Lost in the unspeakable humiliation of this past weekend was the scary news that freshman center Clarence Holloway had to undergo immediate open-heart surgery to repair the wall of his aorta and his aortic valve on Saturday.

Doctors discovered a tear in the 7-foot-1 Holloway's aorta during a routine physical exam on Friday. If the problem had not been discovered, there is a strong possibility he could have suffered a deadly aortic aneurysm.

On his website (which features a must-read team update), Rick Pitino said there is no doubt that Holloway "is alive because of Fred Hina and the outstanding medical staff at Jewish Hospital."

Doctors say Holloway will make a full recovery, but will definitely not be able to play basketball this season, and his availability after this season is unknown. He is currently enrolled at U of L, but had not been working out with the team while awaiting the NCAA Clearinghouse's initial eligibility approval.

This is very sad news for Clay, who it seemed had finally gotten himself to the place he'd wanted to be for the last few years. Best wishes go out to him for a full and speedy recovery.