SB Nation - Kyle Kuric

Rick Pitino types stuff

Mike Rutherford — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:04:15 -0000

In the midst of what has likely been the most peculiar offseason of his coaching career, Rick Pitino took to the Internet today to answer some pressing - basketball-related - questions.

Here's a teaser:

Starting five for next year?

Edgar Sosa at the point. He will have a banner senior year. It takes certain players longer to mature than others.

Jerry Smith - We need him in shape ready to play and lead. Mr. Consistent will also have a terrific senior year.

?? Your guess is as good as anyone.

Reggie Delk must develop a more dedicated work ethic. Great person. Has to make the gym and weight room his second home.

Jared Swopshire. MDP on the team (Most Dedicated Player). Has an unbelievable work ethic. Will battle for time at both three and four.

Samardo Samuels- People would be surprised at how good a face up shooter he is from seventeen feet. Trying out for Jamaican National team.

Terrence Jennings- The sky’s the limit to how good he can be. With a Swopshire work ethic -- look out. Let’s hope he develops that desire.

Peyton Siva - Will see plenty of action as a freshman.

Preston Knowles - Is the best sixth man in the country (Ed. Note: boner).

Mike Marra - Must get stronger and quicker, but his jumper and range are outstanding.

Rakeem Buckles - “Rock” – Reminds me of Otis George. Will need time to mature physically. But has the desire to become a good player.

Stephen Van Treese - Tough young man who will not back down from contact of the BIG EAST. We will work hard to develop his low post game.

Kyle Kuric - Great in the weight room. Just has to work on his ball handling and spend more time in the gym. But he has the potential to be a very effective player.

George Goode - Helped us last year. Terrific person who has a difficult time with his conditioning. We have to monitor his diet to get his body fat under eight.

Hmmm, "Rock Buckles." It's about a 50/50 split between porn name and action name. Either way, welcome to the club my man.

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.

Louisville 73, Providence 55

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:50:45 -0000

Given all of the factors surrounding this game - Providence playing for its NCAA Tourney life, our guys maybe being a bit too juiced after accepting the championship trophy last night and playing in their first game of the tournament this afternoon, etc. - I think it'd be wise for us to take this 18-point win, rush it home, hide it somewhere where no one will ever find it and then never speak about any of this ever again.

Yes, we turned it over far too often, no, Terrence Williams was not himself, but we handled a talented veteran team desperate for a win in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. I can live with it.

A number of Providence's nearly record-breaking 26 turnovers were unforced, but we played hellacious defense from opening tip to final horn.

Our guys closed out on their shooters, didn't let McDermott, Kale or Hanke catch the ball too low and didn't allow any Friar to exploit the middle of the zone.

It was a tremendous effort from everyone wearing white, but Andre McGee in particular appeared to be about eight places at once. He certainly seems fully aware that this is his last dance and wants it to last as long as possible.

This was an early "told you so" moment for the "wait until March" band of Earl Clark supporters.

Not only did E5 have a big scoring game, but he was always in the right place defensively, crashed the boards with more intensity than any of his teammates, and played with as much energy as we've ever seen.

When he's doing this, we're instantly twice as hard to beat.

As encouraging as Clark's performance was, I think it's the play of Samardo Samuels that should have Cardinal fans doing celebratory jump kicks.

Samuels dunked a lot per usual, but he also made a couple of terrific post moves to get himself in position to score and finished shots after offensive rebounds that we've seen him miss more times than not over the course of the season. This may have also been his best defensive effort to date, as he took a pair of charges and blocked a couple of shots.

PC's post game doesn't quite rival UConn's or Pitt's, but McDermott and Kale are solid in terms of both game and build, and it takes a pretty impressive effort to put up the numbers Samuels did against the Friars.

It's been well documented in recent weeks that both of Louisville's national championship teams were anchored by freshman centers.

I'm contractually obligated to mention that...it's a crazy elaborate contract...it also doesn't pay anything, which I think is sort of unfair.

Token

A couple of summers ago a group of friends and I were up at a Buffalo Wild Wings catching the tail end of a Reds/Braves game. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and a runner on first base, Atlanta's Andruw Jones walked to the plate, prompting an avid Braves fan in the group to guarantee a walk-off blast.

Jones swatted the first pitch and the camera followed the ball which appeared level with the Great American Ballpark's highest row of seats.

"I TOLD YOU! I F###ING TOLD YOU!!!" Was the cry from the Braves fan, who sprung from his seat and drew the attention of about 3/4 of the patrons.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group stared at the massive television and watched as the camera followed the ball down and into the glove of a Reds outfielder standing approximately 40-feet in front of the wall. Laughter ensued.

I bring this story up because Terrence Williams' case of fast-break butter-fingers likely would have forced me to endure a similar fate had I been watching the game at a crowded venue. As it was, my premature celebration and subsequent embarrassment was only witnessed by one person...and they were far too into the latest issue of People to offer up any sort of affront.

I would have been against anyone but Preston Knowles scoring that final deuce.

Did he have an off shooting night? Yes, yes he did. But you know what? Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Think about that for a second.

I have absolutely no problem with Edgar Sosa firing up uncontested three-pointers, but the semi-contested trey one pass into a possession has got to go. Still, a couple of nice passes and just one turnover in 21 minutes of action. We're gettin' there.

Not sure why, but I really enjoy that Jerry goes with the warm-up when he's on the bench and knows full well that he'll be sent back into the game shortly. Really, I just enjoy Jerry period.

Keep shooting.

Did Sharaud Curry score? We did a tremendous job on him.

The one year Bilas, Raftery and McDonough get the late shift would be the one year we play at noon.

Sorry, Dan.

Len, you've kind of been pissing me off recently. We'll talk about it once things settle down near the end of the month.

Obviously, this wasn't the T-Will we've known and celebrated for the last couple of months, but is there anyone who's really concerned? The man is liable to be the star of stars tomorrow night.

Also, you have to love the fact that he stroked all four of his tries from the charity stripe.

CardsFan922 noted during the game that Pitino has been sitting Clark and Williams about a minute before TV timeouts so that the actual amount of time they spend on the bench greatly exceeds the technical amount of time they're out of the game.

The man's a decent coach.

I don't understand why Reggie Delk wasn't on the floor when Williams went out of the game. Either Kyle Kuric is dominating him in practice or Pitino just thought Kuric was a better fit for this game. It'll be interesting to see if Delk gets any minutes tomorrow night.

A loss tomorrow night certainly isn't going to make my weekend, but it'll be significantly easier to stomach than a defeat this afternoon would have been.

There's obviously the seeding repercussions to consider, but additionally I, like most of you I'm sure, have sort of built my weekend around the potential games Friday and Saturday night. The Cards fall today and I'm completely unable to enjoy any of the basketball between now and when the brackets are unveiled Sunday night.

I'll just say it: I think we beat Marquette but lose to Villanova.

Here's hoping the Golden Eagles win or I'm wrong for the third time in my life because I really, really want to see this team play in the title game.

Go Cards.

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.

Louisville 80, South Florida 54

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 20:23:35 -0000

Maybe it was the snow, maybe it was the fact that it was South Florida or maybe it was just that - for a change - you never really felt like the outcome was in doubt, but Wednesday night's game was sort of unexpectedly fun.

Seeing the team continue to roll, the players on the bench continually jumping around, guys like Jared Swopshire, Kyle Kuric and Reggie Delk have some success, and then being privy to the first Lee Steiden sighting of the season; it all made a win over USF feel better than it probably should have.

Put simply: it's far more enjoyable to follow this team than I ever thought possible seven weeks ago.

I'll be the first to call for his head if he attempts it in another single-digit game this season, but the T-Will between the legs pass to Earl Clark on the break was truly remarkable.

We might not have a player capable of doing the things Terrence Williams can do for quite some time, so my advice is to enjoy the show while you can.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing about last night's game was the way Williams responded after his so obviously inapt start.

When Rick Pitino politely told him at halftime that those types of shots were not to be attempted anymore, Williams reportedly responded: "I got you coach, I was dead wrong." And when Williams appeared determined to head to the hole early on in a second half possession, all it took was a "slow down, T-Will" from his head coach to make the senior co-captain pull the ball back out. The trip ended with an uncontested Edgar Sosa three-pointer from the corner.

The man has gotten the message, and his team is the hottest in the country because of it.

We may never have a player more willing to hug his teammates than Jerry Smith, and I couldn't love him more for it. The only thing more pleasant than Overly Excited Jerry is Unnecessarily Affectionate Jerry.

Also, Jerry, you and the mildly contested three-pointer could have a really great relationship. I'm telling you. I know she's not quite as sexy as the wide-open trey, but the girl can cook, clean and seamlessly carry on a meaningful conversation. Plus, her easy going family loves you.

Great to see George Goode back in action and looking like the lay-off is not going to have any seriously adverse effect on his game. It was nice to see him stroke those two free-throws, because being semi-reliable from the stripe could make him really valuable in a situation where Samuels has fouled out and having Jennings on the floor for any stretch of time is too risky.

Not a bad follow-up dunk, either.

Does anyone else get the feeling that Dominique Jones thinks he's just a tad bit better than he actually is? Don't get me wrong, Dominique, you're a solid player - you've definitely got me in a game of 1-on-1 or "Can You Dunk?" - but you're a solid player on the University of South Florida basketball team...chill out.

The defense of Andre McGee and Preston Knowles has been praised at length on here in recent weeks, so I just want to take this opportunity to compliment McGee on his two big three-pointers, and Knowles on his short jumper and great assist on one of Samardo's dunks.

Also, watching you two play defense gives me a massive erection.

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it.

Watching Jared Swopshire on Wednesday was like getting a glimpse of what he's capable of doing night in, night out in the Big East if he puts on a decent amount of muscle. The strides he made over the summer prove he's dedicated enough to make it happen, which is exciting.

Pop, lock and Swop it.

Someone told me that Terrence Jennings blocked the shot of an athletically-lacking center in the LSU/Tennessee game last night. It happened. His arms are that long.

Even more encouraging than the 12 points and three monster blocks was the fact that Earl Clark turned the ball over just once against a team known more for its speed than its size.

If Lee hadn't have gotten in last night, I would have lost it. If Lee had made that three from the corner last night, I would have lost it times two.

You would have thought the fact that it was the 800th game being played in Freedom Hall would have been more publicized, especially since it's the last big, round number that the arena will ever see. Oh well.

Seven Big East wins should have about 12th place in the conference locked up. Let's go ahead and shoot a little bit higher.

It's Huggy time.

Louisville 74, Kentucky 71

Mike Rutherford — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:35:55 -0000

Let me start by saying that this was the first U of L/UK basketball game I've ever had the privilege of attending.

I'll never forget my first time.

A win over Kentucky is indescribably sweet whether the final score reads 99-32 or 5-4, but for victory to come via an improbable shot in the closing seconds after an equally improbable sequence of events had raised the collective hopes of big blue nation sky high, well, it's just a smidgen sweeter.

Whether this one shot serves as the catalyst to a brilliant final two seasons or is just another high point in a consistently erratic four-year career, no one can take last night away from Edgar Sosa, and no one can erase the mark he made on one of the highest profile rivalries in college sports.

The Louisville Cardinals beat the Kentucky Wildcats in basketball. The sun shines for another calendar year.

We talked a little bit about it here after the Ole Miss game, but this team's complete lack of a killer instinct was on full display yet again last night. When the only thing left to do is let foot meet throat, this batch of Cardinals appears totally unwilling to finish the job.

When the lead hit 11, Swopshire and Goode took consecutive bad shots early in the possession, and a silly foul was committed on the other end each time. When Sosa's two free-throws pushed the lead to seven with just under a minute to play, the eventual hero, T-Will and Andre McGee all started high-fiving and laughing like the final horn had just sounded. And after Earl Clark fouled Jodie Meeks to give UK the chance to tie the game at 71, no one in white said a word, they just stared at the ground and looked absolutely terrified.

No way Louisville wins that game if Sosa's shot doesn't fall.

With the exception of a wild shot in the lane and an equally wild pass when he could have had a relatively easy bucket, this was about the most extended dose of Good Edgar we've seen since the second Marquette game last season.

My initial reaction to him jumping on the scorer's table and thumping his chest was that it was yet another sign of him not being able to handle success or failure in the proper manner, but upon further thought, I think it'd be silly to look too deeply into the actions of a 20-year-old who's been through a lot over the past three years and who just moments earlier had hit the biggest shot of his life.

According to his head coach, Edgar's officially the man at the point now, which makes him - once again - perhaps the biggest key to or obstacle in the way of success for his team.

From this point on, I will never say anything when Terrence Williams pulls up from behind the arc. How someone can miss the rim by four feet and then stroke three triples in a row is just something I'm never going to understand, and I've accepted that. He hit big shot after big shot in the second half, pulled down a quiet eight rebounds and played stellar defense yet again.

It's time to lose the one-handed floater in the lane, though.

This team simply can't have this type of effort from Earl Clark every other night if it wants to win more than ten games in the Big East. His biggest problem right now is that when he catches the ball he freezes, giving his defender a chance to square up and other defenders a chance a to put themselves in a position to help if he chooses to drive. And when he catches the ball and doesn't freeze, he walks. Earl has to learn to catch and go without traveling. It's something he did consistently against Tennessee, but couldn't do two days later against North Carolina.

He's also a much better outside shooter when the pass is coming from the inside and he doesn't have to think about whether or not letting it fly is a good decision.

Less thinky, more unconscious usage of ridiculous talenty.

I was really disappointed that Samardo got into foul trouble because he made two of his better post moves this season during the limited time he did see on the floor. Even though he was going up against one of the better post players in the country, Samuels had to have been extremely relieved to not be seeing double and triple teams for the first time in over a month. He finally had some room to maneuver, and I would have like to have seen what he could have done had he played 30 or 35 minutes.

Louisville blocked seven shots, and I'm pretty sure six ended up in Patrick Patterson's hands for lay-ups or dunks.

Huge minutes from George Goode, who continues to be the most pleasant surprise of the season. The only two mistakes he made were the two shots he took, and you kind of almost felt like he earned the right to take them. He did a tremendous job on Patterson without help, and managed to play 22 minutes without turning the ball over. Him flying to the corner, stripping the ball from Stevenson and then finding T-Will for a three was an enormous momentum play.

The quality of play in this series has really been down over the last few years, but I thought this game was played at an unexpectedly high level. Maybe it was just because both teams shot the ball uncharacteristically well, but the game felt far more crisp than I had anticipated.

Easily Jerry Smith's best effort of the season. He did an exceptional job on Jodie Meeks when No. 23 was his assignment, and he proved that he does, in fact, still possess the ability to let the ball fly from his hands in the direction of the basket. You can make the contested shot, my man, go ahead and take it a few more times if you need proof.

Also, Jerry going into one of his near-seizures while we were making a run in the second half and he was waiting to check in was pretty entertaining to watch.

This is why you have to love Andre McGee:

"That's the Edgar Sosa that I know," said Andre McGee, the senior who shares time at point guard with Sosa. "He's a tough, confident player who can make all the plays. Everybody on this team believes in him. He just has to stop being so hard on himself."

The kid only cares about winning. He's not David Padgett, but he's the closest thing we have.

You couldn't have picked a worse time to pick up a T if you're Billy Gillispie. Your team has just taken its first lead in what feels like two years and then after you decide to, apparently, protest a play in which there was obviously no foul and your team actually ended up scoring, the other guys go on a 12-0 run.

Many thanks, Bill.

Some very solid signs in the crowd, but "Pop, Lock and Swop it" gets my official nod.

Here's my runner-up in the middle:

If you hadn't learned two years ago, when he's healthy, Jodie Meeks is a hell of a player. Regardless of what Patterson does, if Meeks stays the Cats will be tough in '08-'09.

I just don't understand how a pair of 240-pounders playing sumo wrestling in the lane doesn't warrant a whistle, but a hand on the hip of a 180-pound guard near midcourt does. Tim Higgins sucks. He's awful. Nobody came to see you. The fact that we know your name means you're not good at your job. Stop strutting, you're an assclown.

This was far and away the best performance by my man Michael Porter, which made me sort of proud. If you would have told me before the game that Porter would play 33 minutes and not turn the ball over once, I would have told you we were about to lose...handily.

The brother of a friend of mine said before the game that Sosa was going to be the "savior," a comment which was met with a mixture of eye rolls and half-smiles.

Jesse Mudd is a prophet.

I couldn't believe Preston Knowles entered the game and promptly allowed Meeks to stroke a pair of threes right in front of him. I also couldn't believe he air-balled a ten-foot jump shot. And I really couldn't believe that after all that he could still be the biggest bad ass in the history of the world.

Francisco Garcia = debonair

Given the inordinate amount of playing time afforded to Jonathan Huffman two years ago and Josh Chichester last season, I said before the game that Kyle Kuric had better be ready for the night of his life. It was no Sosa as savior, but the three from the corner did make me feel pretty good.

An older, blue-clad fan sitting next to me gave me a high-five after the frenzy in the crowd settled down. Congratulations ma'am, you just earned Kentucky fans two points on the Card Chronicle scorecard, which brings their grand total to negative 15,667.

T-Will's dunk was cool.

We won and I am happy.

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.

The Louisville Cardinals are your 2008 Billy Minardi Classic champions

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 14:55:03 -0000

Apologies for not being able to get to the weekend that was any sooner, but I was tied up all day yesterday. Literally tied up. With manila. It was awful.

A friend and I were talking last week about how we wished the team would cut down the nets after capturing the BMC championship. Seeing Rick Pitino with a tattered net draped around his neck during the postgame press conference for the second contest of the regular season would be amazing.

I'd also like to see some BMC merchandise on the market. If there were a "2008 BIlly Minardi Classic Champions" shirt available for sale, I'd buy at least eight. I'm thinking "The Decade of Dominance Continues" on the back, with "Champions" and "2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008" underneath it.

UMass had to ruin everything.

This team is good at basketball, and has the potential to be really good at basketball.

Though he'll undoubtedly be unfairly criticized relentlessly over the next few months, the first weekend of the season showcased just how much better this team is with Terrence Williams than they are without him. The only period of time during Sunday's game where South Alabama looked like it was capable of hanging with the Cards was during T-Will's first stint on the bench. He's the most athletic player we have, the best rebounder we have, the best passer we have, and one of the two best defenders we have.

Williams also appears to have really embraced the leader role. Not only was he always standing and encouraging on the sidelines, but he was constantly the guy communicating during out-of-bounds plays and brief breaks in the action. The issue with T-Will stepping into David Padgett's shoes is whether or not he's capable of keeping the rest of the team focused when the time for cutting up has come and gone, or whether his extremely extroverted nature makes that impossible. There's a reason Pitino has described this as a "fun" group, but has called the team's focus into question.

There certainly hasn't been anything to not love from Samardo Samuels thus far in his brief Cardinal career. He plays hard, he seems to have a terrific attitude, and he's a friggin' monster.

At the risk of sounding extremely lame, I think the facet of his game I might be most excited about is his ability to make free-throws. Say what you want, but having a big guy who can stroke it from the stripe is an enormous boon, especially when his teammates aren't exactly going to set the world on fire from the line. It also makes his presence that much more valuable in late-game situations against teams that don't feel the need to take scouting reports seriously. I mean how many times over the last three years did we see teams seek out David Padgett to foul in the last minutes of games when the big man was actually the best or second best free-throw shooter on the floor?

All the dunking is cool, too.

Again, I don't think we can start debating his All-American credentials until he goes up against another legitimate post player, but, yeah, the kid's all right.

It was awesome watching Mature and Content Edgar run the show over the weekend, but we can't celebrate the passing of his evil little brother until we see how he reacts to his first taste of adversity as a junior.

South Alabama is still in the process of adjusting to life sans Demetric Bennett, but this is a squad that's still probably the class of a pretty solid conference...and the Cards just completely dominated them.

It was a domination so thorough that it left USA head coach Donnie Arrow saying the following:

"The first thing I'd like to say is that, for you people that are from here, you may be looking at the national champions. Coach Pitino has assembled a group of guys that can go at least 10 or 11 deep and not miss a beat.

"I was reading his book last week and he said you've got to be positive, and with a team like that, it's easy to be positive. He's got a heck of a group and they come at you. You can prepare for it, but you can't prepare the heat you're going to get for 40 minutes. Those guys have bought into it and they're going to keep coming at you for 40 minutes. I thought our guys did a decent job, but they want you to crack and in most cases, that's what happens. Things will go good and all of sudden, they'll cause four turnovers and force the other team to take a bad shot - which is like a turnover - and boom, they're up 22 points. That's what happened to us."

I loved the name Donnie Arrow before the 2008 Billy Minardi Classic, and now I love the man Donnie Arrow.

There are few things in life that make me more happy than an overly excited Jerry Smith celebrating a turnover caused by the front of the press.

God I've missed this.

In his brief career, I don't think Preston Knowles has had a single stint on the floor where he hasn't forced me to make at least one comment about how fun it is to watch him play defense. He's pressing just a bit on the other end, but knowing that the ball-hawking is never going to go anywhere should be enough to help all of us sleep comfortably.

Conflicting reports abound on the status of Terrence Jennings. Some say minor injury, more say brief DC-esque suspension for attitude issues. A motivated Jennings would definitely be a major boost for the squad, but his apparent struggles would be far more of a concern if George Goode hadn't been the most pleasant surprise of the start of the season.

Earl Clark has started his junior season the same way he began his sophomore campaign: playing like he's already in the NBA. He was tremendous in the first half against USA when he sat back and let the game come to him, but he ignored his teammates far too often over the course of the weekend's other 60 minutes. Not that this is a cause for concern. It won't take long for Earl to again realize that the talent around him is bountiful enough that he can stand out simply by acting out his role in the set offense.

Your natural size and talent aren't going anywhere, my man, and neither is that NBA coin.

Not sure about the one high sock, Andre. I know you're a senior captain and you're coming off of a great season and offseason, but let's go ahead and take a step back. Don't be embarrassed, man, it's November, we're all still trying to figure out what works and what doesn't work.

This team is so deep that you almost forget about guys like Reggie Delk, Jared Swopshire and Kyle Kuric until they check into the game. I mean these are players who would start or be key contributors on almost every other D-1 team in the country.

A tip of the cap to the group of coaches that made this happen.

I'm just. So. Happy.

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.