooks. Perhaps the most encouraging thing about Jennings was that he was consistently the first man down on the floor on both offense and defense. Perhaps the least encouraging thing about Jennings was that he showed the potential to be the worst free-throw shooter we've had since Ellis Myles.

His left elbow pad is cool.

Jerry Smith

Obviously, not Jerry's finest hour, but I'll give all of you 15 cents if he goes 0-for-10 from deep again this season. He'll be the most reliable player on the team once more.

Kyle Kuric

This was another pleasant surprise. I had no idea that Kuric was as athletic as he is. There were multiple times where he got up for rebounds or put-backs and was able to get his hands on the ball even with Jennings, Samuels and Clark in the area. He was just 1-for-4 from deep, but he's got a terrific stroke, and that will be the main reason he'll see the floor, albeit briefly, right away.

George Goode

Goode was frequently being traded from one team to the next, which was fairly amusing to watch. He looked bigger than he did a year ago, but the kid is still an absolute fouling machine. I really think he hit double digits. He has a decent mid-range stroke and is skilled enough to be a capable replacement if the rest of the frontcourt is riddled with foul-trouble, but Pitino's right when he says he has a long way to go. Still, the man can dress.

Will Scott

Played only 14 minutes because he's still recovering from a foot (ankle?) injury. Knocked down a lay-up and a three from the corner. Almost got Reggie Delk hurt again, an act Delk was none too pleased about.

Chris Brickley

Made 3-of-5 shots from the field. Welp, we'll see you here next year.

Lee Steiden

Managed to knock down one trey in eight minutes of action. Still, you're a member of one of the best college basketball teams in the country. Myself and thousands of other people know who you are and know a little bit about the way you play. Don't think for a second that you'd be better off leading North Delaware State in scoring.

Terrence Williams

T-Will looked like the 9-year-old kid who knows he's supposed to leave his stitches alone, but just can't help picking at them. He's doing air chest bumps with McGee before the game, he's dancing on the sidelines, he's shooting during breaks, he's hanging from the rim after the game. I love everything about the guy's personality, but give that knee a break, my man.

Box Score

Red Team

Player	FG	FGA	3pt FG	3pt FGA	FT	FTA	Off Reb	Def Reb	Tot Reb	Pts	Ast	To	Stl	Min
Samardo Samuels	13	22	0	0	10	12	7	9	16	36	3	3	1	35
Jared Swopshire	6	13	3	3	6	10	3	4	7	21	5	3	0	37
Preston Knowles	4	11	1	4	0	2	2	6	8	9	8	3	0	34
Reginald Delk	5	8	1	2	0	2	2	7	9	11	2	0	1	33
Andre McGee	4	8	1	5	0	0	0	2	2	9	6	3	0	30
Chris Brickley	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	3	3	6	2	0	0	16
George Goode	0	3	0	0	2	2	1	3	4	2	0	1	0	7
Lee Steiden	1	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	8

White Team

Player	FG	FGA	3pt FG	3pt FGA	FT	FTA	Off Reb	Def Reb	Tot Reb	Pts	Ast	To	Stl	Min
Earl Clark	12	22	2	5	4	9	2	12	14	30	4	5	0	39
Terrence Jennings	8	14	0	0	2	5	2	3	5	18	0	1	4	28
Edgar Sosa	5	15	2	9	0	0	2	1	3	12	7	2	0	38
Kyle Kuric	3	6	1	4	0	0	1	4	5	7	1	1	2	28
Jerry Smith	3	14	0	10	0	0	0	3	3	6	3	1	1	40
Will Scott	2	2	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	5	2	0	0	14
George Goode	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	3	2	1	1	3	13

Visuals

Ten minutes of quality scrimmage video courtesy of Jerb.

Louisville basketball is here. Welcome to the backseat, everything else.