A Tale of 2 Cities

They were the best of times, they were the worst of times.  Some giving thanks at the end of the 2009 regular season, some not.

In Louisville Friday, U of L Football wraps things up hosting Rutgers.  The likely end of Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe after 3 non-winning seasons in as many trys.  Kragthorpe has 2 years left on his contract, so needs an extention to stay or be seen as a lame duck.  But keeping him in 2010 means trying to fill a newly expanded Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium when the Cards can’t fill the 42 thousand seats they have now.  Football’s economic engine is a must to an athletic department that is self-sustaining.  Kragthorpe has an excellent recruiting class coming in and might be closer to turning the corner than his critics want to admit, but those who remember he inherited an Orange Bowl Champion, and its subsequent demise,  can’t handle his stay any longer.   The proverbial icing on the cake will be a loss to Rutgers.

It doesn’t help that  arch rival UK’s doing so well.  Kentucky finishes with traditional nemesis Tennessee Saturday.  1 win from its first-ever second place finish in the SEC East.  1 win from going to an excellent bowl. 2 wins from the first 4 bowl game winning streak in the program’s history. Just 1 problem, none of these current Cats were alive the last time UK beat UT.  1984.  24 straight losses, the longest active streak of 1 school losing to the same school in major college football.   Lots of demons, and history, to exorcise in a season where UK’s already accomplished some.  Witness road night wins at Auburn and Georgia.  Here’s saying all bad things must come to an end.  The Cats beat the Vols by a nose.

A story with a happy ending for 2 cities?  Probably.  A win for Lexington and a new Head Coach for Louisville.

What Has UK Basketball Learned?

Was it a good thing that UK won the Cancun Challenge Championship?  I mean really, in the big picture, does Kentucky learn more beating Stanford than if had been upset? 

The Wildcats return home and come to Louisville Monday Night to host North Carolina-Ashville.  They remain ranked in the top 5 and have a 6-0 record in spite of playing poorly on defense SO much of the time, it’s frightening.  A loss to the Cardinal might’ve been a real wakeup call to the freshmen,  most of whom REALLY need it (except John Wall).  Tops on that list is Demarcus Cousins, who can absolutely go brain dead at times and plays because of his seemingly limitless talent and potential.  But he played like a freshman Wednesday night and almost cost Kentucky the game. 

Interesting Ramon Harris came to the rescue.  Yes, Ramon Harris.  Who would’ve thought?  7 key points and 7 more rebounds.  Yes, Eric Bledsoe hit the game winner in overtime, but it was Harris who was the difference maker, with steady and reliable play at key moments late in the game when the game hung in the balance.

So what has UK learned.  And what have we learned about it?  Kentucky WILL lose games this winter.  As the competition goes up, The Cats had better figure out a way to grow up in a hurry or there will be nights when they will be flat embarrassed.  North Carolina comes to mind.  The Tar Heels come to visit a week from Saturday.  And that growing up starts with realizing there is still much to learn if you are going to survive and stay all the way down the road to Indianapolis’ Final 4.

Complex Cats

Defense.

Yes, Fifth Ranked UK Men’s Basketball  is in Wednesday’s Championship Game in the Cancun Challenge.  Yes Kentucky’s got a 5-0 record.  Yes,  The Wildcats ARE enormously talented.  Maybe too talented for their own good right now.  Because they are not embracing what their head coach is saying.

John Calipari hasn’t been a very happy guy in ANY of  UK’s 5 games so far this winter.  The competition has NOT exactly been a murderer’s row, but there are moments when Kentucky MAKES its competition  look  that good. For every flashy basket there is a turnover.  For every athletic move there is a defensive lapse.  There is a LONG, LONG way to go for the Cats to go from Cancun to Indianapolis’ Final 4 in just over 4 months.

4 months to embrace defense.  4 months to embrace rebounding.  4 months to learn not to throw passes off backboards.  4 months to live up to their advertising as a potential National Championship contender in spite of no quality experience after Starting Center Patrick Patterson.

4 months.  These are complex cats.  But their answers are simple.

 

So Far, So Good for Cards

What have we learned about  #16 U of L Men’s Basketball (4-0) after the first 4 games of its new season? 

Senior Starting Point Guard Edgar Sosa is determined to put his head-case mistakes behind him and be a mature leader who actually thinks about passing as well as shooting.

Sophomore Starting Center Samardo Samuels is the rock.  The guy the Cards can count on when they really, really need some points and rebounds in key situations.  Samuels is looking more and more like a guy who wants to prove he can leave a year early for the NBA.

Sophomore Starting Power Forward Jared Swopshire is determined to prove he can be a capable replacement for Earl Clark, who left for the NBA.Freshman Point Guard Peyson Siva is the PERFECT guy to be the spark plug 6th man lost when Preston Knowles became a starter.  He’s fun, unselfish, high energy, and really, really good and athletic.

But the biggest thing we’ve learned is, this is a TEAM.  No cliques.  These Cards do everything together.  They are 12 deep.  And determined to live up to their Sweet 16 advertising.

Defense is the Word

Yes,  John Wall seems like he has extra-terrestrial talent.  Same for many of the rest of the top ranked freshmen class.  Just one problem, Wall and his buddies only like to play OFFENSE full-time, not DEFENSE.  Yes, I saw that great steal and dunk by Wall in the first half of Thursday’s win hosting Sam Houston State.  BUT,  I also saw the Rupp Arena record EIGHTEEN three pointers that team made.  ELEVEN by Corey Allmond.

This is Sam Houston State, NOT North Carolina, which by the way, visits Rupp Arena, with live game coverage on WLKY, in just TWO WEEKS FROM THIS SATURDAY.  The Tar Heels must be licking their chops after watching the Sam Houston game film.  If Kentucky keeps playing defense like this, The Heels won’t break new records at Rupp, they’ll break  THE SCOREBOARD.

Job 1 for Head Coach John Calipari.  Get The Cats attention, IN A HURRY.  The bench can’t be a big enough place to send the message loud and clear, PLAY DEFENSE OR YOU DON”T PLAY. 

For Kentucky to live up to its hype by the Final Four in Indianapolis in April, it must remember the old cliche’, “defense wins championships.”

Random Thoughts From St. Louis

When I saw the U of L Men’s Basketball pre-season line-up include Reggie Delk and Jared Swopshire, I had serious concerns about the program after losing Terrence Williams, Earl Clark and Andre McGee.  Then Louisville opened the new season against an under-manned Arkansas team.  And who came up big?  Delk and Swopshire. 

Louisville hosts 3 games in 3 days starting Saturday against East Tennessee State.  The Cards face no really serious competition until visiting 4th ranked Kentucky right after the new year, plenty of time for this team to add some defense to an offense that already looks good.  I’ll say this, Head Coach Rick Pitino’s been honest.  He’s said for weeks this team knows how to shoot.  Just ask the Razorbacks, who endured a typhoon of 3-pointers from the Cardinals.  But as the old saying goes, defense wins championships.  To survive in the Big East, the defending champs better learn in a hurry.  January is but a breath away.

 

Cards Open Tuesday

It’s Show-time!

Tuesday night at 7:30 pm in St. Louis, U of L Men’s Basketball starts its new season against Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase.  Lots and lots and lots of questions for Louisville to answer, and the answers will determine whether or not The Cardinals have any shot at achieving their longshot hopes at repeating as Big East Champions.

Among the questions, can Edgar Sosa FINALLY be successful as the starting point guard.  The answer, yes.  After all, he’s had 3 ill-fated trys at it.  You’d like to believe as a senior, the fourth time is the charm. 

Can Preston Knowles be successful as a starter in a 3 guard offense after coming off the bench last season?  The answer, yes.  The bigger question is, who will fill Preston’s spot as a vital spark plug 6th man off the bench.  My bet is freshman guard Peyton Siva.

What’s happened to Terrence Jennings?  Many thought The Cards would have Twin Towers starting, Jennings and Center Samardo Samuels.  But Jennings is in Head Coach Rick Pitino’s Dog House for spending more time last summer on his 3-point shot than his rebounding and low post game.  Big mistake.  Huge.  It will take him a while to get up to speed again.

The guy who you hope surprises you?  Jared Swopshire.  For Louisville to go anywhere this Spring he must step up BIG -TIME,  from little used reserve behind Earl Clark to starter almost overnight.  Does he have the talent?  Yes.  But we’re still waiting to see him apply it in games.

How will Pitino handle the off-the-court issues.  I’ve known him for 30 years.  I think he’s fine.  It won’t always be a lot of laughs with road games at places like Providence,  opposing fans are likely to poke fun, but Pitino seems determined to not let anyone but him define him.  And he is fueled to go out on a high note.

How will The Cards do this winter?  I expect a fun team to watch.  Good offensively now,  good defensively later. This bunch will need some significant luck, but the talent is there.  Get ready for a very fun ride.

Let the Games Begin!

Friday night at 6:30 pm, after 7 months of non-stop hype, we FINALLY see UK Men’s Basketball begin its try at living up to the hype surrounding a new head coach and a top ranked recruiting class.  Can this team really go from NIT also-ran to NCAA Final 4 in 1 year?  I say, YES.  I’ve rarely seen so many talented athletes on one team at ANY level.  Kentucky WILL struggle at times, but as First Year Head Coach John Calipari says, I’d rather have talent than experience any day.  John Wall’s talent is, as advertised, “extra-terrestrial.”  The freshman point guard will miss the opener hosting Morehead State Friday finishing his eligibility settlement, but as we saw in the Cats 2 pre-season exhibitions, they are a different team with Wall, and without him.  With him they hum like a Honda S-2000.  Without him, they are still very good.  But with him, they motor to Indianapolis next April.  Especially with a motivated returning Junior Center in Patrick Patterson skipping the easy decision pro money and returning for a try at one thing, a national  championship.  He’ll graduate in 3 years next spring, so it’s now or never.

IU Men’s Basketball also opens Friday, hosting Howard.  The second year rebuilding project of Head Coach Tom Crean still has a LONG way to go, but it’ll be exponentially better this winter than last winter’s modern-day record low 6 wins.

U of L Men’s Basketball opens Tuesday in St. Louis against an Arkansas team ravaged by suspensions.  Head Coach Rick Pitino is threatening to start 3 guards, including 6th-man Preston Knowles.  The Cards are hurting at forward trying to replace the loss of 3 starters and 2 NBA lottery picks.  More on that early next week.

Enjoy the games!

Cats Keep Winning, Haven’t Played Yet!

Wednesday was the latest example of how the karma surrounding UK Men’s Basketball  has dramatically changed since April.  ESPN on its web site is already predicting seeds for the NCAA Tournament next Spring, and Kentucky is picked as a 1 seed!!  And on the same day, Kentucky officially got a new player in Stacey Poole, a Florida prep forward ranked among the top 50 seniors in the country.

All this, and Kentucky doesn’t even play its first game under First Year Head Coach John Calipari until Friday’s season opener hosting Morehead State.  I’m running a 2 part special report on WLKY Thursday at 5 and 11 on Calipari and his relationship with NBA superstar Lebron James, probably 1 of the top 2 or 3 best known athletes on the planet.  I talked with James in Ohio last month, he’s a huge Coach Cal fan.  Imagine the spinoffs of having King James endorsing you.  Every major recruit in the country will listen to that sales pitch and the magic Calipari’s already producing in Lexington.

Carded Optimism

U of L Men’s Basketball is expected to open the new season next Tuesday with 3 guards in its starting lineup.  Head Coach Rick Pitino told me at his radio show this week that backcourt regular starters Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith will be joined in the lineup by Preston Knowles.  Knowles has been a priceless 6th man off the bench, his enthusiasm and hard knocking defense have carried the day on many occasions.  But now Pitino feels those attributes are more important at the beginning of the games the Cards play.  He’s concerned early in the season about this team getting well out of the starting gate.  No better way for a quick start than to put Preston there from the start.

This is a work in progress for the Cards, replacing 3 starters and 2 NBA lottery picks off a team that won 2 Big East Championships.  And frankly Louisville’s thin at the forward position because of the losses.  Jared Swopshire will be the starting big forward and he will have to grow very big shoes in a hurry to fill the ones left by Earl Clark.  And so far nobody has really been able to fill the small forward job the way Terrence Williams did.  Nobody probably will for some time.  The twin towers lineup of putting big-men Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings on the floor at the same time will happen, but not at the start of games.

So the Cards have a lot to work on and we have a lot to look forward to as the season begins against a normally challenging Arkansas team now not so challenging after being ravaged by suspensions.  Pitino’s teams traditionally play their best basketball at the end of the season, and this team figures to be the same way.