Cards blow early 16 point lead at Marquette
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 16, 2012 6:33 PM EST
in Basketball
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PrintSo, that was tough to watch.
During the first six minutes, we witnessed arguably the best offensive stretch all season for Louisville. The remainder of the game played out like a Saw sequel where the inevitable torture and pain are predictable and progressively numbing. In this script, Louisville basketball is the kettle and we are the spoiled frog, submerged in water that gradually boils us to our demise.
There are several storylines to cherry pick to explain the futility. Siva's injury. Ware's father. Pitino's ____ (myriad options). Russ jealousy. Injuries. Bad officiating. Body fat percentage. Hendo & Miss Hawaii.
The once small gripes of fan apathy towards Pitino have suddenly grown into a giant boulder of negativity rolling downhill. It seems like a 50/50 split right now between fans regarding the future Hall of Fame coach, with one side shouting "Patience!" and the other "Pathetic!"
The question is what can this team do to change the way things are going? Is this a bad team or a team behaving badly? One can make the argument Louisville is the biggest question mark team in the Big East right now and I find myself sympathizing with both sides of the Pitino coin.
It's ok to not like what you see, but now is not the time to quit on this team. There's still time to turn this horror show into a respectable happy ending, but that window is closing.
UPDATE: Postgame quotes
Rick Pitino
"You have to look at it and have some type of sense of humor, because here you are, you're in the middle of a game and Rakeem Buckles injures his other knee. He said 'My leg went dead.' So, that was a little bit of a problem obviously, but we survived, we got through it and we were playing good basketball."
"In the second half, when I had to play Angel at the four, we lost a little momentum. When it boils down to it, we were in the game. Even though we may be out with a lot of players, we're in the game, but we have to make our free throws."
"It's difficult because you're really asking Peyton Siva to do a lot in that scenario but we had no choice with Rak(eem Buckles' injury). Angel is really really working hard--probably the best attitude on the team--and I wanted him to play him tonight, some at the 3 spot, so even though he missed those shots, he was playing the 4 spot which is not his spot. We can get a chance to play him a little bit down the road but he played well."
"Our team played good, we played good, but you need to play great to win on the road, regardless of the players you have."
"I've coached some slow teams, some unathletic teams that could pass and shoot. We have some good quickness, we cut, we do a lot of good things. But shooting is not our forte either from the field or the line. So, this season, we have to really mix it up, change things. Some people ask why are we running so many pick-and-rolls, but to be honest, if we don't run a lot of pick and rolls, we don't get a lot of jump shots. And we've got to try to get into the lane."
"Chane's not a good foul shooter. Russ should be better than he is. Kevin Ware is not a good foul shooter. We've just got to work on Kevin and Chane becoming better free throw shooters. We're working very hard on our shooting technique. [Describes Chane Behanan's poor free throw mechanics.]"
"I thought (Marquette) would make a run, you just have to sustain it. I told our guys 'Don't be down. You had a reason to be down after the Providence game, because you didn't give extraordinary effort.' I said 'You're giving great effort, stick with your goals. Your goals are to win every home game and win two road games.' So, this one got by us."
"It's not going to be easy getting Pitt. You actually have a better chance at getting (a win) like a Seton Hall than at Pitt b/c (Pitt's) so hungry for a win. Our guys are rebounding the ball well, I think they're playing real hard, we just have to make our free throws down the stretch and keep it close."
On Marquette's Devante Gardner: "He's a big body. You've got to play out in front of him and Gorgui just played behind him. Gorgui's got to realize it's his fifth foul. He's 12 feet from the basket and you don't want to foul the guy 12 feet from the basket. We did a lot of little things that hurt us down the stretch."
"I would just wear the guys out and we'd have no shot at winning (if they full court pressed the whole game). We have to play guys 37, 38, 40 minutes. I just wanted to get a look at the end there with Peyton on the bench. There's gonna be a point in a game where we've got to play without Peyton."
Regarding Buckles' injury: "It's a hyper-extended (left) knee. So we've got to try and probably play Zach, and that's going to be difficult but we have to try and play him and just use his 5 fouls. This was a tough game to play Zach b/c they half court trap and the 5-man has to pass the ball. Pitt will be a little easier for him to play."
"I hope (Kyle is back for the next game), we thought he'd play in this game, so we were surprised. We thought Van Treese would be back a week ago, so we're surprised. These are just things we have to hope for the best."
"That's the one thing I learned from Hubie (Brown), he said, 'We're fine, you're on a three game losing streak,' he said, 'you got two more games. We said if we win 2 out of 5, you'll be fine.' That's what you have to do, win every home game and get two on the road. We'll be fine in that situation and we have to keep playing to do that."
Russ Smith
"We had the game, we came close, had a chance to win it. So we have to stay positive and go out and win the next game. Hopefully the flaws we made this game will deteriorate the next."
"It was a tough game and we had the game in hand, so we can't really complain."
"(It was) definitely a winnable game. Came down to foul trouble and that's what foul trouble will do to you. We blew away some chippies, missed some free throws, I myself missed a free throw. We've just got to do the little things, get a few offensive rebounds."
"We're trying to stay optimistic, next game we've got to come out the same way we did this game, but we've got to play 40 minutes."
"We've got to do all the little things because of our injuries and all of our maladies. Once we get healthy again, things will get better, and once we do the little things, our season will start going the (right) way."
Peyton Siva
On being up 18-2 early: "The team's got to continue to execute (after big runs) and that didn't happen. (Marquette) continued making their runs and knocked down a couple threes. It's just one of those games and you hate to let it slip away from you, but Marquette's a good team, they played really well down the stretch and that's what we didn't do. We got in foul trouble, got key injuries and it hurt us. We didn't knock down free throws in clutch situations and a couple things didn't go our way. We just got to continue to go and win games."
"Like Coach P said, we gotta focus on our goals, get two in a row and then win the rest at home."
On feeling any extra pressure to do more: "No, my job is tempo, to just distribute the ball, play defense and just push the pace. It was tough tonight, but you got to continue to find shooters and get Chris and Russ open shots and feed the big men. We're all on scholarship here and there's a reason why we're here, so everybody's got to continue to contribute and play."
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We now have must-win games that are huge
We have to beat cuse and uconn at home, no exceptions. Seton Hall on the road would be a bonus
So, did y'all hear about John Huntsman?
Crazy, huh?
No?
Shit.
by Slick Tick Rodgers on Jan 16, 2012 6:38 PM EST via Android app reply actions
jon huntsman or john huntsman?
betcha didn’t think anyone wouldn’t notice. and i’m not a republican.
like the article
still time to turn it around but i think it is gonna require running the table at home and winning 2 road games. That seems like a tall order at this point
What's Wayne's Fatracker Status?
I’m not giving up just yet, but I’m just ready to see something different. I want to see Blackshear play and I want to see Justice get the nod over Siva for a while. It can’t hurt. Justice might not be a Mcdonald’s All-America, but he’s won some accolades here in state. (And Sexiest Male Athlete OTY I might add) Cards gave an effort today, and that goes a long way with me. I just hate to see us not win and then turn around and do the same thing the next time out.
this is pretty much the same team as last year. it makes you wonder if ! meant as much to the team as a focus on the court as well as off of it.
personally i think the problem is a simple as “make shots”. the ball isn’t dropping through. it happens. but i have no idea why it is affecting the entire team though.
Fact
Everyone in Wisconsin is fat or ugly or both.
by Peter McSheisty on Jan 16, 2012 6:51 PM EST via mobile reply actions
Laura is a fat girls name
Well, maybe not at present but I can see her really pushing maximum density. What I’m trying to say is never spill paint in the garage.
by Peter McSheisty on Jan 16, 2012 7:32 PM EST up reply actions
At this point,... I'm thinking about trying out for a scholarship. Yeah, I get it, this guy right here
Fool's names are like their faces, often seen in public places.
Follow @ChickStratino
by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 16, 2012 10:11 PM EST up reply actions
he got game!
Well he did until Pitino seen him. His body fat mass index wasn’t quite low enough so he didn’t play.
We pack in so tight that we don't get back out on the shooters
Many teams have problems with spacing on offense. We have the problem on defense.
I reran a lot of plays on TiVo
Siva was the #1 culprit but he had lots of company. We pack that zone in so tight we give up open three’s. If I had to guess (and it’s a guess) Pitino is so on the guards butts about rebounding (Russ needs to get under an bang bodies — but he was our third leading rebounder that game) that the perimeter guys cheat too much towards the bucket.
At this point I really think it's just injuries. One of our strengths has turned into a weakness.
It was telling that we played our starters for the first 12 minutes of so of the 2nd half.
This team just has 5+ minute mental lapses every game that they struggle to recover from.
Today was no different.
Stout Out!
4 times 5 is only 20 minutes
you underestimate
Well, I missed some of the game when I was out taking a Pitino.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 7:08 PM EST up reply actions
Forget about depth. Play the people who produce.
And stop playing zone. Pitino is you’re reading this: STOP PLAYING ZONE! you’re killing us man!
It should be VERY obvious that we are not very good at it.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 7:02 PM EST up reply actions
Other than not defending the three, we showed some stuff.
Anyone know how bad Rak is hurt?
I liked some of the new wrinkles, (a better effort to establish Chane in the low post, playing more players,…), but we have the same old defects too.
hyper extended knee, don't know the timetable yet
Thats from pitino’s interview after the game. He made it sound like van treese might be back soon, or at least he said they thought he should be back already. had expect KK to play today too.
hyper-extended his "other" knee (non-surgically repaired left knee), no timetable
Thought Van Treese would return 1 week ago. See postgame quotes added above.
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 16, 2012 7:46 PM EST up reply actions
I have determined that if we would just stop losing, I wouldn't be so pissed off all the time.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 7:04 PM EST reply actions
Last Season Was Fun And Ended...
In a horror show with us getting an awful draw/seeding, Knowles breaking his foot. Maybe this season will be the opposite. Maybe the horror show comes now instead.
Who knows what will happen. Not a surprise losing today on the road versus a good Marquette team, especially without Kuric, Rock. A win would have surprised me. Just glad I missed the first half, that must have been a major tease.
by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 16, 2012 7:08 PM EST reply actions
I told my friends from home after every game
I am either homicidal or on the verge of a panic attack.. Anyone who reads my twitter knows when UofL loses and they now know not to text me about anything at all for a good 8 hours or I’ll snap. With that being said follow me on twitter b/c my postgame tweets are usually quite bipolar
@thelegendratman.
twitter handle?
Head of ADHD Operations
Follow @toddnburks
by tnatburks on Jan 16, 2012 7:49 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
nevermind
Head of ADHD Operations
Follow @toddnburks
by tnatburks on Jan 16, 2012 7:49 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
just detach and drink
They aren’t getting any better, and Pitino will bullshit his way through another 2-3 years. And Willis will commit to UK on Thursday. He can’t recruit. And I just paid about $6000 to take everybody to the Big East Tournament. You have to laugh.
It is going to be Scott Drew.
Only if he can bring his slush fund with him
And not get nailed by the NCAA before then
We Can Win The Next Five
We lost to a good team today.
Would help if Kuric and or Rock return.
Up next: At Pitt. Won’t be easy, but Pitt is more down than the Cards, fwiw. We get Blackshear back for Villanova. If nothing else, a mental boost. Toughest one of the five could be @ Seton Hall – but I have an inkling that Pitino doesn’t lose to former assistant Kevin Willard for some reason, unlike when we’ve played Cronin recently. Then Rutgers at home – must win. Then UConn at home – this will be February 6 and hopefully we will be playing February basketball by then. Crowd should be jacked for UConn game, I see a win there.
Worst case, we should go 3-2. We could go 0-5 too I guess. I’m just covering all my bases here.
by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 16, 2012 7:22 PM EST reply actions
New schedule
I must have missed it. I had no idea our next five games were against Atherton High School.
yippee skippy!!
Head of ADHD Operations
Follow @toddnburks
by tnatburks on Jan 16, 2012 7:53 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Hey There!
We Athertonians did contribute Charlie Tyra and Rick Wilson to the Cards legacy!
by Unseld2Beard on Jan 16, 2012 8:03 PM EST up reply actions
They might be able to beat this team today.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 8:09 PM EST up reply actions
I think Rick would have a chance but "Ears" died a couple of years ago
But upon further review I suspect he could play us close. I grew up three blocks from Charlie, And I remember watching him play. Guy was really, really good. That ’56 NIT team was great. They could kill you from every position.
that's why I said we could go 0-5 too
This team is such an enigma because so many guys are out right now. Today wasn’t a bad loss by any means.
In one week, we could have Kuric, Blackshear, Van Treese and Buckles back playing.
by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 16, 2012 8:31 PM EST up reply actions
"A riddle, ...
… wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma."
And it’s really DARK inside an enigma.
by Bruce in Louisville on Jan 16, 2012 9:32 PM EST up reply actions
Perfect. Then Mr. Hemesath could share whatever nasty magic is in his coffee thermos with the team.
Greg, if you are listening, there has never been a better time to share the thermos.
by WindyCityCard on Jan 17, 2012 12:08 AM EST up reply actions
Fred Allen
He was the B-Ball coach when I was there (two centuries ago). I saw him blindfolded after he set up at the free throw line. A kid fed him the ball. He hit nine of ten. Perhaps UofL should shoot them blindfolded instead of just looking like they are.
as the biggest pitino supporter in the world
It would be real easy to criticise the man that looked as if he put together a great gameplan jumping out 18-2, a third of our points came in the first 6 minutes of the game. Having said that, iv said for the last few weeks,,IT STARTS WITH THE POINT GAURD… Siva had how many? 2. 2 f**king points..starts right there guys..start Russ or justice for a while,,scoring and turnover wise it couldn’t hurt,,please don’t point out sivas assist because he offsets it with turnover galore..I’m sorry but this is more embarrasing then the providence game.
by HaHaSypher on Jan 16, 2012 7:26 PM EST via mobile reply actions
I was one of the poor fools that had to work today.
I didn’t see this game, so I’m going to pretend it didn’t happen.
Justice
Elisha was injured today, that is why he didn’t get to play. I am hopeful he will get some minutes soon!
what injury
Damn. I need to go to med school to be able to understand this team.
back
His back was injured in practice this week. He will be back soon. Surely it had nothing to do with a 5 hour long practice!!
no the providence game we gave up
This game it looked as if we tried and wasn’t good enough to beat marquette..losing not huge deal, but being up 16 and losing the lead before half by four is ridiculous, then to cut it back to two to get drug again. At the end of the day we still only scored 60+ points,,sorry but our defense isn’t that good. Maybe pitino was right, we really wasn’t stopping people but rather jus confusing them, jokes on us because who looks confused on the court? We have a leader on the sideline and no leader on the court. I think losing knowles and also padgette hurts us worse than people think,,my opinion, scrap the whole offensive system, we need a 180 degree difference,,nobody fears us anymore
by HaHaSypher on Jan 16, 2012 7:38 PM EST via mobile reply actions
i geuss yall dont remember he was an ass coach
i geuss i need to specify tbe next time im discussing leaders on the sideline(pitino/Padgett), and leaders on the court,(knowles,????etc)
I think losing Griffith hurt us even more
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 16, 2012 8:12 PM EST up reply actions
Wes and Butch, Junior Bridgeman, Jim Price, Allen Murphy, Wesley Cox, Roger Birkman..........
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 8:23 PM EST up reply actions
DAMION DANTZLER ISN'T WALKING IN THAT DOOR!
by BostonCardFan on Jan 16, 2012 8:47 PM EST up reply actions
Are you kidding?
This team went down hill when Sosa left.
by CardinalDude on Jan 16, 2012 8:57 PM EST up reply actions
no no your all wrong..it was Joesph N'Sima and
Nouha Diakite. When Diakite went all Frenchy on us I knew it was curtains for 10yrs plus. You just don’t recover from losing that type of player.
That Rhianna picture scares the hell out of me.
I know I’m a little late with that but I just saw that it was the game thread image. Jeez.
DONT GET ME STARTED I HAVE NO PATIENCE FOR THE RIDICULOUS THREAD IMAGES
by GOCARDSATTITUDE on Jan 16, 2012 7:54 PM EST up reply actions
I've never doubted a thread image before. But I cannot put into words how scary her picture is.
Those fingernails, that mean face. SHUDDER. Way scarier than those gnome gifs HotHot posted.
possible downgrade on YUM! Center Bonds
Moody’s Investors Service is the second rating agency to say the bonds issued to pay for construction of the KFC Yum! Center are at risk of being downgraded.
Moody’s made the announcement last month, saying sales tax revenues from a special taxing district are lagging behind expectations. Standard & Poor’s has also placed the bonds on a watchlist for a possible downgrade.
At issue is $349 million in bonds used to build the 22,000-seat arena at Second and Main streets. The figures cited by Moody’s are for 2010 and don’t take into account the arena’s first full year of operations.
IT WOULD APPEAR MOODY’S IS WATCHING OUR GAMES.
With these injuries and other stuff,
Moody’s would beat us by 15 today.
by Bruce in Louisville on Jan 16, 2012 9:34 PM EST up reply actions
The figures cited by Moody’s are for 2010 and don’t take into account the arena’s first full year of operations.
by James Sutherland on Jan 16, 2012 9:59 PM EST up reply actions
I cant take this RP crap anymore
We cannot just keep saying “we will get them next time”. Is there still enough time to turn it around? Yes. Is anything about this team making me think they will turn it around? No. Each game we loose brings us statistically closer to being out of time and we are getting scary close to 0%.
Rick's glass is indeed half full
But it’s either 103 proof bourbon or poison.
by cbcard on Jan 16, 2012 8:22 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
Hold on there QuicksDraw, he only gets an assist of YOU score. Pressure's on you hot hot.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 9:38 PM EST up reply actions
Watching Gosling tonight, it's in the bag
by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 16, 2012 10:03 PM EST up reply actions
We are great in transition and when we push the pace.
We’ve got to figure out a way to impose our will and not let teams slow us down. We’re awful in the half court, so let’s try to stay out of it.
That being said, Marquette defended well. We looked like we were running a lot of motion in the half court and guys were trying hard to get open, but mental errors and missed shots/free throws killed us. And defending the 3point line.
by cardcorefan on Jan 16, 2012 8:19 PM EST via mobile reply actions 1 recs
Today Wasn't a Bad Loss
I don’t know why people are freaking out about it. We played a pretty much evenly ranked team on the road without Buckles and Kuric.
I’m reserving too much judgement on this team until Kuric, Buckles, Blackshear and SVT return. Its depleted right now of bodies.
by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 16, 2012 8:36 PM EST up reply actions
True. I think people are freaked because losing to nd and providence put us in such a bad hole.
And it is hard to see the path to 10 conference wins, which will be required to avoid the bubble.
by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 16, 2012 8:39 PM EST up reply actions
Agreed
The only thing that worries me is what if we never get healthy?
by cardcorefan on Jan 16, 2012 8:46 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Fuck that, DISAGREE
There’s no such thing as a good loss. Especially when it’s the 5th loss in your last 7 games. That’s why people are freaking out. Our problems go deeper than just putting healthy bodies on the floor. We’re playing with a loser’s mentality, and we keep getting excuses from the coach and players.
We lost with Kuric. Buckles is complete garbage right now, no matter how healthy he is. Blackshear is a wild card at best right now, and definitely not going to be the savior of this team. SVT I agree with, we desperately need a relief valve for Gorgui, at least until he gets some of his fouling tendencies under control.
You can't spell Siva with a "j"
I realize much of this may be due to his ankle but if my memory is correct this makes four straight games without him hitting any kind of a jumper much less a three. Sort of explains why he gets left open and defenders shade over to others.
Don't know what Pitino is doing with Peyton but unquestionable his confidence is gone.
And Rick mentioned that he has them work on their mechanics. I mentioned before that this very much reminds me of a golfer who changes his swing. You question that swing and it becomes mechanical instead of natural. I really think you can see the hesitation in Peyton, almost like he is first trying to find somebody, anybody to pass to, or if he must shoot, almost going through a checklist of mechanics before letting it go. Any golfer who has made a swing change knows exactly what I am talking about. Then finally, even the greatest golfers say that they have trouble “trusting” the new swing and often revert back to the old one in mid stroke, often with disastrous results. I think this describes Peyton’s problem. Would love to get other CC’ers take on this, especially golfers.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 9:01 PM EST up reply actions
I know exactly what you mean.
Not with golf, but from a basketball perspective. I usually shoot better when I don’t think about my form. If I’m trying to get my form right, I usually miss. I think if you’re going to change a players shot, donut when he’s a freshman and not his junior year. Although you can’t fault Pitino for trying to remedy an obvious flaw.
by cardcorefan on Jan 16, 2012 9:18 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
I kept the shot chart for a couple of years for my D-III team
Both starting forwards were frat brothers. I noticed one was a 65% shooter when he caught and shot. If he hesitated, even for a split second, and thought about it he was a 20% shooter. Jump shots and golf have at least one thing in common. Never think during the action, only before. If I could make myself stop thinking during my swing I would be a 3, not a 9.
Sadly, I know the feeling.
I would have Peyton in practice, pass to the post, run around a screen, get the pass back from the post and shoot it IMMEDIATELY. No hesitation, no mechanics, no looking to pass. Catch and shoot. Let me do that 50-100 times every day and, like you did, chart it and see what he can do. Maybe he shoots better going left than right, or from 20 feet vs 22 feet. Can’t be any worse than he is now.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 9:35 PM EST up reply actions
Yep
I had my golf game down to a 3HC a few years ago and it was totally because of what was going on in my head… or rather, what was NOT going on in my head during the swing. It’s really hard to maintain that, though. Harder than learning the game, at least it was for me. During that stretch of really good golf, I played a skins game and was making ridiculous putts all over the place. One of my golf buddies asked about it and I said I wasn’t really doing anything different until I stood over the ball. I didn’t think about line or speed or which way the grass bent from that side of the green…none of the usual thoughts I had before. And I made a lot of putts. I’ve this with Peyton and with Russ Smith. Then they catch and just shoot right off that initial hop, they hit ‘em. When there’s even a moment’s hesitation, clank.
by CardsRuleBE on Jan 16, 2012 10:23 PM EST up reply actions
That's what I think too.
I also think that Rick, and a lot of other coaches want that extra pass. If the purpose of the extra pass is to get a better shot, AND YOU GET ONE, fine. But if you have a good shot, even of it’s early in the shot clock, you should take it. And if these perimeter shooters are looking inside first and then taking the shot, that may just be creating that situation where they are not very good, having passed up the catch and shoot opportunity. That does not mean that we should never pass it inside. But if practice shows that any of these guys is very effective with catch and shoot, we should run some plays for them to do just that, as the first option, not after the look elsewhere which destroys the continuity that makes them successful.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 10:41 PM EST up reply actions
What do you think about the comment above - him doing a catch and shoot immediately drill 50-100 times and chart it
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 9:40 PM EST up reply actions
That catch and shoot goes double for our big men
Chane, Gorgui and Rak all catch rebounds and either power dribble (Chane), bring it down to their waist and try to ball fake or look for an outlet pass (Gorgui), or find a way to turn it over. Whatever happened to catch it high, keep it high, and put it in quick? I learned that in freshman ball.
works for me
And Pitino is the master of charting everything. Right now he is leading the BE in deflections.
Of criticism.
by cbcard on Jan 16, 2012 10:00 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
More Warranted Blame for Pitino
Why in hell does Pitino give Behanan the green light on three pointers? He has never shown proof of being a good three point shooter and is shooting 15% for the season. He made four attempts during the game today; two in crucial segments of the game that led to easy transition baskets for Marquette. Poor shots like these might as well be classified as turnovers, because they are a complete waste of valuable possessions. The entire season, I have found myself yelling “NOOOOOOO” every time Chane spots up beyond the arc. Pitino should have axed Chane’s decision to shoot threes about two games into the season.
Secondly, let’s think about where we would be without Chris and Russ Smith right now. They have served as our two best offensive players the past couple of weeks, and I can only imagine how bad things would be without them right now. Let’s remember that these two guys may not even be on the team if Pitino had his way. Pitino was reluctant to offer Russ a scholarship until Ralph Willard convinced him to do so. As for Chris Smith, Pitino didn’t even know who he was until he arrived on campus. Chris Smith’s arrival to the team was also credited to an assistant, and not Pitino.
by dejuanfingerroll32 on Jan 16, 2012 8:57 PM EST reply actions
Regarding Chane's 3's, notice how the defenders always play back far enough to let him shoot it. They love him taking that shot.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 9:04 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
They also bite on his shot fake though.
Allows him to drive to the rim.
by CardinalDude on Jan 16, 2012 9:23 PM EST up reply actions
Did you just join 5 days ago to bitch about Pitino?
You don’t even comment on any other threads
by Chris Redman is my hero on Jan 16, 2012 9:55 PM EST up reply actions
Peyton's comment reveals a little about his psyche right now-
No pressure to do a little more? He should be saying things like “Fuck yes I feel pressure to do more. This is MY team, we’re in a deep fucking hole, and I’m the guy that’s going to get us out.” Maybe not verbatim. His job is much much more than tempo, distribution, and defense. His lack of leadership is apparent, and it has left a void that isn’t being filled. I don’t think CS5 was prepared to step into a leadership role and Kyle is just too laid back. Peyton should be the one hitching us to his back and pulling the load, but instead he plays 35 minutes of each game like he’s completely detached.
He wouldn't say that bad word. ever. way too precious baby
by GOCARDSATTITUDE on Jan 16, 2012 9:48 PM EST up reply actions
He needs to say or do something,
he looked like he was in another world in his post game interview. He might be a “precious baby” but he’s no longer a fierce competitor
chelsea your comments on here might be my favorite
by LouisvilleSklardinalFAN02 on Jan 16, 2012 9:52 PM EST reply actions
I hope it's Chelsea Handler
Great figure. And very funny. Did I say great figure?
My posse ain't scared of him
I got a lot of big bucks and he’s only half of that
Haven't read through the thread, but
Anyone get the feeling that the guys are trying to hard to be perfect? I mean Russ talking about him missing a free throw, Peyton seems to be down about something. Is it possible they’re trying so hard they can’t play relaxed? It’s not an explanation I’ve heard yet, but it would seem to fit.
by Chris Redman is my hero on Jan 16, 2012 9:54 PM EST reply actions
I'm not sure many teams could lose 6 players and still be very potent.
Some teams just go about 6 deep.
Thank you.
Someone being at least a little realistic.
GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!
by 4ul4life on Jan 17, 2012 4:01 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
interesting
because there were reports UK wanted him to gray shirt and I thought perhaps that’s part of why he chose us.
maybe he didn't go there because they suck
BASKETBALL!
by Irememberwheat! on Jan 16, 2012 10:42 PM EST up reply actions
Was wrong about that
Grayshirt is another new term by the media and is applied to the prospect that signs a letter of intent in February, but doesn’t report in the fall with his teammates. He delays entry to college until midyear The reference materials I have: refer to the “Gray Shirt athlete” enrolling in the school following the gray shirt season- but I suspect there may be cases where an athlete can begin his studies at the school – since the goal of the student athlete is to get an education and graduate on time.
Copied and pasted that if you couldn't tell
Read about the bum shoulder earlier, can’t remember where. I think it was Demling
that's exactly why he didn't go there
I thought he might be leaning towards WKU and thought that for sure after the Radcliff news. Hilltoppers are making some strides in recruiting and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Demarcus Smith end up there this week
I hope he shakes that whole Bender rap and succeeds
Bender’s just a piece of shit who lied to and probably made Smith feel good and under appreciated and took advantage of him. It’s too bad he didn’t end up here cause I bet HCCS would have found a way to use him to benefit the team. I’d love to see him at Western, cause if he’s not there, it might be UK
Reasons I expected our team to be better that haven't materialized
1) Peyton Siva’s continued improvement and improved shooting.
Nobody thought Peyton would regress this year. Some of it is injury-related, but that cannot fully explain what has happened. The absence of confidence in his shot is apparent, and that is hard to figure out, but the erratic decision-making has been even more difficult to understand. I still think he will recover eventually, but it may not be this season.
2) Having an athletic, dynamic wing who can create his own shot in Wayne Blackshear.
Nothing to be said here, and nobody’s fault. Maybe we’ll get to see some Wayne before the year is out, but he probably won’t be at full strength till next year.
3) Experienced depth.
SVT and Marra – also nobody’s fault. And Rak is obviously not fully healthy. I don’t buy into the Pitino-practice-injury theory; we’ve just had some really bad luck for the last two years. If you compare Pitino’s record with injuries over the course of his career to whatever the average numbers are, I bet the deviation wouldn’t be too far outside the norm.
It is just hard to believe that so many things have broken against us this year. I never would have expected it.
by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 16, 2012 10:32 PM EST reply actions
"Bad luck" the last three years.
But who’s counting?
What injuries am I missing from 09-10?
Because I don’t recall any major injuries that year.
And of course, my argument is about the entire course of Pitino’s career, not just the last 2 years. And if you could run the numbers, I seriously doubt you would find any large deviation from whatever the norm is.
I think some of your criticisms of Pitino are valid, but this one strikes me as pretty weak.
by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 17, 2012 12:01 PM EST up reply actions
Hard not be frustrated
but my frustration more than anything is just the attention span shown on offense sometimes, it seems as it in the first few minutes in every game this year (almost), we have came out hot, so I have to feel that the preperation was intact, and the game plan was intact but i dont know why we lose it so easily,but yes we have indeed suffered through a severe rash of injuries, and we are def not getting enough from the 1 spot, period, , if we could just keep a consistent lineup i think we would be ok, . I believe a true leader of the future will emerge from the rubble, I just hope he plays point gaurd.
If he doesn't play better we won't miss him.
Too bad because I thought he looked very sharp when he first came back. Has continually gone downhill ever since.
by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 16, 2012 11:12 PM EST up reply actions
take it easy on Swop
He still got 40% body fat
That guy from Marquette proved you could play well with 40% body fat
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by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 16, 2012 11:53 PM EST up reply actions
After the shock of seeing the Cards get outscored by 27 over the last 36 minutes wore off over dinner and conversation with the father-inlaw-to be, I've come to a conclusion.
I’m going to be shocked and pretty dam amazed if we make the tournament.
14-5, with no decent road wins, a 31 point beat down to a bad team, and a home loss to a bad team.
14-5, and the way we’re playing now(?) I can’t see how we get enough wins to make it, I hope we do but it’s not going to happen if we continue to play the way we have.
We’ve seen pretty much no legit signs that things are getting better, and when asked about how things can get better, Rick’s answers are all over the map because there are sooooo many things that need to happen. Most of all getting healthy which, at this point, doesn’t seem even remotely possible.
So,… assuming we continue with the current trend:
@Pitt= Loss (14-6)
Nova= Win? (15-6)
@SH= Loss (15-6)
Rutgers= Win{MAYBE} (16-6)
UConn= Loss (16-7)
@WVU= Loss (16-8)
Cuse= Loss (16-9)
@DePaul= Win (17-9)
@Cinci= Loss (17-10)
Pitt= Win (18-10)
USF= Win (19-10)
@Cuse= Loss (19-11)
Christ almighty, that’s giving us the win against Rutgers, at home, who just beat ND, at home, which we couldn’t do and they dominated Pitt on the road@ Pitt where we will be next.
19 wins, 19 fucking wins,….. that’s about all I can convince myself of right now; and, that’s assuming that the team’s mental stability doesn’t go into the tank and they drop one at home to USF, Pitt, or Nova.
At this point I’m done bitching about it, no really I am. I’m pretty convinced that the worst is upon us, and I’m now hoping for the best. Lord,…. I never thought this would be what the 2011-12 season was going to look like.
Injuries that won’t stop, chemistry issues, eligibility issues, Pitino getting outcoached left and right, refusing to play the young guys early and now saying that the injuries are going to force him to do it?
WTF??? The injuries have been omnipresent from pretty much the beginning Rick,… so(?) maybe it would have been a good idea to bring those guys along against the LSOTP instead of on the road at Marquette.
I can’t take this shit anymore… AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can’t,…. I won’t, I won’t put my support behind Rick anymore if this is really where we are, and what this has come to. I will support the players, I will encourage them, and hope for their sakes that there is something to be salvaged this year,…. but Rick has all but lost me barring, what I would see as, a miracle.
So pissed right now with where everything is with our program. So pissed right now that I feel as though good people like Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith are going to leave this program on such a sour note. Most of all,… I’m just pissed at where this thing is, and where it looks like it’s going.
This was by far one of the most frustrating losses I’ve ever seen a Louisville team take in the regular season. Everything was on display today. Kids playing their hearts out and looking sharp, injuries, sloppy play, Pitino getting out-coached,….. again. It was all right there for everyone to see,… the bad with the good, but the good just not being enough anymore.
All I heard Rick say over and over again in the post game was that the guys played hard, and they did. But they didn’t play smart, they’re still executing like shit, and they still lost, again. That’s all on Rick, every last bit of it. You can’t coach heart, and those kids showed a lot of it today. They played hard, they did. But you can coach smart basketball, and you can coach execution.
I’ve rambled on for quite long enough now and I shall retire to bed. I will not criticize anymore. I will not say another bad thing about a player or coach on this team with respect to their performance on this “blog.” I hope I’m wrong about what is to come. I hope that this teams’ fortunes are about to pivot dramatically in move in the other direction.
But,..
I just can’t keep convincing myself that it CAN happen without seeing proof that it CAN happen. I will reserve judgments until the season ends about what I think needs to happen.
Go Cards
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by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 17, 2012 12:46 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
You might want to stand up.
I think you’re sitting on the panic button.
We just wrote completely different posts. Haha. I love this ‘blog’
ALL HAIL
by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 17, 2012 12:51 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, but listed a ot of the same frustrations. I haven't "sold" all stock yet. I'm holding on by a thread to see any signs of life.
At this point I just want a reason to believe that things can turn around. That reason being a win over a good team. Won’t get that chance until we go to SH, we could drop to Pitt and still have an opportunity to get the other road win(W/ DePaul being the first) @WVU or Cinci,… I don’t see it coming @Cuse
But Rick is absolutely right about having to win the rest at home.
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by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 17, 2012 12:57 AM EST up reply actions
We'll see how all this plays out. We showed signs of life today, imo.
You gotta calm down though. I fear for your health. Seems like your BP is through the roof! We don’t need any more Cardinal injuries/health problems.
ALL HAIL
by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 17, 2012 1:09 AM EST up reply actions
Did anyone want to beat the shit out of every player on Marquette's bench as much as I did.
Fuckin falling on each other and holding each other back, then Crowder with the throat move. Fuck those shitdicks. I hope we get them again in the BE tourney.
We saw shades of what this team is capable of in the first 6 minutes. WE WILL BUILD ON THAT. People need to calm the fuck down. RP isn’t making a ton of great decisions, but he was right about Price and Angel not being quite ready. I want to see them as much as anyone else, and I think they will develop as they get more clock. Angel will see more time because his shot will start falling and he’ll pick up the defense as he plays more. Price will play because Gorgui is a foul machine. Gets a lot of blocks, but has more fouls this season (64 fouls, 62 blocks). Whether those fouls are coming from shot block attempts or rebounding, it needs to be fixed.
Buzz dominated today as far as in-game coaching goes. Marquette was in the spot we were in against Providence, but they found a way to fix it and we apparently forgot what we were doing to be successful.
I see 9 wins left on our schedule with a few games going either way. I’m saying we beat Pitt twice and split with Cuse (I know some of you just said “Cardinal_Pride is one craaaazy mother fucker,” but I actually believe it. Don’t sell yet, guys. Our stock is going to go back up.
Like Steve Carell once said in a movie, “You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not.” His character ultimately makes everything ok in the end of the movie… (I know this ultimately makes me the schmuck, which might negate everything I have just said. Get behind me anyway!!!)
ALL HAIL
by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 17, 2012 12:50 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
In Cards gear.
Russcrat and Siva arm-in-arm.
ALL HAIL
by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 17, 2012 2:01 AM EST up reply actions
karma is a b*tch
Marquette will get whats coming to them. And i’m with you Cardinal Pride. I believe.
I think there's a lot of "naked short selling" going on right now...
and that those people are about to get caught and go BROKE!
GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!
by 4ul4life on Jan 17, 2012 4:15 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Wanted to beat the shit out of Valvano...
Dude’s annoying when he keeps beating the dead horse…
GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!
by 4ul4life on Jan 17, 2012 4:26 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I concur
(insert lame photo of Leo here)
Head of ADHD Operations
Follow @toddnburks
by tnatburks on Jan 17, 2012 5:20 AM EST via iPhone app up reply actions
Minus Crowder's T antics
What I saw from the Marquette bench behavior is what I saw and loved about our team last year, and what has been sorely missing from our team this year.
All Together Now...
Let’s begin chanting in unison:
N-I-T..N-I-T..N-I-T!
Hey,
That overweight big man for Marquette who made our inside guys look foolish…He wouldn’t play for Pitino…He’s too fat! He’d have to get his bodyfat content down. But hey, that’s just the way it is.
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