Swop steps into the spotlight
by Mike Rutherford on Oct 22, 2009 12:45 PM EDT
in Basketball
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Lots of talk about Jared Swopshire a day after Rick Pitino seemed to hint that the sophomore could begin the season as the starter at the four.
Swop was the focus of a recent C.L. Brown piece which focused on the vast amount of time he spent improving his size and game this summer. While I haven't heard anything about his game, I can definitely say that he appears larger in person than he did a year ago.
And of course let's not forget how Swop ended last season (1:25 mark)...
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ahh the memories
that was a nice trip down memory lane. When we were the #1 overall seed and beating a team in the Sweet 16 by 40. i miss that feeling. I’m nervous about this team if Swopshire is starting, he doesn’t seem like a D1 starter. Am I overreacting?
by Cambroni Cardinals on Oct 22, 2009 12:58 PM EDT reply actions
No
i remember the ostrich last year as well, but all i hear lately is how much he hustles and works hard to get better. I’m nervous as well about him starting after last years play, but if Pitino thought he had someone better to put in his place im sure he would.
by Final4Galore on Oct 22, 2009 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions
i hope that this is false
i’ll leave it at that.
he's one of those practice beasts
that hasn’t shown much in games besides what we witnessed in the video above, which, incidentally, is the most unlikely UofL alley-oop combo since Beau Zach Smith hit BJ Flynn for a lay-up oop against DePaul in 1995.
Coaches reward players who do well in practice so its easy to see where this hype is coming from. Swop will get better or he’ll be back on the bench…I’ll put faith in the former.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Oct 22, 2009 1:31 PM EDT reply actions
I'm going to see your BZ to BJ
and raise you a Brad Gianiny to Juan Palacios.
Gianiny throwing an oop to anyone would be awkward, yes
but Palacios was a starter with Final Four experience and was once a considered to have NBA talent…Beau Zach to BJ is more unlikely IMO.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Oct 22, 2009 2:11 PM EDT up reply actions
But Palacios was missing both knees and an ankle
by Mike Rutherford on Oct 22, 2009 2:16 PM EDT up reply actions
And it was a legit (if ugly) 2 on 1 fastbreak.
This was no cherry picker or half court set.
Palacios minus knees and ankle
still better than Beau Zach, right?
by UL is my hot hot sex on Oct 22, 2009 5:48 PM EDT up reply actions
played hoops with beau zach the other night
i’m not going to lie, the first time i took the ball to the bucket, i was absolutely terrified
odd question
but what type of facial hair was he sporting? Because, you know…a buddy of mine um…wanted to know.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Oct 22, 2009 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions
He will be good
This guy will mature and be a great player by the time it is all said and done. You can all tell me “you were right” later. GO CARDS!
i think you're right
he will be the andre mcgee of that class – i couldn’t stand him his freshman year, but certainly came to love him.
Don't know whether Swop will be the real deal or not,
but isn’t it great to be talking about basketball again? Isn’t it great to be anticipating a season; two or three games a week; tournaments during the holidays; watching young players mature. If Swop is better, fine. But I’m thinking that the key to the team may well be Sosa’s development at the point. If he has matured and raised his game the way it’s been reported, all kinds of good things could happen.
Damn, I love this sport.
theoldman
I hear ya theoldman
Can’t hardly wait even knowing this season could be a quite a bit more trying than last. But it’s college basketball, we are from Kentucky, and this is what we live for (at least in sports).
Mike, any chance we can get a countdown on the website to the game against Arkansas? That will give us a visual positive reinforcer as we trudge through the last half of the football season.
How about a countdown the the end of the game with Rutgers in football? Or you could call it “Countdown the Krags End”.
by kentuckybred on Oct 22, 2009 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Grain of salt..
Pitino always does these types of things in preseason. This is a motivational ploy, nothing less. He’s perfectly willing to start Swop at the beginning of the season to show the freshmen that hard work and effort in practice are what get you minutes, but as the season goes on, and Swop isn’t producing, he’ll get hooked in favor of T-Jenn or Goode or Buckles.
Stick me in the "no big deal" group
Swop didn’t get a lot of time to grow last year backing up Earl, but i thought he was as good on the floor as delk was during their limited stretches.
Hopefully he can blossom now that he’s not in anyones shadow. That being said, I still expect to see TJ and Smardo playing together at the end of tight games.
Ultimatly it will be our guard play, not our big men, that define this season.
Ender's Game
Rick has said many times that if you want to see who he feels are his best players, look at the guys who are on the court at the end of tight games. dlpfis79, I agree that we’ll see situations where TJ and Samardo together will make a lot of sense in end of game situations b/c they give us the best chance to win. And I agree that Swop earns playing time with his practice habits and attitude but that without results, this will become a non-issue.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Oct 22, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions
think of all the talent in the 3/4 spots in the Big East. Could you imagine the Swop from last year trying to guard and score on those guys 20-30 minutes a game. Not likely.
by Cambroni Cardinals on Oct 22, 2009 3:15 PM EDT reply actions
i just don't understand why you don't start your best 5 players
which, in my mind, are edgar, jerry, jennings, samuels, and who the hell knows at the 3.
probably wont work good in the press
supposedly this team is going to be even faster paced than last years. Something uncomfortable with relying on TJ and Sammy to pick off passes.
by twistedwedge on Oct 23, 2009 2:41 PM EDT up reply actions
just curious mike...
hey mike quick question. why is it whenever any negative news about louisville comes out ksr rips us to shreds. but whenever negative uk news comes out (i.e. calapari vacated final four or the new news about walls eligibility) you stay silent? are you being the bigger man or what? i love how were the idiot fans but they still cant keep louisvilles name out of their mouth. they are so bitter towards louisville i wonder why??? oh and lastly i love the constant downplay of their problems and the usual its no big deal attitude
by Cambroni Cardinals on Oct 22, 2009 7:05 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
not speaking for mike
but I think pitino has provided ksr with a little easier subject matter than anything UK’s athletic dept has done in the last year. Also, it’s hard to rip your rival when your own program doesn’t have much room to talk so I would think the “bigger man” approach is quite appropriate. If KSR feels the need to drum up readership by bashing UL, then more power to them.
However, Mike did include links and a small diatribe here at Card Chronicle when news of Calipari vacating his Final Four trip (the most recent one) came out…and if the Wall eligibility issue becomes more than a “possible issue” and turns into a serious situation, I’m sure there’ll be a discussion.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Oct 22, 2009 9:04 PM EDT up reply actions
valid points
we have been feeding the fire more than them lately with our problems. but maybe i am still right. i mean with all the flifthy cards, loserville, and forde/pitino talk plus louisville hate day and the pictures stereotyping our fans as flat billed hat wanna be rappers. it gets annoying. why do i read it? because its a good source for recruiting news and soetimes its funny but its like someone making fun of your mother everyday. its cool at first but it eventually gets you mad
by Cambroni Cardinals on Oct 22, 2009 10:03 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
they do provide good content and refreshingly decent writing
and you forgot line beards.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Oct 23, 2009 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions
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