Looking Forward

I really thought this season would deliver some more thrills, and of course with the two Cuse games it did, but overall the year was disappointing and at times excruciating to watch. When you see the kind of team we had and the things they were capable of doing — only to watch them go out and get taken to the woodshed by teams like Western Carolina, Charlotte, Seton Hall, St John’s, Cincinnati, California, etc (damn, there were alot of those) — it just kills your faith in the heart of this squad.

I’d like to say next year’s team looks like it shows more promise. With the subtraction of headcase Sosa and Jerry ‘the ghost’, we should be stronger. But, it terms of team chemistry, desire, and heart — who friggin knows. If 22,000 screaming fans inside a brand spankin’ new, state of the art arena ain’t enough to get you fired up, nothing will.

That has probably been the most frustrating thing over the last few years, forcing players into positions they aren’t supposed to be in. I know JDP was 6’8’’, but the guy simply was not an inside player. Earl ended up doing well at the 4, but it took awhile.

That was the frustrating thing about our zone – last year T-WIll could rebound from the 3 because he was a freak physically. This year, how many times did you see Kuric or Delk getting manhandled by the other team’s big guys on rebounds?

Now, the zone is designed more to prevent 3s and Delk and Kuric were better at guarding the wing, which is why the SS and TJ experiment didn’t really work.

But I would love a Siva-Kuric-Swop-Rock-SS lineup. I think you could rebound out of the zone and both Swop/Rock could guard the wings on the 3. Also, Swop and Rock are both long enough to pass over guys to feed SS down low.

The biggest problem with that line-up is that only Kuric/Siva are good 3 point shooters – Swop has hit some big ones, true, but I don’t think Rick would use that line-up unless Buckles develops into a real three point weapon in the offseason.

But of course, all of this is moot because the off season is always more of a roller coaster than that the real season, and with rumors already about Pitino leaving, and uncertainty about who is coming back or whether Coleman will qualify, this off season should be no different.

I’m not sure I buy into the once-a-bench-bench-player-never-a-go-to-guy theory. I think it holds water to a degree, not everyone is destined for the NBA, but a team doesn’t need to be completely stocked with NBA grade athletes, someone has to come off the bench. Inour case it probably is Kuric and Marra, but both of those guys showed how good they can be when they get solid minutes. And I absolutely agree that they will be better when they are playing at the 2 spot. Don’t forget that Pitino thinks Marra is the best three point shooter he’s ever coached, including Donovan. So certainly there is great potential there, though I can’t predict whether or not he’ll live up to it.
I also think Swop developed tremendously over the year and will be fantastic at the 3.
Also agree that Buckles will be key next year.
I’m happy with the squad. While I agree that they didn’t live up to my expectations all the time this season, they still made the dance and gave us a solid season. I’m hoping Pitino isn’t planning on bouncing, and I doubt Sam has showed enough to go pro, and I can’t see him going elsewhere to play, he’s still our marquee guy. Siva is going to be a badass next year. I’m excited.

playing swop at the 4 IS his best fit at 6’9" 210+lbs. he need to get stronger so he can stop pulling down rebounds to only get the ball snatched from him. he can be a pat patterson type (maybe not by november), and we could find ourselves a real match-up nightmare if he keeps working on his 3s and footspeed too. i think buckles will grow to be a great boost from the bench at the 4, keeping the zone active and the offense fresh, and not force buckles into a tough position.
i think kuric should start at the 3 just because of the offense pitino runs. he basically looks to run with no true point guard, 2 fast shooting guards (usually smaller), 1 small forward (usually an athletic larger shooting guard), 1 shot-blocker type power forward, 1 offensive-machine power forward, and (unless he could’ve landed fab melo) no true center. he plays fast and frustrating on defense with his full-court presses and extending 2-3 zone, and inside-out in the half-court offense through one of the power forwards.
the cards arent loaded at any particular position unless you leave another position short-handed, and i think pitino knows what he’s doing (most of the time). i think they will be much better next year without so much youth on the team, and its even more exciting to know that the year after— when UofL brings in the #1 recruiting class— we will have only lost preston and samardo to graduation and nba futures respectively. can you even imagine that year? banners will be broken in QUICKLY in the new arena, without a doubt.

my theory is still true. you cant lie to me and say “we will be a major disappointment in 2 years when we have a stellar freshman class, siva and buckles as juniors, jennings swopshire and kuric as seniors, and a few role palyers we recruited along the way.” that would be insane. even at its worst, we would be a super-deep team that would have a chance at a sweet 16 run. there’s a reason why we pay pitino large amounts of money, and its not for his fashion advice.

jared swopshire
6’8" (WOW, my bad, one inch…)
220LBS

and we all know of pitino’s plans to bulk him up, so that number will only increase. and by pat-pat type, i mean nova’s king type. good sized 4 with the mid-range and 3 to cause matchup problems who can still rebound. i dont literally mean transforming into pat-pat (first round draft pick, a little much dont you think?), just in case there was any confusion… and how in the world will kuric get to rautins status? who even said that?
i seriously dont agree to moving swop to the 3 because— though they might make the back of the 2-3 zone more physical— it will make the extending match-up zone incredibly slow, not at all what pitino preaches. he wants deflections, steals… not the opposition lining up on the ends waiting for wide-open threes.

Who is that Justice guy?

I think Chris Smith and the development of our freshman our the two biggest questions going into the season.
1. Siva – sure he did show us flashes of what he can do, but he also showed us flashes of what he can’t do, his defense is better than Sosa’s as a freshman, but he has got to step it up another notch, he got manhandled more than a few games this year.
2. Rock – rock has got to be a more consistent shooter. I see a lot of T-Will in him, TWill had that athleticism that would carry him through a few standout games and then he would disappear for a few games.
3. Marra – Marra needs to work more on moving without the ball and look for places that he can get open to shoot the 3 or the 15ft jump shot in stride.
4.Richie Phares – come in and play like this is the last game you will ever play.
5. Van Tresse – develop one offensive move during the off-season that you can go to to get some points on the board.
 Now for the sophs –
1.TJ – needs to work on his footwork and passing. Also I think they need to go to some football practice to learn how to catch the ball (it would be good if SS would join him).
2. SS – passing out of the double team is his biggest failure, he has to be get stronger hands, to be able to catch these dimes that Siva is going to try and drop to him. Don’t assume you are going pro after your junior year.
3. Swop – bulk up, the heart is there for Swop, he wants to play hard everynight. He still reminds me of Tayshaun Prince.
4. Kuric – just needs to learn when we need him to shoot the three and when we need him on the boards. After the cuse game he just kinda hung out around the 3 point line. He needs to be in the paint as well, and he could be one of those O’Bannon type players his senior year.
5.Goode – get healthy and stay healthy.
Now for our juniors
1. Preston – just be preston for the whole game, give what you gave us off the bench, for the better part of every game. Siva looks up to you, he wants to play D like you.
2. Chris Smith – play like you dress, pimped out.

Incoming Frosh –
1.Smith will get playing time and the beginning of the season and then go by the wayside for the big east schedule.
2. Coleman is the enigma here, he could either come in and get significant playing time or be a head case and not play after the non conference schedule.
3. Justice – play like BJ Flynn, you remind me of him, so that is what I expect from you.
4 Gorgui – continue developing your game, play all four years and become a dominating force in college basketball.

I know it is early, but we have the potential to be outstanding in 2011 barring any early departures, i.e Samuels.