Pittsburgh 82, Louisville 77 (OT)
by Mike Rutherford on Jan 18, 2010 4:17 PM EST
in Basketball
Email
PrintIt wasn't easy bringing myself to write this post, but you know what else wasn't easy? Picking myself up from the spot on my friends' living room floor where I collapsed when then final buzzer sounded Saturday afternoon. But I did. Like 45 minutes ago. And here I am. Setting an example for all the young Chronicloids by proving that it only takes lying motionless for 48 hours despite the constant pleas and urgings of "it's just a game" and "you're not even on the team" from loved ones for someone to recover from a crushing loss, get off the ground, let those gross red blotches fade from your face and again become a player in the game of life.
There have been a couple of times over the last few seasons when I've conceded defeat and then been stunned to see the Cards storm back and somehow emerge with a victory. The acceptance of loss made those wins all the more satisfying.
And then there was Saturday. The first time I can remember ever feeling completely confident that a W was in hand, only to watch in horror as Louisville snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Cue the two days of face on floor.
Rick Pitino is the master of shrugging off losses, especially when they're surprising or come on a particularly big stage, but Pitino looked like he'd just been punched in the face repeatedly as he walked off the floor Saturday afternoon. After the game he called it the toughest loss to take since the famed Laettner shot in '92, and while somehow I think that the overtime loss in the '97 national title game might have stung just a little bit more than this one, the statement showed that he felt the same sledgehammer to the stomach all of us did.
Up five with less than a minute to go and you have defensive lapses, your best free-throw shooter clanking the front end of a one-and-one, one senior co-captain inexplicably fouling with 1.9 seconds to go and the other bricking 4-of-5 from the stripe. All this in a game the Cards desperately needed.
It's easy to say that everybody has to move on, but this is one I have a feeling we might very well still be talking about on Selection Sunday morning.
All right, so we're squarely on the mythical mid-January bubble, almost certainly on the outside looking in. Let's play a quick good news, bad news.
GOOD NEWS: There isn't a team in the Big East that Louisville can't beat.
BAD NEWS: It certainly appears that this year's Big East is going to feature everyone beating up on one another, making the potential for a quality win over a top five (or so) team that could negate a couple of bad losses significantly lower than it was a year ago. This means that Louisville has absolutely got to hold serve against the other teams that figure to be jumbled in the middle of the standings (Notre Dame, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, etc.) and then also knock off a West Virginia or Syracuse at some point.
The non-conference hole that Louisville dug itself this year is even deeper than it's been in seasons past. Charlotte and Western Carolina at home look just a tad worse than UNLV on the road or Dayton in Cincinnati. This makes the previous two losses that much harder to stomach.
GOOD NEWS: Against the best in the league, Samardo Samuels has finally looked capable of living up to the hype.
BAD NEWS: Against the best in the league, Jerry Smith and Edgar Sosa have looked worse than they did three years ago.
GOOD NEWS: Preston Knowles is still on the team.
BAD NEWS: Almost Dunking Marques Maybin's phone has been disconnected.
I said this a couple of weeks ago - and prefaced it then, as I do now, with a full-acknowledgment that this is probably me significantly over-thinking things - but I wonder if the addition of Andre Mcgee to the staff isn't having a negative effect on Edgar Sosa.
Don't get me wrong, I'm completely aware of the fact that the two are friends, but Edgar admitted at the beginning of this season that it was hard for him to play loose knowing that Andre was on the bench ready to check in at any moment. This is a guy that Sosa competed with for three seasons over the thing that mattered more to him than just about anything (PT) and now here he is back on staff, primarily working with Sosa's highly-touted backup, who just so happens to be back at full strength for the first time since the beginning of the season.
I know most of you are thinking that this is a reach, which it probably is, but honestly, I think it would bother me, and Edgar certainly hasn't looked like the same player - whether it's his play, effort or overall demeanor - we had all grown to know and love during the first half of this season.
Even if Pitino thought the above theory was 100% true, nothing would change. Why? Because he thinks he can win a national championship here in two seasons.
Pitino recently admitted that he doesn't see himself coaching more than three or four more seasons. Whether that's actually the case or not, who knows, but it's the mindset he currently possesses. With his career (perhaps) winding to a close, it's natural that the man would want to cut down the nets on the grandest of stages one more time.
If we're being real (be real real, son), it would take absolutely everything going right for this team to do it, and the odds will be even more stacked against the '10-'11 Cards. But the year after, with an experienced and (thanks to the tutelage of one, Andre McGee) defensive-minded Peyton Siva running the show and the lethal inside combo of (barring injury, transfer or professional defection) Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings coupled with (potentially) the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, well, that's a group that could accomplish tremendous things.
Now with the recruiting game being the way it is (gross), there's no way to know for sure who's going to comprise that class of 2011, but if things do shake out the way Pitino intends, don't think he isn't already thinking about the potential.
No one will ever admit it, but in the grand scheme of things, the development of younger players might be the best thing that can come out of this season.
Samardo: you can't see me, but I'm clapping for you right now. You certainly earned it. You also certainly earned a pack of Starburst, but I'm not really sure how I could get that to you and it would probably freak you out anyway, so I guess just treat yourself, man.
Can't blame the loss on a talisman, since none actually appeared on the game thread. But I know what we can blame: MS. CC'S F---ING MAC BOOK.
It's gotta be something.
Jamie Dixon's a bad ass. Seriously.
No stat may better sum up this year's team than the fact that they hit 39-of-45 (87%) free-throws in the Villanova fiasco, and then followed that up by hitting just 10-of-17 and clanking 5-of-6 (including two front ends of one-and-ones) with the game on the line against Pitt.
Edgar Sosa's taking a lot of heat (again), but I don't think the stuff about him storming off the floor after the game is warranted since on the telecast it pretty clearly showed him shaking Pitt's players hands along with the rest of the team.
Almost shattering the backboard on a crunch-time free-throw attempt is a bit tougher to defend.
Preston....Preston.
I love Jerry Smith. I don't want Jerry Smith anywhere near the floor with him playing the way he is, but I still love him.
Honestly, what do you do with the lineup right now if you're Pitino?
Nobody knows what we're going to get from our threes and fours on any given night, but to expect it to be anything substantial at this point would be foolish. Preston Knowles has got to be on the floor for at least 25 minutes, but what if Jerry finally starts coming around? The three guard lineup hasn't exactly thrived when thrown out there. What if Siva keeps progressing and Sosa keeps regressing? At what point do you start worrying about Terrence Jennings potentially transferring?
I don't think there's any question that this team has the talent to make the tournament and win a game or two, but finding the right recipe to make that happen is becoming more and more difficult to decipher.
It would have been really cool to be 3-0 in a building where no one else appears capable of winning. God, this loss sucked.
The Reggie Delk fakeout of the crowd after he fouled out was pretty awesome. It would have been really awesome if we had won.
We're awful in late game situations with the outcome on the line. I mean think about all of the awful last-second shot attempts we've put up or given up in recent years. Georgetown, UConn, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Villanova (the 15 tip in chances), I mean even the ones that have gone in have been prayers.
Jared Swopshire taking a fadeaway three from (literally) out-of-bounds should have surprised no one. Swop leaving a three-point shooter wide open in the corner after a timeout was more frustrating.
Yikes, that's hard to look at. I still love you, Swop. You're playing hard and your voice is really cool.
It's all right, we'll get these guys in the Garden. Oh yeah. Shit.
We make the tournament.
37 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Wish I was confident we make the tournament.
But I’m not. We’re certainly not there now, and I can’t see anything now except the roof falling in. Jerry Smith, God love ‘im, is a liability. Pure and simple he’s not doing anything positive except waving a towel when he’s not on the floor. The foul was inexcusable; the missing shot inexplicable. Give Preston his minutes and give Siva more time when we go to three guards. Smith is a senior and it’s time to look to the future. Sosa you have to go with because he’s what we have, I guess.
And yeah, give the big guy his due. Samardo has worked his ass off two games in a row and more importantly, has shown he has the fortitude to look the other guys in the eye and say “here I come.” Good for him.
Ever notice how much grayer the winter is when the Cards aren’t playing well?
theoldman
I think many of us are starting to entertain the notion of putting all of our
NCAA Tournament eggs into the Big East Tournament basket. And that’s a pretty tough spot in which to be.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 18, 2010 4:39 PM EST reply actions
Sosa's psyche
We need guys that aren’t so fragile that they’re afraid to compete for PT. Step up and make plays.
It’s the same type of mentality for big-time recruits. I don’t want recruits that won’t go somewhere because they’re afraid of lack of PT. Or that will go to a school simply because he will have an easier road to PT.
I’m still pissed at the outcome of this game, kudos to you for being able to write about it
I still say we make the tournament because we should
and I can’t bring myself (yet) to entertain the idea if this group underachieving so drastically, but I do think this loss changes everything and admit that I have no clue what to expect from here on out.
by Mike Rutherford on Jan 18, 2010 4:42 PM EST reply actions
i agree with you that we'll make the tournament
after the Charlotte and Western Carolina games, I figured we’d go about 10-8 in conference, squeeze out a W in the BET, and get into the tournament as a 7/10 or 8/9. that said, I didn’t expect to to beat Nova or Pitt. The fact that we came so close makes it hard to swallow, but it wasn’t anything I didn’t already expect. If anything, from a looking forward perspective, I actually expect a bit more from the team now. Now that I know we can hang with anyone, I expect us to be able to pull out a few close ones.
In looking at the schedule, I think we have to hold serve in the following games: @SHU, UC, RU, @SJU, ND, @DePaul. That’s 6 wins, against teams we should beat (UC and ND should be our toughest games, and we have them both at home). The other 7 games, we need to take at least one, maybe two. I like our chances against GU at home. We’ve always played Marquette well. We hardly ever play well against UConn, but I don’t think they’re as strong this year as their ranking may suggest. At WVU and SU seem unlikely, but not unthinkable given how we played Pitt.
But I think if we reach 20 wins, we’re in. We’re sitting at 12 right now, and I imagine our SOS will be top 20 at worst, and our RPI should stay in the top 45 or so.
I’m just saying, I’m disappointed mostly because of how the games played out, not necessarily because of our current record. And the tournament isn’t that far out of reach. People might point to 05-06, but we weren’t even beating the teams in conference we were supposed to beat, so that’s a clear distinction.
March 1975
As much as Saturday’s loss hurt, this one hurt more.
I was a freshman at Illinois about to transfer to UofL. Kentucky coached by “he who shall not be named” had beaten an undefeated Indiana and Bobby Knight in the Regional Finals and dispatched Syracuse to make it to the NCAA Championship game. Denny Crum’s Cards with Jr Bridgeman, Allen Murphy, Wesley Cox & Phil Bond were on top of Wooden’s final UCLA team by 10 with 1 minute to play. The “Dream Game” is a certainty. We will get to whoop UK in the Nat’l Championship game! An agonizing and embarassing 60 seconds of game time later, the score is tied. As I remember watching the game in a dorm in Champaign, Ill, OT goes back and forth with the Cards in the lead in the final seconds, only to see the Bruins pull it out on a last second shot to win by 1. Wooden announces his retirement. UCLA goes on to pound UK. The Dream Game must wait 8 long years.
I hate to admit this here, but there's a point to be made.
I grew up a UK fan. It’s not my fault, though. It was the middle of nowhere Meade County and everybody was a UK fan. Even before my conversion, I always appreciateed U of L basketball under Coach Crum because of their scappiness. Scappiness, scapitude, the art of being scappy — I’m not saying this team doesn’t have it, but when they fall down it appears to be because of a lack of scappiness. They need to figure out how to maintain that hyper level of fiesty energy. It seems to get shut off too easily with this crew.
I'm not so sure
I haven’t seen much of either of the past two games (damn you west coast) but at least in the Kentucky game the guys fought. I don’t think it’s from lack of hustle. It might just be not knowing what to do in certain game situations.
by Chris Redman is my hero on Jan 19, 2010 6:57 PM EST up reply actions
UofL's Tourney Hopes
I am definitely nervous about this teams NCAA hopes. My biggest issue with this team is the lack of any kind of leader. Preston is awesome, but I still think the team looks up to the senior gaurds Sosa and Smith. I take issue with the opinion that Sosa is a leader, he is clearly to immature to be counted on if he is having a bad game. Smith has completely digressed and is almost a liability. When the games get close we have to have someone mature, calm, and confident and Edgar Sosa is not this person. One amazing shot against UK doesn’t make him overall clutch. It was awesome never the less. A 12 loss UofL team probably doesn’t make the NCAA tourney unless it loses in the finals of the Big East Tourney. I expect Losses against UConn twice, they play a style which is a bad matchup for us, at WVU, Syracuse Twice, and maybe Cinci.
Now I don’t like hypotheticals but if UofL doesn’t make the tourney would anyone really feel like Pitino has worn out his welcome other than me? This is only Hypothetical but he is paid as a top ten coach, we are a school which averages top five attendance with history, etc. Would a NIT apperance be ok considering this guy is supposed to be an elite coach and elite coaches don’t go to the NIT. Schools that go to the NIT are the ones with coaching changes, decent coaches and decent programs. You can’t open up a new arena coming off a NIT apperance and a non existent recruiting class can you?
by rednblackfan4life on Jan 18, 2010 5:27 PM EST reply actions
Your overreacting if your ready to drive the "Fire Pitino" bandwagon
This isn’t a “Krag” situation where our program was ceremoniously destroyed. If anything this would just be a down/rebuilding year. Every team has one. Most of our team is composed of freshmen and sophomores. The most anyone could have expected from this squad coming into the season after losing 2 lottery picks and a great defender is an tourney appearance. UK was in the NIT last year and now they are undefeated. Peaks and troughs, thats the nature of college sports.
Its not as if we are getting blown out night after night by teams. This team is simply missing some intangibles and making mental mistakes. Our early losses in November/December to nobodies are ones any Louisville fan should be used to by now with the team getting used to the system and each other. The last 3 losses were to UK, Villanova, and just now to Pitt, and they were all close. Trust me, we could do a hell of alot worse than losing to those teams.
I know how much this loss hurts (go look at the game thread and see how pissed I was), but the world isn’t falling apart. This team has a chance to still make the tournament and do great things. Even if they don’t, still give the seniors their dues/thanks and get ready for the next season against Duke in our brand new stadium and Coach Strong tearing it up during football season.
Over-reacting
I was trying to speak of hypotheticals. I am a lifelong UofL fan so please do not try to pin me as a fair weather fan. I had season tix last year, and the year before and the year before. Don’t have them this year because I can not afford and am no longer a student. Honestly the recruiting is what is most frustrating. The lack of a class next year is troubling. And if you think for one minute that all is set in stone for 2011 you are dreaming. The NBA rule is going to change and allow highschool kids to jump. Teague would probably jump. I am also disturbed by the lack of progress from Jerry and Siva. Jerry has been one of my all-time favorite Cards but I am confused and disapointed in his poor showings this year.
I understand UofL is coming off of a #1 overall seed from last year, but don’t tell me you were satisfied the way it ended. i was in Indy for both games as well. And I understand we lost two Lottery picks and another starter. Pitt lost just as much, as did Syracuse. Why are we the ones struggling so bad? As I stated above, there is absolutely no clear leader on this team. I am hopeful Preston can become that, but Sosa as a leader is a bad idea and bad for the team. We will continue to struggle until we can find that leader. UofL was great at closing games out last year becasue of leadership from T-Will and McGee. Sosa and Smith have shown that they cannot lead like that. It is time for Preston to take this team over and make it his own. He is aggressive and talented, and a better decision maker than Sosa or Smith. I will also say that Siva needs more playing time. He doesn’t need to start over Sosa, but he is a pass first PG and has alot of potential, even this year. Please play him more coach P, please. I hope that UofL is fine and makes the NCAA tourney. if that doesn’t happen though don’t get on me when I ask my Pitino question again. It is a reasonable question. How many other top ten coaches have had 3 NIT apperances in 10 years?
by rednblackfan4life on Jan 19, 2010 12:39 PM EST up reply actions
Rick has only had 2 NIT appearances since he's coached Louisville.
Which means we have made the NCAA tournament 8 times in 10 years, which is damn good for a head coach. Hell, even those NIT appearances were in places where they are expected, his first year and after the Final Four season. We just came off of 2 back to back seasons in the Elite Eight, and the teams that beat us are were North Carolina and Michigan State. Unless we nose dive into obscurity, Louisville will never fire him and he will retire on his own terms. Even if we were stupid enough to fire him, who the hell would we get to replace him? You won’t drag any of the elite coaches from the elite schools and Rick would immediately (and I mean IMMEDIATELY) be a head coach at another school (remember the Arizona talk last year??)
The lack of a team leader is on the players, not the coach. Rick looks for this seniors/juniors to be the leaders on the team. Sometimes it works (T-Will, Padgget) and sometimes it doesn’t, some people just can’t be leaders and have to do their own thing.
Coaches say that it is important that their players have short-term memory in order to get ready for the next opponent, but that doesn’t mean that fans should have it also. It’s 1 season, and it isn’t even over yet.
To speak in hypotheticals and doomsday scenarios for a recruiting class 2 years away is pointless and to demand the head of the coach that has given us continued success over the years is arrogant.
If you don’t want to be thought as a fair-weather fan, then stop acting like one.
This is only his ninth year here
We’ve danced six times in eight seasons.
by Mike Rutherford on Jan 19, 2010 10:32 PM EST up reply actions
Pitino? You think he's "worn out his welcome"??
Get a grip. This guy is an elite coach. The Cards won both the Big East regular and tournament championships last year – an amazing accomplishment. Yeah, sure, they had two lottery picks – but when T-Will showed up he was a two star, and as we should all remember that Earl Clark suffered from some serious mental lapses (inbound pass to Patrick Patterson, anyone?). They did great anyway, and Pitino gets (or should get) a lot of credit for that.
As for this year, they’re taking a while to find their way after losing three players who got the lion’s share of playing time and game responsibility, but losing to UK, Villanova, and Pitt is no disgrace. The Cards played every one of them tough, and the gameplans were just fine. This team is fun to watch but, unfortunately, it looks as though you can’t always count on Smith and Sosa in the clutch. (Oh, Jerry, how could you?) That’s hardly Pitino’s fault.
Quick Thoughts
Eric Crawford is full of shit, as I also saw Sosa shaking hands with Pitt after the loss.
I do not trust this team with any lead less than 12 points going into the final 2 minutes of a game. We have shown we know how to lose close games, not win them.
Lunardi’s just released Bracketology has us as a 9 seed. We are also not on the last 4 in list. Granted, his bracket means nothing right now, but it’s still nice to see.
My first actual job since August started today. The very first thing I did when I got home was not check my mail, grab a beer or change into more comfortable clothing. The first I did when I got home was check Card Chronicle. Thank you Mike. I was collapsed on my couch for 6 hours after the game, I feel your pain.
made me want to puke
recruiting is uneven and that is what bothers me
hard to fault a Final 4 and 2 Elite 8’s off a program once growing varicose veins…
BUT
we aspire to more… yes, Pitino craves 1 more Nat’l champ, and that almost insane drive that all geniuses possess—I predict will produce another shot or two at the Ring…
ABC's
always be closing… the salesman’s epithet, applies in all facets to this season.
another bad call… a timeout by coach P to let the opp set up a play.
a bricked charity… sosa’s misses stinging more than his one vs textech.
awfully badass conference… big east isn’t going to get any easier. 2 blown is no good.
somebody step up. there are too many upper-classmen for us to ‘always be choking’.
lets not start talking ‘bringing up the kids’ this early.
i think there’s fight left in this team yet.
close out the month with 3 big wins.
ALWAYS be closing.
$970,000
“What’s your name?”
“F You, that’s my name.”
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 18, 2010 9:35 PM EST up reply actions
Nice post, Mike.
I’m glad you were able to recover sufficiently to write it!
Now if someone could just stop Eric Crawford from writing another word about the Cards I’d be happy. He’s written two snotty pieces about Edgar Sosa in a row. I suspect he’s trying to convince the Commonwealth that Sosa, and not Cousins, is the Great State Thug.
Weelky Watch on ESPN says this about the Big East
Big East: Ultimately, the race will be between Pitt, Villanova, Syracuse, Georgetown and West Virginia, and that’s good for the league. All have star power. Louisville still might find a way into this group, but the Cardinals had a rough week, blowing leads to Villanova at home and at Pitt.
Andre - Edgar theory
I just do not buy this. Edgar is a senior guard with incredible talent who makes inexplicably bad decisions from time to time, though he has improved that over the years. When games are tight, you go to your talent and senior leadership, and the fact is that Jerry and Edgar are not consistently providing this regardless of who the graduate assistants are.
This is an underperforming team that does not possess the instincts to ‘put teams away’ in the clutch.
And by the way, Jared is open because teams are leaving him open.
I can live with the missed free throws
Its our basketball IQ that killed us here. When Sosa broke half court, 1 on 1, with about 10 seconds left, he needed to pull it out. We had the lead. Peel back, look for cutters and move the ball for 10 seconds and we are out of there with a W.
You can see Sosa knew this, he slowed down a he approached the basket but, it seems, he couldn’t help himself and kept going, making it easier for Pit to foul us.
We’ll make the Big Dance. Siva needs to get more playing time, but that means he has to quit fouling. TJ needs to get more playing time. We seem to get more runs with Siva and TJ in there together. There isn’t a team in the Big east we can’t beat. But we gotta get smarter, Siva smarter.
I didn't feel like reading the other comments
But on Samardo
GOOD NEWS: Against the best in the league, Samardo Samuels has finally looked capable of living up to the hype.
Syracuse and Greg Monroe are the best bigs in the league, not anyone on Nova or Pitt
Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings coupled with (potentially) the No. 1 recruiting class in the country
Samardo won’t be here in two years, whether we think he should be or not
that being said, he has played great two games in a row
I wouldn't be so sure about Samardo.
This isn’t your typical prep-school NBA dreaming snotty brat (cough Jeremy Tyler). His mom was very concerned with him getting an education, and the kid played his first basketball game as a high school student in loafers. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he’s not even that interested in basketball, as about half the time he looks that way. I think back to that one girl that was the number one player in the country and was supposed to go play for UConn but then suddenly quit and went to another school instead to play Volleyball because it turns out that, despite being very good, she didn’t even like basketball.
by CARD_G6 on Jan 18, 2010 10:59 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Sam could also pull a Patterson and graduate in 3 years
He may not like hoops, but he could be a multi-millionaire next year. If he improves next year, I don’t think he’s sticking around for year 4.
I know these losses suck.
I feel it. But the fact of the matter is that we are not the top team in the conference this season. These are the types of games that we would pull out last year when we won because we had the talent and the leadership. The stuff we’re goin through now is the stuff that teams like Villanova, West Virginia, Pitt, and Syracuse went through last year against us. We dodged last minute tip-ins (Nova), came back in the final minutes (WVa), and overcame 8+ point halftime margins (Syracuse, Pitt, and Nova) to pull out the win because we had the x-factor that those teams just didn’t have in those games. Guess what? All those teams made the tournament, all made the elite eight, and Nova made the Final Four. The season isn’t over.
That’s not to say that things can’t (or shouldn’t) get better; on the contrary, we really need to pull some of these games out. But the good news is that there’s plenty of time and opportunity left. We get shots at WVa, Georgetown, and Syracuse twice, all of which would go a long way to making people forget these losses. And I still believe (even more so than before) that we have a good shot. It’s much easier to find that x-factor to close out a game than it is to magically get better to stop getting blown out by the top teams.
Now I’m not saying that the season is going to turn out as well as the 09 Nova Wildcats, all I’m saying is that there’s a lot of basketball to be played and anything is possible. We just have to get used to not necessarily being that elite x-factor team this year. It can’t happen every year, and I’d say our showings against two top-five (and a potential top-ten at least) teams have been quite good considering all the talent and, more importantly, experience
that we lost last year (including McGee).
And hey, if it makes you feel better, UConn is in almost the exact same position we are; they’re 11-6 with losses to Michigan and Cincy, and they haven’t beat a single ranked team that they’ve played. Granted, their losses aren’t as bad as ours, but they’re still freaking ranked.
by CARD_G6 on Jan 18, 2010 10:53 PM EST via mobile reply actions
There isn't a team in the country that Louisville can't beat.
Not just the Big East.
The last 5 games of the conference and obviously MSG will be EVERYTHING this season, not the CaroLinas. If they make the tourney these guys can advance to 16 where I think our coach does pretty well. Just sayin.
samardo had a great game....
with the exception of rebounding.he only had 6 rebounds for the whole game.After 3 sraight great rebounding games by our whole team we were outrebounded by 14.And our press was totally ineffective.With all that said we are 3-2 in the big east, our only losses to the 2 top ranked teams. we still have numerous opportunities to get a few signature wins. We have proved that we can play with ky at ky,pitt at pitt,and nova at home.We just have to close a few of these games out, i think we will.PLEASE GOD HELP JERRY FIND HIS STROKE!!!!
CARDS RULE!!BRONCOS RULE!!GO LAKERS!!!
Good Write up as always mike
I think what keeps CC at the upper crust of the UL internet content is the fact that you maintain it during the bad times too. Anyone can follow and cheer the team in the good times, it takes moxie to pull yourself off the floor and write about all the stuff that sucks too.
The only bright spot to me on this team is Smardo. I think the younger guys will continue to develop and down the road we’ll be putting quality teams out there. In the mean time i can do nothing but scratch my head over Jerry. I can’t think of a more dissapointing sr. we’ve had come through here in a long time.
If you can write about Kragthorpe
You can write about any basketball loss.
by Mike Rutherford on Jan 19, 2010 11:38 AM EST up reply actions
We should have expected this disappointment
Damn few teams go from #1 NCAA seed and dropping two lottery picks to a good team the following year. The UK/Nova/Pitt losses made me proud of our boys. They fought hard and with heart.
Nor should we have expected much from Samuels. I consider us very lucky he strung together a few good games, and luckier still if he has any more in him. Me, I think he’s done – and I hope it leads to TJen’s ermergence as the man down under.
While next year’s class is unremarkable, what next year does bring is the riddance of some negatives: Edgar-pouting and [inexplicable] Smith-voids. A change from Jerry and Edgar to Siva & Knowles will significantly and positively impact the team’s synergy and dynamics next year. Swop and Kouric have done well for their age so far and be better able to gel with the different team. IMHO, TJen is the key to next year’s success.
Thanks Mike
First of all, I’d like to state that I think we will make the tourney, even though it seems unlikely. Secondly, I know I"m in the minority here, but is it out of the question for us to put together a really long string of victories and upsets and end up with like a 3 seed? I see the potential in flashes, and granted, it will require Jerry and Sosa hitting another gear, but isn’t it at least in the realm of possibility? BTW someone is welcome to show this to me when we’re in the Semi-Finals for the NIT 10 weeks from now.
by Chris Redman is my hero on Jan 19, 2010 7:02 PM EST reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
