Chronicloid John Bowman left the following comment in Blocky's post.

I’ve been a Card fan for nearly 50 years and I will die one. But the answer to your question this year is “Not Very Good At All.” Why? The simplest of reasons: This team can’t shoot straight. In the end, it doesn’t matter how quick you are, how strong you are, or how high you can jump. If you can’t put the ball in the basket, you’re not a very good basketball player. Hence the name. They don’t call it rebound ball, or jump ball, or quick ball, or tall ball, or pass ball, or defense ball. I keep reading about our “shooting woes” as if we’re in a slump. That implies a temporary phenomenon. But this team is shooting 42.5 percent for the season. Louisville is the 221st best shooting team in the country ON THE SEASON. How good is this team? We’re the 221st best team in the country at accomplishing the main goal of the game. You tell me how good we are.

I did not realize we were ranked 221st in shooting. This is pathetic and it got me to thinking. It seems like year after year the Cards suffer from shooting woes. So I did a little research. First of all, are FG% and tournament success related? Well lets look at where the last few champs ended up ranked in field goal percentage.

2011 - UConn - 186th .433

2010 - Duke - 133rd .442

2009 - UNC - 18th .480

2008 - Kansas - 3rd .505

2007 - Florida - 1st .527

2006 - Florida - 1st .508

2005 - UNC - 8th .496

2004 - UConn - 17th .481

So, clearly you don't HAVE to shoot the lights out to win it all, but it looks like it definitely helps. Now, this is where it gets sad. Lets look at Louisville's FG% over the last decade.

2011 - 89th .452

2010 - 103rd .447

2009 - 97th .451

2008 - 114th .453

2007 - 209th .423

2006 - 251st .421

2005 - 37th .465

2004 - 242 .420

One year in the last decade have we been ranked above 89th in Field Goal percentage. Three years (if you include this one) we are in the 200s. The one year we could shoot...2005...well, that year turned out pretty well.

I for one am tired of watching a team that can't shoot the ball, although I don't know what the solution is, as apparently our players spend hours in the gym working on their shot. I guess CRP is making an effort to improve on this by recruiting guys like Mike "the best shooter he has ever seen" Marra, and Wayne "shoulder injury" Blackshear (I kid with the nicknames, no need to blow a gasket). I have a better appreciation for Pitino's defensive system after reading Remote Cardinal's epic post, but seriously, I just want to see the ball go in the hoop for once.

Dear Samardo,

Please man-up on the basketball court. For some reason you continue to get more playing time than Terrence Jennings, so please start playing like you deserve it. These are some things I would like to see in the coming games:

1) You swatting shots into the 20th row of the crowd and then staring at the guy with a psychotic "What the hell were you thinking with that??" glare.

2) When youre in the paint with the ball in double coverage, jump real hard up in the air, knock one guy on his ass, grab the rim, make sure your crotch swings right into the other guys face and then give them an "IM SAMARDO SAMUALS MOTHER F-ER!!!" stare.

3) When the opposing team takes a shot, leap way up high over the other 5 people trying to get the ball, grab it, hit the ground and scream so loud that it scares kids watching at home and the guys on the other teams ask for a breather because they're "tired".

4) A generally dominating and frightening attitude even if your shots aren't falling. I don' t care if you've bricked 5 dunks you can still be scary. Sulking isn't scary though...trust me.

Far be it from me to question Coach's methods, but personally i would send you to some muay thai classes and have them beat on you until your harder than granite. Cardinals fans know you have the potential to be a beast, we just don't want to have to wait till your a senior to see it. I would like to see opposing teams peeing their pants when they have to play you, preferably sooner rather than later.

So start living up to your potential. Now. Thanks.

Sorry for rant, had to get that off my chest.

Anybody notice peyton siva on sc top ten yesterday? And he was on there (#2) after the bellarmine game for that backwards dunk. And i saw him on there last spring in high school. Thats 3 times on sportscenter top ten before his second game in college. I like this kid a lot...his swagger is off the charts!!

I think his game is going to be ridiculous before he's done here.

Go cards! Go cards! Go cards! Go cards!

"(Stein) didn't lose the game; he played his little tail off all day long"

He "played his little tail off"?! Wow Steve, you really know how to strike fear into the heart of an opponent. I didn't realize Will Stein was 6. Thanks for reducing our team to pee-wee league status. Did you take everyone to chuck-e-cheese after the game too?

Having a set of man balls should be a requirement for a college head coach.  This is ridiculous.

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2009911070351

Ok i know this isn't an AV forum, but lets juts say i have a system that makes it hard for to programming to look bad. 58" plasma, Denon receiver, polk audio, all HDMI connected etc. I just got my surround hooked up for football season and some of the games sat made it feel like i was in the stadium. Very nice.

Then UL comes on. I swear to god the picture is so bad its almost like you're watching the games cross-eyed. Blurry picture, washed out color, mono audio, its a freakin joke for an athletic program (athletic program, not football program) of UL's caliber!! Its not just football, they pull this crap during basketball season too!

Considering the amount of money flowing through UL athletics i find this infuriating. Do you guys know who is to blame for this? Is it the TV station, the university, what?? Who can i complain to? Surely this must aggravate other UL fans as much as myself.