SBNation.com User Blog: 97E3LPL

Garcia was snarling and hitting 3s in Durant's face

97E3LPL — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 22:58:54 -0000

Former Cardinals star Franciso offers playoff hope for Houston against superstar Kevin Durant.

Atlanta Final Four travel plans

97E3LPL — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 00:02:14 -0000

A hopefully 5-week long

discussion of Atlanta plans, tips and information. I'll share mine if you share yours!
Some may think this started prematurely.
More will get into it after the Cards' 5th straight win at Syracuse. Everyone will get into it after the Cards play in the BE Championship game.

Why start discussing now?

A hopefully 5-week long

Why start discussing now?

If you wait until you know we are in, there will be somewhere between 6 and 9 days to plan, depending which region they play in. Subtract a day for Elite Eight hangover and you possibly have as little as 4 days to figure out how to get down there and where to stay. Some handy links and info to start things off:
NCAA Final Four website
The Georgia Dome
March 17th Selection Sunday (and St Patrick's Day)
March 19-20 First Round Dayton, Ohio
March 21-24 Second-Third Rounds
March 28,30 Regionals Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles
March 29,31 Regionals Indianapolis and Arlington, TX
April 6,8 Final Four (Official event twitter)
Got money? Here's one travel package ranging from 1300-2500$ that includes room and tickets.
Money.. not so much? Discuss below how we can help each other get down there.

Headline Gorgui love from Ari Kramer of Rant Sports

97E3LPL — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:41:00 -0000

Headline Gorgui love from Ari Kramer of Rant Sports

Nuggets:

"...one could make a strong case that Dieng, who swatted seven shots against Michigan State, was the conference’s best defender in 2011-12. Melo averaged 2.9 blocks, 5.8 boards and 0.5 steals in 25.4 minutes per game while Dieng stayed on the floor for 32.8 minutes per game to post 3.2 blocks, 1.2 steals and 9.1 rebounds. Yes, Melo’s per 40 block rate (4.6) is superior to Dieng’s (3.9), but what does block rate matter if you can’t stay on the floor?"

"Anyway, Melo bolted for the NBA, leaving Dieng as the clear favorite to earn defensive player of the year honors in 2012-13. In fact, Dieng could very possibly be the nation’s top defender."

Eamonn Brennan looks at UL's 2012-13 basketball season

97E3LPL — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:28:45 -0000

Eamonn Brennan looks at UL's 2012-13 basketball season

Some nuggets:

"Gorgui Dieng is the intimidating defensive presence in the middle of the floor (who might be the nicest guy in the country off it). "

"Here’s another 2012–13 Louisville Cardinals certainty: This team is going to defend like crazy. Per Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency metrics, the 2011–12 Cardinals’ 84.0 defensive efficiency rating was the lowest in the country and the Cards only got more difficult to break down as the season entered its most crucial stage. Here’s a fun stat: From Feb. 23 to March 23, Louisville didn’t allow a single opponent to score more than a point per possession. That includes the tail end of the Big East season, the entire Big East tournament, and the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament. "

"...Smith made the shots when it counts, and Pitino has long since embraced the one he calls Russdiculous, but there’s no question Smith will have to become more efficient if he plans on hoisting so frequently in 2012–13."

2012-13 UL Hoops schedule

97E3LPL — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 14:14:19 -0000

2012-13 UL Hoops schedule

Appearances in three early season events -- the Battle 4 Atlantis, Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout and Billy Minardi Classic -- at least 18 games on national television, and 18 home games in the KFC Yum! Center highlight the 2012-13 University of Louisville men's basketball schedule.

"Last year we had the second most difficult schedule in the nation and I actually think this year's is more difficult.," said U of L Coach Rick Pitino, whose team played the nation's second-toughest schedule by the ratings percentage index (RPI) last season. "It poses multiple challenges throughout the season that we haven't had in a while and we look forward to it. We have an extremely competitive team that loves challenges. We're very excited to not only be traveling to face a terrific field in the Bahamas, but from the first game on we will be tested. We look forward to that challenge."

Olympic tribute to Ali

97E3LPL — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:28:25 -0000

Olympic tribute to Ali

Not exactly UL related, but is there a Louisvillian who doesn't love this man?

UL Lady Birds bikini car wash

97E3LPL — Fri, 22 Jun 2012 22:51:04 -0000

UL Lady Birds bikini car wash

*Take note, there will be others....

New Orleans Final Four Trip Planning Thread

97E3LPL — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 17:54:43 -0000

I'm sure I'm not the only one daydreaming about getting down to New Orleans, so here's a central place for us all to swap information and collaborate where possible.

I have my own greedy motivation to creat this thread: I have an RV and am trying to plan a trip down, but I may need help. More on that in individual posts below.

Anyone from around New Orleans?? Give us traveling fans some tips please?? (Like where can I park a big rig.)

I'm sure I'm not the only one daydreaming about getting down to New Orleans, so here's a central place for us all to swap information and collaborate where possible.

Superdome seating chart page (link at bottom opens PDF) Superdome parking info page a tickets page linked from NCAA site 200$ nosebleed to 3000$ lower section a quick Ebay ticket search

NCAA FF home page info & schedule

Anthony Travel Agency (officially sanctioned by UL) Page currently says travel packages are sold out. Land rates were $800-$1900 (quad to single) and air rates were 1700$-2800$.

All times local FRIDAY, MARCH 30
AT&T Block Party 4-10 p.m.
Bracket Town Noon-8 p.m.
SATURDAY, MARCH 31
Bracket Town 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Coca-Cola Zero Countdown 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Tip-Off Tailgate 1-4:30 p.m.
Semifinals 5 and 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 1
Bracket Town Noon-8 p.m.
Capital One JamFest 3-10 p.m.
MONDAY, APRIL 2
Bracket Town Noon-7 p.m.
Tip-Off Tailgate 4:30-7:30 p.m.
National Championship 8 p.m.

Where are Cards fans gathering for the Elite Eight?

97E3LPL — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:02:30 -0000

Forgive me if there is a better established or more traditional way of doing this, but I'm far too frantic/ stressed/ blissful/ freaked out to think clearly right now.. and my schedule was made chaotic today by my better half, so I need to figure out where I"m going asap.

I know the largest Louisville Alums club outside Kentucky is here in Indy, so there will probably be a few hangouts up here. I'm north of Indy, Carmel/Westfield/Fishers. If there isn't an established spot up this way (used to be Champs?), I'd like to suggest BW3 on 146th Street at Greyhound Pass.

Bob Harvey puts his money on Louisville, ATS and SU

97E3LPL — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 21:14:51 -0000

Bob Harvey puts his money on Louisville, ATS and SU

Bob Harvey puts his money on Louisville, ATS and SU. Gotta like it when money talks.

A Cardinal statement for Bob and Nancy:

97E3LPL — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 12:08:59 -0000

On Selection Sunday morning at the Bracket Matrix, Louisville gets 3s 4s and 5s across the board for a 3.8 average (2nd 4 seed.) Before winning the BET title, there were a number of 6s and 7s on that line.

Louisville wraps up its season with a national strength of schedule of 7 and RPI rating of 12. Notably, it got non-conference wins over: SEC tournament finalist and season 2nd place Vanderbilt (RPI 22 SOS 4), Sunbelt Conference Tournament champion and season 3rd place Western Kentucky, CUSA Conference tournament and season champion Memphis (RPI 16 SOS 22), Southland conference tournament champion and season 3rd place Lamar (4th best rebounding and 5th best scoring team in the nation), MAC conference tournament champion and season 3rd place Ohio, Big West Conference tournament and season champion Long Beach State. This wound up being the #4 non-conference RPI schedule in the nation.

Other positive wins included on the road at Butler (Horizon league 5th place and a winning record), College of Charleston (Souther conference 4th place and winning record )

The 9 losses included tough ones on the road at SEC Tournament finalist and season champion Kentucky (RPI 1), on the road and at home against Big East season champion Syracuse (RPI 2), and

Obviously, Louisville's achievements are all the more admirable for doing so while enduring a harsh injury record (if not the worst in the nation), and after starting in the Big East cellar at 1-4 and 2-6. Clawing it's way back into the top half of the conference, and winning a Big east Tournament title in 4 straight nights over higher seeds, former victors and fresher opponents.

The last time Louisville won 4 sraight nights was when it won the 1948 NAIB, which back then was as good a national title as any. (Louisville is the only team in the nation to sport national titles from NAIB, NIT (when NIT was tops) and NCAA.)

The committee is probably going to notice that Louisville players include the #2 STL% leader in the nation as well as a top 10 blocker--and the team itself is a top 10 for steals and top 5 for assists. And of course, the first-ever Louisville player to win the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the BET’s most outstanding player.

They might also notice that UL achieved this all while dealing with 4 games by ref Jamie Luckie (2nd most fouls called in NCAA) (Cinci & UK losses), 4 games by 'ref' Karl Hess (top 10 fouls called, disciplined once) (Marquette and Georgetown losses), and 6 excruciating games by 'ref' Jim Burr (Georgetown and [first] Syracuse losses).

So, while many of us Cards fans were thinking last night that a 3 seed is not feasible or possible, perhaps the tournment committee will consider it after all considering all the above accomplishments.

At the very least, some Negative Nancy type fans who complained about the terrible-communicating coach, his "hard practices" (which enabled UL in its fourth straight night of playing to lock down and outlast a fresher, better shooting Cincinatti), the 'bad schedule' against 'bad opponents' (see above #4 NC SOS), and the terrible offense which would never work because we were too focused on defense... well hopefully going forward they will better understand that any perspective of our team needs balancing against the bigger picture, and always more positive support and patience.

Yeah, I know, there are still a few scorpio's out there waiting to see what happens in the Big Dance. Me, I'm confident we'll be in the Sweet 16, and I'm sorry you're not having as much fun as I am!

GO CARDS!!

JUST SIX MORE GAMES LEFT IN THE SEASON!

Other positive wins included on the road at Butler (Horizon league 5th place and a winning record), College of Charleston (Souther conference 4th place and winning record )

Yeah, I know, there are still a few scorpio's out there waiting to see what happens in the Big Dance. Me, I'm confident we'll be in the Sweet 16, and I'm sorry you're not having as much fun as I am!

GO CARDS!!

JUST SIX MORE GAMES LEFT IN THE SEASON!

When refs wrecklessly and willfully affect the sport, what should happen?

97E3LPL — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 14:09:40 -0000

Many fans were grumbling over some whistles by one particular referee last night. Some may not have realized a connection between him and another ruckus going on over at the ACC. In short, this referee is in a dispute with ACC and decided to 'quit' working their season -- only to vent his emotions in another conference tourny. Yep, you guessed it: Karl Hess came and took a dump on the sport at the Big East tournament.

Act 1:
Hess tossed fans Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani (former Wolfpack players) out of an NC State game

Karl Hess Ejects Tom Gugliotta, Chris Corciani (via IIIskzIII). Some may debate the merits of his doing that, but it is clearly allowed by the rulebook. It is said that the profanity Tom and Chris used whilst sitting near children was pretty bad, which might have been enough for me to do something, but that is not what Hess said motivated him to eject them. According to Hess, 'They were ejected for excessive demonstration on several calls as they came right up to the scorer’s table. The policeman at the end of the FSU bench was warned that their continual excessive demonstration that incited the crowd would result in ejection.' Later that night, ACC supervisor of officials John Clougherty released a statement confirming that Hess had not followed protocol by going to an arena security officer rather than someone with home game management to eject a fan.

Act 2: ACC Commissioner reprimands Hess because he didn't follow the protocol of conferring with home game management officials, but instead called upon arena security. The reason for that protocol.. "...allows the opportunity to potentially diffuse any situations before they reach the level of ejection."

Act 3: Clougherty lets everyone know that: "Karl Hess wanted to make sure that he did not take away from the ACC tournament, its teams and the players,” the brief statement read. “Therefore, he made the decision not to participate this year. The officials, as a group, have agreed to respect Karl’s decision and will eliminate any further distraction from the tournament."

Act 4: Somehow 'thinking it would not add distraction' to the game, fellow referees Mike Eades, Jamie Luckie and Bernard Clinton wore the initials “K.H.” on their shoes in 'honor' (?!) of Hess. I wonder if it occurred to them at all that such a gesture had been, until now, been reserved for honoring dead people and significant causes for humanity. VAIN much? How about inappropriate? No, One does not choose to make a point in a public event surreptitiously. Eades, Luckie and Clinton (snicker) clearly knew this would be a distraction because they overtly wanted to make a point.

Act 5: Meanwhile, Mr. Hess didn't just spurn the ACC, he came over to the Big East with his obviously now temper-driven whistle. Only 12 minutes into the game, he blew a whistle on Louisville center Gogui DIeng that was so bad, even the TV crew were commenting how bad it was and how it would affect the game. Worse still, Hess immediately gave a Technical to Dieng when Dieng ~~"slammed"~~ placed the ball on the floor and walked away (not even looking at Hess during all this.)

Bottom line: Referees in two different post season conference tournaments intentionally distracted the sport and unfairly affected the athletes and their games in order to make vain, personal statements about a point on which the rulebook is against clearly them. Akin to Reagen and the air traffic controllers, I say it's time to give them walking papers.

Men's Basketball's Peyton Siva Advances to Finals for GEICO Play of the Year

97E3LPL — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:27:12 -0000

Men's Basketball's Peyton Siva Advances to Finals for GEICO Play of the Year

CLICK HERE TO VOTE ON FACEBOOK

CHICAGO - University of Louisville men's basketball junior guard Peyton Siva advanced to the finals of the 2012 GEICO Play of the Year, Intersport announced Monday.

Early in the season, the Cardinals played Vanderbilt in a back-and-forth non-conference battle. With only a few seconds remaining, the game was tied in overtime and Siva had the ball at the top of the key. The veteran guard used a nasty crossover to get by his man and finished with a twisting lay-up with only one second remaining to give the Cardinals the 62-60 win. To view the play on YouTube, click here.

Each week for eight weeks, four incredible college basketball plays will be nominated as the Play of the Year on the GEICO Best of College Basketball Facebook page. Fans can vote to determine the GEICO Play of the Year, and the winner will be announced on GEICO presents Best of College Basketball 2012 on CBS March 25 at 1 p.m. ET.

Fans are encouraged to vote once a day on the GEICO Play of the Year Facebook page.

Is There Really A Problem With 'Pitino-Speak'?

97E3LPL — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:39:10 -0000

Anyone can argue any 1-point loss (such as UL's loss to Morehead) as being attributable to a number of reasons. Right or wrong, anyone can debate a failed shot block, a key player going down, missed free throws, etc, as 'the reason' for the loss. There's nothing wrong with having, stating, defending or debating such an opinion.

One can also argue that UL would have gone far in last year's Big Dance if Preston hadn't gotten hurt. This train of thought is also plausible and defensible given the context of last year's squad's consistent over-achievement and stunning comebacks.

These 2 snippets of conversation actually occurred with Coach Pitino. They had nothing to do with each other; they occurred at different times in different contexts. Each snippet stood on its own merits. Yet, a fan recently complained that this is Pitino being a hypocrite.

This touches one of my former professions related to communication, so after the jump comes a long post. I submit it in the humble hope it will light up a pathway for anyone interested to improve communication and listening skills. And not just with regard to Rick Pitino.

The above to me illustrates one of the problems digesting what [any coach or] Rick [or anyone else] says throughout a season [or throughout life].

There are times when statements should be kept in context of the topic at hand - and times not. Reporters and journalists aren't always savvy when to do so, let alone how to. Also, Rick isn't from the south. He unquestionably has a Yankee accent and speech habits. His communication style is more direct and blunt than a Kentuckian's. These small differences can lead to some misunderstanding, but there are many more factors at play.

Each year, from preseason to postseason, players and programs experience change. Health, morale, motivation, performance, execution, ability are all factors that change for each and every player. They change from season to season and from one game to the next. Consistency and stability are a luxury rarely given by Lady Luck to any program. This largely explains the rarity of (and time elapsed since) a perfect season such as the last by Indiana in 1976.

Considering there is also change-commotion at macro levels (i.e. conference and NCAA), this much is clear: Coaches must navigate an ever-shifting and unpredictable series of changes to even give their program a chance to succeed. It should be concluded that program success is based less on how well coaches plan life, and more on how well coaches overcome its obstacles.

Each year, from preseason to postseason, coaches execute hundreds of communication sessions in pre- post-game comments, interviews, shows and other engagements. That sounds like a lot of communicating, but it's not; not as a percentage of time they spend on the program.

If you could measure all time spent on team practice, game time, individual workouts, individual drills, tape review, staff meetings, staff planning, game planning, recruiting visits, getting a knee operated on, visiting Miss Hawaii, communications, and all other basketball program related activities, the percentage of time spent on communications-fans-see is probably ~2%. Yet we fans wish to, and try to, understand 100% of our program and its coach from the 2% of it spent communicating. That's not gonna work. There will always be gaps.

And what does it mean to communicate, anyway?

In my American military interrogator training I was taught techniques to induce people to talk and techniques to corroborate or refute what they said. Then I was taught a foreign language in which to perform interrogation. Much later came what I now believe was a pivotal piece of learning for me: an Israeli interrogation course. It focused on deviations of native languages such as colloquialisms, dialect, slang, paralinguil signs, etc., and how to analyze those for further information. It was a mix of (what is today referred to as) Discourse Analysis and Conversation Analysis, mixed with some additive criminal and detective science. Language deviations have been around since Adam spoke. Language deviations are not evil by nature, however they are pitfalls which often lead to misunderstanding. Even in sub groupings of people there is variance in how language deviations are used. In turn, that makes it all the more probable the [intended] message will be perceived in numerous ways.

Indeed, 2012 Darrell Griffith knows what a 'sick dunk' means, but 1979 Darrell Griffith would have either been confused or suspected that was an insult. If we were in Italy, see (Stripes reference), a 'sick dunk' never made any sense to players there. Nor have the Germans ever called anything awesome 'cool'. Think about it. We all do it. We say things that literally mean something else (i.e. idioms, sarcasm), yet we expect others to understand exactly what our true meaning is. I don't recall one yet, but I'm willing to wager Mike's reputation that there is at least one funny Cardinal story about a player saying something slang or sarcastic to Gorgui and getting some nonsensical-because-he-was-literal response. So there are those pitfalls, and don't even get me started on the impact of improper grammar.

Communications pitfalls challenge everyone: yourself, Pitino, Obama and even the Prophets. It is the root of why there are so many versions of The Bible. Communications pitfalls also greatly exacerbate the rhetoric and intensity of discourse in internet message forums.

Misinterpretation and misunderstanding increase in direct correlation to the frequency of communication, the diversity of the listeners, the amount of information, and the level and frequency of change to that information.

The point is that noone responsible for frequent communication (such as NCAAB coaches) to a lot of passionately interested people (such as fans) will avoid all the pitfalls of language deviations. There will always be misinterpretation and misunderstanding. There will always be some recipients getting the intended message, some an unintended message, and some simply confused. ADs know that, and that is why communication is [attempted to be] managed. Knowing how to communicate better does not guarantee you will successfully convey your message. Improvement can be had when one person makes effort, but it is improved the most when treated as a two-way street.

One commonly taught technique in civilian and business communication courses is to "repeat the message back in your own words", not unlike military cypher code recipients are taught specific methodologies for confirmation.
Sometimes you might think you understood the message correctly when you really didn't--and even the communicator isn't aware you didn't. However even as the listener, you can initiate such methods.. "Here's what I think you just told me...; is that right?"

From another of my professions comes a more reconizable aconym: RTM. "Read The Manual." It's what some of us techies would often say to another when being asked a question about how some widget is supposed to work. It's a shorter way of saying "stop making noise (RTFM) and being confused, and go carefully re-read it and make sure you comprehend all that was written/said."

So we know we have an imperfect communicator and are ourselves imperfect listeners. Whatever truth there is that 'Rick spins' clearly will increase misunderstanding in addition to the above pitfalls--even if he does sometimes motivate a player while doing so.

Reading too much into comments or mistakenly putting the wrong puzzle pieces together wouldn't be a bad thing if it didn't escalate into rants, insults and over-the-top conclusions--but unfortunately it does. A lot. So much so that we're still having a flap about one comment when more 'controversial' comments are made. Herd instincts start taking effect, 'hate' increases and posses form, and some guy in the back throws rope over a tree branch.

What does this mean for Cardinal fans? We certainly won't get more communication time.

We can choose to continue wasting [too much] time chewing on 'spin' and hating. Or we can choose to redirect more of that negative energy on positive support of the students and staff for whom our fanhood exists to begin with. And inspiring others to do the same. I believe Cardinal fan life would be much better if we did.

The above to me illustrates one of the problems digesting what [any coach or] Rick [or anyone else] says throughout a season [or throughout life].

And what does it mean to communicate, anyway?

What does this mean for Cardinal fans? We certainly won't get more communication time.

Is anyone trying to protect student athletes?

97E3LPL — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:13:34 -0000

Louisville isn't the only school suffering injuries to its athletes, but clearly it is a program having the least amount of injury luck in recent years. This Cardinal fan wanted to know a little more about what (if anything) is being done on a systemic level to take care of our kids.

30 years ago (1982) the NCAA launched ISS - Injury Surveillance System- a program to help collect and report injury data for NCAA member programs to better understand sports injuries. By 1988 they finally began collecting data from a 10% sampling of programs who volunteered to participate.

Also in 1988, NCAA began morphing ISS into a national level 'non profit' group called Datalys Center. The other two principals forming this non profit group? American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and BioCrossroads. ACSM is "a worldwide membership organization (like the college of surgeons) for more than 20,000 professionals in the sports medicine and exercise science fields. ...our members and certified professionals are a group of professionals who share a common purpose – the purpose of advancing health through science, education and medicine." BioCrossroads is a company which is directed by a mix of educational institutions and pharmaceutical companies.

It's important to note that the purpose of these organizations was to collect and make data available. Meaning, any effective use of the data for a positive outcome on the students' behalf was still at least another step or two away. Searching PubMed (one of the more prominant online medical research tools used by doctors and medical academicians ) for use of NCAA ISS data yields mostly postings of the old 2004 data by the original NCAA ISS staff. There are a few recent articles indicating that some collection, reporting and use of data still occurs, for example this hockey injury study.

The data are available to anyone doing research who submit an extremely intensive application form in which your research (and its purpose) must be explained in every detail. In the event your application is approved by Datalys Center, it must then also be approved by NCAA. I can't help but wonder, since they specify in the application that all data is deidentified, why all the security on this data, especially given that it is a nonprofit group supposedly formed to help us protect our kids?

But, is any of this really helping our kids? It sure sounds like a beauracratic nightmare, doesn't it? Datalys Center touts some outcomes as recently (!?) as 2003. Hopefully this only indicates an 8 year lack of updating their webpage, rather than achievements:

The data collection effort, combined with a unique review mechanism through the NCAA sport and policy committees, has led to advances in health and safety policy within and beyond college athletics:

The analysis of concussion injuries in ice hockey, that led to rule changes and officiating emphasis on reducing hitting from behind—and contact to the head (1995)

Modifications of permissible equipment and contact in spring football practices to reduce concussion and overall risk (1997)

Modifications of permissible equipment and multiple practice day schedules in preseason fall football practices to reduce heat illness and general injury risk (2003)

The addition of required eye protection in women’s lacrosse to reduce the small, but real risk of significant eye injury (2003)

Thirteen-year analysis of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries in basketball and soccer players, which led to a focus on prevention efforts for female athletes—who have a higher risk for these types of injuries than their male counterparts.

After learning all the above, it seems obvious that any national level help for athletes has spiraled, as usual, out of control into a morass (more ass?) of bureaucracy and money-driven interests. So, a next installment on this topic would have to focus at local levels. Presumably there will be significant variance from one university to the next according to their financial wherewithal, their priorities and dedication and effort.

What exactly does UofL do to protect athletes? I'm hoping one of our resident writers will take this on -- in detail -- so that I don't have to. I have some paint I'd like to watch dry.

Russ-tling Up Some Background Info On A Cardinal Star

97E3LPL — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:48:24 -0000

Think you ~~like~~ love Russ now? If you didn't know his background, check this out and be prepared to fall more deeply.

I thought we were all shocked about this recent Russ surge. Does anyone remember that Russ came to UL clearly touted as a scorer? If I ever heard that, I'd long forgotten it. After perusing these articles, it's clear what we've been seeing is no fluke. It shouldn't even be considered a mildly surprising turn of events.

It's Russ's payoff for years of hard work and a drive to excel.

And fortunately for Card nation, it's a guarantee of highlight reels to come.

Think you ~~like~~ love Russ now? If you didn't know his background, check this out and be prepared to fall more deeply.

It's Russ's payoff for years of hard work and a drive to excel.

And fortunately for Card nation, it's a guarantee of highlight reels to come.

Jan 08, junior Russ practicing crazy:

Practice had just finished last Wednesday at Molloy, and the lights in Jack Curran Gymnasium were off. Smith was alone, launching shot after shot at the rim.

But he wasn't polishing his jumper. The 6-foot junior guard was hurling himself out of bounds near the baseline while simultaneously fading away from the basket, then - at the last possible second - tossing a high-arcing left-handed prayer towards the rim.

"You never know when you'll need it," he said. "So I practice all these crazy shots."

As he said this, he drove to the rim again, releasing a blind reverse layup. The ball kissed the backboard, then swished through the net, like all his other trick shots

Jul 08 Russ plans his future:

"I also feel on top of the world. I'm a returning player, second in the CHSAA in scoring. I feel like everybody is out to get me and we should have a good team.

"After that, at South Kent, I'll play for Calvin Jefferson. He will finish the job Jack started, make me a complete guard. I have a lot of friends that have been there. (Rutgers center) Christian Morris (who went there two years ago) said it's nice.

"This summer, I'm playing with the Gauchos. That'll give me a head start. I'm playing with (Christ the King's) Sean Johnson, (Loughlin's) Doron Lamb, (Rice's) Durand Scott. I'm being a playmaker; that'll help colleges see me.

"Right now, getting ahead is the most important thing I can do.

"It's like a test: you have to study before you take it. I need to add strength. I know. I'm also polishing my jump shot."

Oct 08 Russ' trainer about Russ as a frosh, and now:

...

I started training Russ toward the end of his freshman campaign & I noticed two things from the very beginning. He was coachable and he had this uncanny creative ability. Most people take coachability for granted. I don't care how nice you are- you can always get better. If you can't take criticism, I don't want anything to do with you.

...

In my opinion there are two areas that Russ has to continue to work on. Just like the great Kenny Anderson before him, he has to be able to get his teammates involved first and then be able to "flip the switch" and dominate from an offensive standpoint. Because after all, a point guards primary duty is to make everyone else better. Considering what a great scorer Russ is, that's not so easy to do. You feel like you can win the game on your own. Secondly, the same amount of energy he exerts on the offensive end, he has to do the same on the defensive end.

...

E.H. Talk to me about the 60 point game. Somebody had to piss you off!

R.S. Well in the beginning I didn't have that much confidence in my jumper. It was my first game back from nose surgery. I fought thru it and I ended the 1st half with 16. My confidence picked up in the 3rd quarter and I hit 4 back to back 3's. My stats were 60 pts-11 rebs-4 assists. I didnt go back in the last 3 minutes. The biggest shot was a fadeaway 3 to get 60.

E.H. I heard you outscored the other team 44 to 41 in the second half.

R.S. Something like that.

E.H. What are your 5 dream Universities? In no particular order.

R.S. Syracuse, UCLA, Florida, Louisville and Georgia Tech.

What might not be clear here, is Russ' appreciation (thirst?) for history and [halls of] fame.

His legendary high school coach Jack Curran played at St Johns for Frank McGuire, and then took the reins of Molloy from St John's-bound Lou Carnesecca. As of Feb 2008, Curran compiled a 2-sport record of 2,491-826 and won 5 city championships in basketball and 17 in baseball. And while no other New York City coach ever won a title in both sports in the same year, Curran did four times — in 1969, ’73,’74 and ’87. He has been inducted into nine Halls of Fame, including the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame
One might speculate that UL was one of his 'dream universities' because of a certain HOF bound coach.

Feb 09 crazy shootin senior Russ:

Smith, though, answered with six consecutive points, including one 3-pointer in which he nearly jack hammered himself into the ground with a series of extraneous crossovers. He eventually found his balance and drilled a step back jumper.
"He hits some crazy shots," Dillon said.
"It’s composure," Smith added. "When most guys are under pressure like that they look to pass. I see what’s there."

A month or two ago I confessed to having been a 2009-2010 Russ hater, and professed a switch. A number of injuries in his freshman year at UL kept his abilities from our view. Fellow fans on the Russ train from day one, I salute you.

Russ is clearly a hard working, talented man; a man on a mission.

At the end of that mission we'll probably be hanging a banner in the Bucket.

CBS' Gary Parrish will brick roll you

97E3LPL — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:39:36 -0000

CBS' Gary Parrish will brick roll you

In his weekly Weekend Look Ahead column, Parrish bills this rivalry game as the top game of the weekend. And yeah, he uses that link.

Rak some Villen before today's cupcake

97E3LPL — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 13:20:49 -0000

HTML fail

Rak some Villen before today's cupcake

Do Cards fans sufficiently understand what their coach is doing?

97E3LPL — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 14:08:23 -0000

Some fans: Pitino is too defense oriented. He doesn't build offensive teams. We rely on defense too much.

Me: Bullshit. That's arm-chair coaching, over-the-top nitpicking and, as I believe I will point out after the jump, just really wrong.

First and foremost, let's recheck who we're talking about. Then let's look at this recent grousing and what it really means.

Some fans: Pitino is too defense oriented. He doesn't build offensive teams. We rely on defense too much.

Me: Bullshit. That's arm-chair coaching, over-the-top nitpicking and, as I believe I will point out after the jump, just really wrong.

First and foremost, let's recheck who we're talking about. Then let's look at this recent grousing and what it really means.

Recheck who we're talking about. As is being written yet again in many an article today, the only coach to lead three different schools to the Final Four is winning these past two seasons despite serious roster challenges. Yes, all teams have injuries, including some worthy of Sportscenter mention (i.e. OSU's Sullinger). As most of us know however, UL's injuries on the whole are at a headline making level.

Swopshire's groin injury never heals. Rakeem Buckles (knee) out for year. Louisville's Blackshear has season-ending injury. Louisville's Marra has season-ending ACL injury. Van Treese Out Indefinitely For UofL Basketball. Louisville PG Siva doubtful with sprained ankle. Louisville injuries just keep piling up. Justice breaks nose. Pitino doesn't build offense? Look at those headlines again; they include starting forwards, 5 star AA recruits, backup centers and point guards in and out (mostly out) of the lineup.

Most pundits would tell you Blackshear is unquestionably a headliner scoring threat. 'Rock', too. And if you don't think so, watch what Rock does at Rupp at the end of this month. Pitino doesn't build offense? Did you see the shot King Kyle make last night - after CRP shouted at him to take the shot - after receiving a low pass in his korner with a great defender's hand in his face? Coach Pitino developed Kuric into quite an offensive threat. This is the kid from southern Indiana over whom many fans pondered why the publicity.

The point is that Coach recruited and built offensive, but simply hasn't gotten to use it yet. And the fact that he has our program off to back to back 7-0 season starts for the first time in history should be enough for fans to stop yapping for a while.

My bottom line: Minimize the nay-saying and negative nit-picking. If you must, be sure to place it in good context, because it seems like there's no pleasing some of you. (Check the Vandy game open thread for complaints just after the win.) Celebrate our successes and focus on the positives.

Parrish: It could have been Pitino instead of Krzyszewski

97E3LPL — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 15:46:44 -0000

Parrish: It could have been Pitino instead of Krzyszewski

So, again, Pitino spent eight seasons in the NBA.
And he still had 599 career victories through 25 seasons as a college coach.
Pitino accumulating 599 wins in 25 seasons means he's averaged 24 wins per season -- or one more win per season than the average of Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, the man on the verge of becoming the winningest coach in men's Division I history. If you use Pitino's average wins per season (24) and multiply it by the number of seasons he spent in the NBA (8), then take that number (192) and add it to his current win total (600), what you'll find is that it's reasonable to assume Pitino could be approaching 800 victories before the age of 60 and thus considered a real threat to break the record Krzyzewski will soon set given that he's five years younger than the Duke coach.

Cards get [a little] preseason respect at CBS

97E3LPL — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 15:34:46 -0000

Cards get [a little] preseason respect at CBS

See links at the bottom of the article for the different lists.

Top frosh: Chane Beast-anan at #29
Top breakout players: Siva Bear at #8
Top 100 players: Siva at #71
Top point guards: Siva at #15
Top shooters: King Kyle checks in at #49 - even though his production has been better than half the guys above him on the list.
These 'nods' come on the heels of their Top25 ranking for UL at #8, and (?) only a 4 seed in their preseason bracket.

What say you, Cards? Are you going to show on the court how low these rankings are? Anyone wanna bet Gorgui gets on one of these lists by end of season?

TSN: Mizzou making the SEC move next week

97E3LPL — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 00:11:35 -0000

TSN: Mizzou making the SEC move next week

This game of dominoes is far from over.

UL to B12 still possible in the near future?

97E3LPL — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:55:52 -0000

UL to B12 still possible in the near future?

New tag: CRIC (Conference realignment is creepy.)
Creepy or not, you gotta like what Berry Tramel of the Oklahoman put in writing and the quotes he cites from his B12 source.

"A Big 12 source told me that despite what Neinas said Friday, the conference has not settled on 10 as an ideal number. In fact, there could be a push to also invite Louisville soon and bring the membership to 11."

More dominos will fall: SEC's Clive makes it clear

97E3LPL — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 03:30:30 -0000

More dominos will fall: SEC's Clive makes it clear

SEC and ACC are the defacto leading dominos, B12 is in the middle and Big East the end.

And if when SEC goes to 14, that's the last domino game the Big East will be able to play.

This [seemingly obviously] will lead to B12 doing more than its current meager arm-chair quarter back of a conference realignment battle.

CBSSports.com reports wide ranging talk from BE leaders (think Boise)

97E3LPL — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:14:41 -0000

CBSSports.com reports wide ranging talk from BE leaders (think Boise)

The reporter doesn't come out and say it, but I will; BE is intent on bringing Boise State in. I think they're just checking on any legal obstacles first.

SivaBear makes Wooden 50 Preseason

97E3LPL — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:24:37 -0000

SivaBear makes Wooden 50 Preseason

In related news, the over under on how many all-Caps posts GCA makes here starts at 4.

Animation: China mugs Georgetown Freaking. Hilarious. Found at CBSS, however it [seemingly]...

97E3LPL — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 00:56:28 -0000

Animation: China mugs Georgetown

Freaking. Hilarious.

Found at CBSS, however it [seemingly] was created across the Pacific. Would actually like to know who made it, because they seem to get it that Bali tigers are thugs.

Dillon Graham

97E3LPL — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:39:35 -0000

Dillon Graham

Just another expose on this kid in Florida.

My take away this is the re-confirmation that [future HOF] Coach P's name still rings loud and clear in kids' minds.

Ellis Myles' team of 15 yr olds take Adidas Invitational title

97E3LPL — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 01:40:46 -0000

Ellis Myles' team of 15 yr olds take Adidas Invitational title

And CRP was one of the coaches watching. Good to see a beloved former Card succeeding, as well as to see the connections remain between Coach and players.

A meaningful stat ?

97E3LPL — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 20:43:19 -0000

Each season brings unending debate over player contributions (or detractions.) I have all boxscore data for the season for our team in a massivespreadsheet filled with multiple nested calculations. I came up with some new stats you might like to see. For example, I compute percentage of game time versus percentage of points, which reveals who can fill it up the fastest. (Hint: It's not always the leading team scorer.)

In this post I'd like to present my new stat "Impact". I created it, but you can help make it a useful stat.

Typical boxscore data: Min FGm FGA 3PM 3PA FTM FTA OR DR TR AST TO STL BLK PF and PTS.

Combinable data: date, location, game prominence (regular season versus conference play versus big dance, et al.), team and opponent RPI & ranking,

To measure a player's impact more comprehensively, I combined all the above data into one calculated stat. Whichever team has the higher PTS wins, right? So I use PTS as the baseline.

Other stats affect PTS. For example, a BLK prevents PTS for the other team, right? We can just add that to our stat: Impact=PTS+BLK

Some BLKs may not have stopped a score, and those that do vary between 2 or 3 point shots which might, or might not, have gone in. So apply some common sense factoring for that. Most shots are 2s (except in Louisville) and most don't go in. So intead of a BLK being equal to 2 or 3, it's really more like 0.4 PTS on average.

Impact=PTS+(BLK*.4)

Whether it should be .4, .24, 1.1 or whatever; that decision can be debated or refined later. I'd be happy (and easily able to) to improve this stat with discussion and tweaking. So here is the starting list of calculations included in 'Impact' version 1.0.

PTS=1xPTS
BLK add .4 of a point; this leads to probable PTS
OR add .3 of a point; this leads to probable PTS
DR add .5 of a point; reduces possible OPP PTS leads to possible PTS

ASTadd .6 of a point, because these lead to PTS
TO minus 1 point, because this reduces possible PTS and leads to possible OPP PTS
STL add .6 of a point, because this leads to possible PTS
PF minus .3 of a point

If the player's game impact is significant (to be defined), add:
1 for conference win
1.5 for conference road win
2.2 for conference tourn win earlier than semi
2.4 for conference tourn semi
2.8 for conference tourn final win
3.1 for NCAA round 1 win
3.3 for NCAA round 2 win
3.4 for NCAA round 3 win
3.6 for NCAA round 4 win
3.8 for NCAA round 5 win (FF)
4.4 for NCAA round 6 win
5 for NCAA round 7 (Title)

Increase 10% if it was a ranked opponent
Increase 10% if it was a road game
Increase 10% if it was a conference game
Increase 10% if it was a conference road game

if player shot less than 30 FG%, minus .5 PTS per miss
If a player had more TO than AST, minus 10%

Yeah, this could go on and on.

But you can't always tell the wisdom in using (or not) each calc. It's best to look at the results, and then start tweaking where it makes sense based on the results. Here are the results:

Relative to each game, do you agree these are the top impactful performances among our team this season?

Here's what the bottom looks like: (And no, I didn't connive to ensure Marra got the worst score; that's all on him.)