SB Nation - Terrence Jennings

Rumors, news, opinions and Preston Knowles pictures

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:41:13 -0000

I'm old. I don't beat around the bush when it comes to post titles anymore.

There won't be a recap for the Charlotte game because there are a limited number of ways to say it sucked and I have no idea whether it was a fluke or indicative of the season that lies ahead.

Maybe we do win with Peyton, Preston and Jerry at 100%, but wasn't much of this team's strength supposed to be in its frontcourt? Weren't Samuels and Jennings supposed to be one of, if not the, top big men tandems in the Big East? To my knowledge those guys are both performing at full strength and Louisville was absolutely dominated in the paint by a team that starts three guards and a pair of forwards who stand 6-6 and 6-8, respectively. Still, the Cards were outrebounded 49-34 and 49er forward Chris Braswell, a freshman, dominated the game by snatching 14 rebounds, hitting 9-of-12 shots and finishing with 21 points.

There's no question that Samardo Samuels' start has been, to put it mildly, a disappointment, but what about Jennings? Does anyone think he improved significantly over the summer? You don't find your way into Rick Pitino's dog house by accident. I understand that his natural ability demands playing time and that it's possible that we're the best we can be when he's on the floor, but if he'd gone about things the way he should've during the offseason then this wouldn't be an issue.

Our big men need to do a lot of growing if we want to be comfortably away from the bubble by mid-February.

I think the most positive thing I heard about Saturday's game was that Preston Knowles was getting into people's faces during breaks in the action. Somebody has to.

INTERNET REPORT ALERT: I've received word that U of L is planning a large press conference for 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Brown & Williamson Club. Have not been able to confirm what it's for, so I'm not going to speculate, but I absolutely invite you to do so.

The first year in the NBA is hard for a lot of guys, but it appears Terrence Williams is having a particularly difficult time with the adjustment. He's already lost nearly as many games as he did in his college career, he's connected on just 14 of his last 44 shot attempts, he's seen his playing time slowly dwindle and now he's taking shots at his coaches and fans on Twitter.

@MMEIZINGER send me the story where I said I play like lebron,btw you look like nothing – 20 hours ago

Up early to the gym before practice to practice before practice, because NOW practice is my games. Welp that’s life – 10 hours ago

How would it be if Mr. Stern called my name 10 min earlier #9 or 5 min later #12 hmmmmmmmmm to bad I can’t live off what ifs – 10 hours ago

Don’t get me WRONG I thank GOD everyday for where I’am and I love it, hardest working when others aint watching an imma get MY game back – 10 hours ago

@jphoyt you’re beyond terrible so what’s the difference – 7 hours ago

Its funny u fake fans an fake coaches take what I say the wrong way, I love my team an team mates we are human an hate losing point blank – 7 hours ago

Losing's tough, especially for someone like T-Will.

He'll be fine and dropping new T-Willisms shortly.

In better news, T-Will will be holding an autograph session at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Angio's on Bardstown Rd.

He's also still fully capable of dunking the basketball.

ADMM has asked me to let everyone know that he's OK, but he refuses to give anyone his current location. Just let him be....just let him be.

Les Miles voted Cincinnati 8th in his final coaches' poll ballot. I guess he was just that impressed with Texas' clock-management. He also put two-loss Oregon one-spot ahead of an undefeated Boise State team which manhandled the Ducks a couple months ago.

Check out all the ridiculousness right here.

BOOM.

via www.hellinthehall.com

Cincinnati/Florida is the only BCS game I will watch. It's not because I'm trying to make a statement - although, I do think it's going to take a dramatic decrease in ticket sales and television ratings for anything to change - I just couldn't care less about any of the other games on the docket.

It's gotten to the point where I simply can't talk about college football's postseason anywhere near serenely. It's like debating the issue of two plus two equaling four.

Here's hoping the good guys figure out some things over the course of this work week, because Saturday's game against Western Carolina won't be a walk. The Catamounts are 8-1, own a victory over Duquesne and their only loss came at No. 2 Texas.

Don't let anyone ever tell you that a non-season-ending game is a "must win," but another Cardinal loss before the Kentucky game would bring about an onslaught of "is the Pitino scandal affecting Louisville" stories, which would just make everything that much harder on this group.

We all know about it taking a while for guys to fully grasp the Rick Pitino scheme and philosophy, but this team needs to win and needs to keep winning until Jan. 2.

What's amazing to me watching this year's Cards is how unathletic the squad looks. Saturday's game certainly appeared to be a Big East/C-USA matchup, only, you know.

The Cards aren't quick with the ball, they're not quick to the ball, they struggle to keep their guy in front of them when playing man and very few of them appear capable (or willing) of skying over people to impressively snatch a rebound. The bad news is there's no remedy for this.

I still think we have the potential to compete for a top four spot in the Big East and a decent seed in the Big Dance, we just have a lot farther to go than I thought we did a few months ago.

Do your thing, coach.

Louisville 80, Stetson 48

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:02:22 -0000

If Louisville had traveled to Vegas and handled UNLV with ease, then last night's game would have pretty much been a throwaway. However, seeing as how the Cards were upset by the Runnin' Rebels and returned to the Derby City with multiple players needing a confidence boost, there probably wasn't a better time to face off against what is probably the weakest squad on the schedule.

It wasn't particularly fun to watch, but it was probably more beneficial than a lot of people are giving it credit for.

There's bound to be at least a minor relapse coming at some point, but Edgar Sosa's senior season is off to a tremendous start. Obviously a hot shooting start has helped, but it's the other little things that are making him look like a completely different player. He looks a step quicker, he's still not a great on-ball defender but more times than not he's in the right position, he's making the extra pass even when the game's out of reach and, honestly, he just looks more at ease.

Many Cardinal careers have been defined by senior seasons and here's hoping that's the case for Good Edgar.

It was pretty obvious that Jerry Smith had been given word to put the ball up early and often, and he certainly followed orders, driving hard to the bucket numerous times, connecting on 6-of-8 shot attempts and finishing the game with a season-high 17 points.

I don't think anyone doubts what his desire and leadership mean to this team, but he's also got to step up his on-court performance significantly for this group to hit its potential.

Congrats to both Edgar and Jerry for joining the 1,000-point club last night. Louisville now has 62 1,000-point scorers, which ties them with North Carolina for the most in college basketball.

If you're extremely bored at work (why else would you be here), I'd suggest you relive the magic that was last night's open thread. It was pretty entertaining for a game that was as lacking in excitement as last night's.

I'm really worried about Samardo. A lot of people said before the season that how much he had improved would be the deciding factor when it comes to whether or not this team can compete for another Big East title, and the fact of the matter is that right now he looks worse than he was 12 months ago. His inability to rebound has been well documented, he appears to be getting pushed around by post players he has both inches and pounds on, he still ALWAYS turns to his right when he looks to score, he still never uses the board and his pouting appears to have increased tenfold.

Even at the height of its popularity I never joined the "Jennings should play more than Samuels" club last season, and I'm still not on board now, but TJ certainly appears to be gaining significant ground on Samuels offensively, and he's always been ahead of him defensively.

Prep hype can only take you so far. The time to step up has come, 'Mardo.

This has nothing to do with the game or basketball, but I feel like I need to address the fact that Eric Crawford wrote an entire column for this morning solely to show me up for not turning "stepping stone" into a compound word.

Really, Eric? Couldn't think of a more mature way to express your jealousy over my Krag-esque salary and Krag-esque level of fan support. Grow up.

Are you allowed to say "douche face" in your column? You're not? That's funny, because I just did it.

Wear it.

Preston and Peyton in street clothes in 3....2....1......

Can't believe I'm about to say this, but point, Siva.

Argyle Wednesday respect for the win.

He's taking a lot of heat for his ice cold shooting start, but I really, really think Mike Marra is going to be a significant contributor here throughout his career. True, he's got to start hitting some shots if he wants to keep seeing the floor, but for a guy who was advertised strictly as a sharp-shooter, the other aspects of his game are much further along than I think most of us expected them to be.

First, he's extremely athletic. He's a very capable defender and rebounder, and he's a much better passer and ballhandler than I thought he'd be. If he can prove that he's the shooter he's supposed to be then he's going to have to get double-digit minutes night in, night out.

Is WHAS the worst local television station ever? I'm not talking about in Louisville, I'm talking about anywhere in the world.

Their HD feed is always out, their picture is always awful, there's constantly something messed up with their sound and then last night they try to give the entire city a stroke.

Your product is miserable and I wish I wasn't forced to rely on it.

There's something about the letter S wearing a hat that tickles me in a way few other things do.

Awesome.

Stephan Van Treese DOMINATED the last two minutes of that game. Also, kudos to long-shirted Chris Brickley on burying a trey.

Reggie, Kyle Kuric, Swop and Rock Buckles all deserve mentions for their respective efforts, so, yeah, there you go guys.

Charlotte returns to the Hall Saturday night. If Diego Guevarra is still on that team and blowing kisses to his wife after every shot he makes, you have no idea how pissed I'm going to be.

Get ready for the pain, Bobby Lutz.

Smith, Jennings will not miss game time

Mike Rutherford — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:27:45 -0000

Rick Pitino stated today that starters Jerry Smith and Terrence Jennings will be punished but will not miss game time after being arrested and charged with resisting law enforcement in Jeffersonville, Ind. last weekend.

Rival fans will likely scoff at this decision, but I think ultimately it's the right call.

"Anytime you defy a police officer, it's serious," Pitino told ESPN.com. "They will be punished and are being punished right now. But no, they will not miss game time."

Pitino also came to the defense of Smith, a senior co-captain who reportedly would not obey the requests of officers to stand back while they attemptd to subdue Jennings.

"I think Jerry saw a teammate on the ground and didn't want to abandon him," Pitino said. "I think he saw a teammate taking some pretty good blows and tried to help."

It was announced earlier this week that the two were going to face additional charges of battery and disorderly conduct, but after reviewing the police report, Clark County attorney Steve Stewart settled on the single count of resisting law enforcement.

It's now time to keep the night-life enjoyment to a minimum, gentlemen.

Smith, Jennings face added charges; Jennings issues apology

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:30:28 -0000

The good.

In a statement distributed Tuesday by his attorney, Scott Roby, Jennings said, "I want to first apologize to the police and to the organizers of the event."
Jennings said he was "provoked by another person that I was unfamiliar with." He did not identify the person or provide details of the provocation.

The police report said Jennings fought with officers who came to break up the resulting disturbance.
Jennings said in his statement that "at first I did not know the individuals who approached me were off-duty police officers working security."

The bad.

Police have added charges against two University of Louisville basketball players arrested following a fight at a southern Indiana restaurant.

Louisville senior guard Jerry Smith and sophomore forward Terrence Jennings were arrested early Sunday morning and charged with resisting arrest when off-duty police tried to break up a fight at an alumni homecoming party.

Jeffersonville Police Detective Todd Hollis says charges of battery and disorderly conduct against the two players were added on Sunday evening by the arresting officer.

The ugly.

Could've picked a better time, fellas.

Possible uniform sneak peak from EA Sports

Mike Rutherford — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:49:50 -0000

Also, Samardo will apparently be practicing karate in the low post this season.

Jerry Smith and Terrence Jennings arrested last night

Mike Rutherford — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:14:21 -0000

So apparently this is the trade-off for actually winning a football game.

University of Louisville Sports Information Director Kenny Klein has confirmed that basketball players Terrence Jennings and Jerry Smith were arrested Saturday night in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

Both were charged with resisting arrest, held in Clark County jail and released Sunday.

Jennings, a sophomore forward, and Smith, a senior guard, are on the starting roster for the 2009-2010 season at U of L.

Coach Rick Pitino told WHAS11 that, "we are aware of the situation and will be handling it internally."

Fan-f'ing-tastic.

Way Too Early Preview of the Big East

Hire Esherick — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:49:58 -0000

If the pre-season polls are any indication, no one has any idea what to expect from the Big East in the upcoming season. Andy Katz has Georgetown ranked in the top 20 in the nation whereas Adam Zagoria thinks Georgetown will barely crack the top 10 in the Big East. NBE Basketball Report picks Georgetown as 6th in the Big East while this yahoo picks Duke as #2 in the country (that has nothing to do with Georgetown or the Big East but I felt the need to mention it). So I have decided to join in on the madness.

If you hadn't figured out by my previous posts, I think freshmen are overrated. They get all the hype at the beginning of the season, but by the end it is the upperclassmen that carry the team. And I am not talking about Conference USA or Pac-10 freshmen, where the competition is the equivalent of a badminton team, I am talking about the Big East, real basketball. Freshmen do not lead Big East teams to the top of the standings. Take this nugget as evidence; since the 2005-06 season when the Big East expanded to 16 teams, the highest regular season finish for a team that also had the Big East Rookie of the Year was 6th (Marquette in 2006). The average finish for the team of the Big East Rookie of the Year has been 8th. With this in mind, I offer my Big East rankings for the 2009-10 season.

1. Villanova - Scottie Reynolds returns and Corey Fisher will have a breakout year. Nevermind the fact that they have three five-star recruits and All-American transfer Taylor King.

2. West Virginia - Da'Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks are best combo in Big East.

3. Connecticut - lost a ton, but still have a lot. Kemba Walker, Jerome Dyson and Stanley Robinson keep Uconn near the top.

4. Louisville - they are here because I don't have the stomach to put Georgetown as fourth. And Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings are still there.

5. Georgetown - inexperienced bench, talented starting five. People say the season depends on Hollis Thompson, I say it depends on Henry Sims; his ability to take pressure off of Greg Monroe will be the key to the season.

6. Pittsburgh - the cockroach of the Big East, never goes away.

7. Syracuse - nothing will make up for the loss of Jonny Flynn, Paul Harris and Eric Devendorf. Expect Andy Rautins to miss a few games while visiting BFF Cheddar Bob in Slovenia.

8. Cincinnati - brings back essentially the same team in a much weaker conference.

9. Seton Hall - see above.

10. St. John's - lost no one. This would be the best finish for Norm Roberts, who was hired at the same time as JT3. How he has kept his job is nothing short of a miracle.

11. Notre Dame - the return of Luke Harangody means nothing, the overrated Brey will be on the hot seat after another disappointing finish.

12. Rutgers - Mike Rosario has a breakout season.

13. Marquette - lost its three best players, nothing will fill the void.

14. South Florida - lost best player, Jesus Verdejo, who also happens to have the greatest name ever. Nothing hits the spot better than Jesus Wine.

15. Providence - lost five of the eight main players from last year's overachieving team.

16. DePaul - lost the only good player from an 0-18 team. Expect negative wins from this squad this season.

Good talk.

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 74, Morehead State 54

Mike Rutherford — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:05:57 -0000

I think we all had a pretty good idea of how the second half was going to play out, but I don't believe anyone who says they weren't freaking out at least a little bit during the 15 minutes of intermission.

It's easy to say our guys got complacent after building an early 10-point lead, or that this team is about ten times less dangerous when Earl Clark is on the bench, but I think Morehead State also deserves to have a healthy dose of praise hurled in its direction.

We knew they were going to play as if their lives depended on the game's outcome, but the Eagles also came out and executed their game plan brilliantly in the initial 20 minutes. They got Maze Stallworth open looks from the outside, they detected the right times to hit Faried and Buchanan in the post, and they frustrated the Cardinals by alternating defenses.

If the game's outcome was determined by effort and execution, Morehead is right there in the final minute, but the Eagles simply didn't have the athletes or the ballhandlers to stop what we all knew was coming after halftime.

Andre McGee officially finished the game with eight points, five steals and four assists, but it certainly felt like he had about three times all those numbers.

With Edgar Sosa appearing less and less capable of playing with any sense of poise, McGee's importance has never been greater. I think it was around steal number three when I made the comment that Andre might be the most important player on the team right now.

Apparently Rick Pitino agrees.

"Without question, Earl Clark and Terrence Williams are the professional athletes, potentially, on our basketball team," Pitino said, turning to McGee in his postgame news conference. "But there's no doubt about it, this young man is what makes our basketball team win. Andre McGee is the key, times 10, to our basketball team."

'Dre is getting a lot of national love this morning, and nobody deserves it more. The tail end of the man's Cardinal career is becoming increasingly O'Bannon-esque with each game.

In a strange way, Samardo Samuels's midseason struggles may end up being an enormous positive for this team. Not only was Terrence Jennings able to emerge as a solid contributor, but teams have become less and less likely to double Samuels, and recently he's been taking advantage accordingly.

Samuels played hungry last night on both ends of the floor and was as aggressive when the ball was in the air as he's been all season. He doesn't have to carry this team to Detroit, but he does need to be counted on for somewhere around 12 and eight for the next few weeks.

Token

Jerry Smith's bench antics are forcing me to miss large chunks of game action.

I was really happy to see Swop stroke that three near the end of the game. A large part of the reason he's struggled so mightily since the start of Big East play is that he's simply not ready to log these types of minutes at the four, but he's also been playing without any semblance of confidence since the new year, and maybe hitting a shot like that in his NCAA Tournament debut will restore some.

"Swopsher" is officially the new "Palashus."

Edgar Sosa didn't do much well outside of knocking down a couple treys, but he was up and cheering on the bench almost the entire game, which is a great sign for a kid who will be relied upon heavily in his senior season. There will be a game between now and the end of the season where this team will need Sosa to step up in a big way, and keeping the right attitude when things aren't going well could play a large part in his ability to succeed when that time comes.

Pitino said he played Swopshire instead of Terrence Jennings at the four because Swop is better at defending the wings out of the zone, but that still doesn't explain TJ not seeing any time at the five in the first half. Me thinks he did something to get himself in the doghouse this week.

It's hard to believe that we've gotten this far without mentioning T-Will, so...T-Will.

After our game, I was cheering for overtime first and Siena second. Both were good horses to saddle up with.

The Saints aren't going to change because they're facing Louisville, they're going to play fast, loose and free with the ball, and that's fine by me.

I hate that we have to play these guys because they're a team I enjoy watching, but sometimes in life you have to beat people you really like. It's in the Bible.

I'll be making the trip to Dayton on Sunday, and could not be happier about not having to deal with Ohio State fans. I've found that I do not mesh well with their kind.

I've made the switch to pajama pants, long-sleeve grey Louisville basketball shirt and backwards Louisville hat at halftime of each of the last three games. The Cards have outscored their opponents 128-70 in those three halves.

If you don't think those pants are going to be worn underneath my jeans on Sunday, then you've got a punch in the face coming your way. That might seem excessive, but it's March and Louisville is the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, a fact that I've used to justify everything I've done over the past six days.

I still have a ridiculous amount of faith in Preston's outside shot. Keep pulling, young man.

I'd also invest every penny I own (both of them) in his on-ball defense. Bad economy, shmad shmashonomy.

Goode to see George on the floor again. See what I did there?

Earl Clark in March: still better than the best player from your high school. Still, I could do without the turnovers, E5. Just somethin' to think about.

Cleveland State was my big upset pick...and yet every bracket I've submitted is still in the bottom 50 percent of its pool.

There are few joys in life as absolute as being able to watch NCAA Tournament games all day with the knowledge that your team was victorious the night before.

One down.