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Everybody F'in Panic! Cards Lose to ND, Broghammer

Big_east_champs_tiny by CardsFan922 on

True to form, a scrappy, well-coached, untalented Notre Dame team gave the Cards everything they wanted, but the home crowd made the difference and Notre Dame's historic losing streak in Kentucky continued as the Cards won in overtim-...wait, what?

It's not time to panic yet. Yet. Brey's offense is our nemesis, and we are lucky we didn't get blown out honestly. They had open 3 after open 3 just clank badly. Cooley did his Harangody impression to score on a variety of dinks and banks. Russ inexplicably went for the steal and gave up a wide open shot with less than 30 seconds to play. And equally inexplicably, the coaches (I guess?) decided that getting easy points every time by having Gorgui or Chane beat their man inside was not the preferred offense, and instead having Siva run the same play over and over that everyone (including Coach Brey, obv) knew was coming that would result in an out of control drive to the basket or a piping hot feed to Rak Buckles flying at the basket at 45 MPH from the baseline in perhaps the least likely person/spot on the floor to result in points for our team would be better.

So this is a classic Notre Dame - Louisville game. And ND played waaaaaaay better than us the whole time and we still should have won. So ya, it sucked, but let's not panic yet.

Except. Except. Here's why panic may be appropriate:

1) If we lose the ability (or the confidence) to win close home games, then I'm not sure how we can play to keep games close and expect to make the tournament, much less go deep in it. Whatever happened last year and through the beginning of this year, we always thought that we had a good chance to win somehow, someway at the end. If that goes....yikes.

2) The offense. I tweeted this, but my favorite play of the whole game was when the back pick actually worked and Kuric was WIDE OPEN for the alley oop. The crowd made that anticipation noise because we've all seen that play so many times over the last few years, and then Siva didn't throw it??!?!?! Anyway, when that was the highlight of the night on offense, there are serious problems. Russ barely played in the first half, and Russ is a guy that is going to miss shots, but he scores a lot because he takes a lot of shots, and it is inexcusable that Notre Dame would OUTSHOOT us. Those guys are terrible! At least Russ takes it to the other team, our guys have become too passive and too risk averse. Russ don't care.

Anyway, the offense is clearly a problem, Chris Smith is lost, we have not been able to get our transition game going STILL, guys aren't getting open looks (which I think is mostly schematic but also on Chris/Kuric to some extent) and Gorgui is still very raw and doesn't look to score enough for the advantages he has. Next year Gorgui should make a HUGE leap on offense. But it's not next year yet.

3) The defense. Again, Notre Dame has always had us figured out, but we've usually been able to score with them because they are terrible on defense. They kept getting open 3s against the zone, but other teams have shot amazing against us from 3 all year too. Our defense can look dominant at times, but on a night like this, we needed a couple big stops and just didn't get them. But we would have won by 20 if we had played better on offense.

4) Lots of guys have regressed from December. Not sure what happened to Swop but he's a liability out there. I've never been a big fan of him getting minutes, although the NewSwop we got early in the year was great. We're relying on Rak way too much for where he is after being out so long. Chris Smith (see above) and Kuric need to do more. Siva's still got issues, and we are basically 7-8 deep right now. I tweeted the Kuric/Smith thing: but who did they give their scholarships for? Why do we have 15 guys if half of them don't play?

Whatever. Still a TON of time left this season, but momentum is a helluva a drug. And right now, we are getting a heavy dose of the bad stuff.

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Russ works his ass off for the the shirt

and doesn’t get to play while Siva makes mistake after mistake.

BASKETBALL!

by Irememberwheat! on Jan 7, 2012 7:45 PM EST reply actions  

Russ was no world beater when he was in the game.

"I am willing to donate to the charity that is working on the prevention of whatever the hell Dick Vitale has." - noobmaster

by rickmbari on Jan 8, 2012 1:21 AM EST up reply actions  

Off topic, but I'm beginning to fear that last season was a fluke.

I hate writing that because I absolutely adored last season’s team but there’s just no way that losing Preston, TJ and Marra equals this. Don’t get me wrong, Preston was an all-heart, selfless player, TJ was an athletic big that was a really good defensive player and Marra was a heady player, but losing them while gaining Chane, Swop, Rak, Ware and an out-of-nowhere Russ is at best an upgrade and at worst an even trade. But what we’re seeing now is much worse than the latter, which leads me to believe that last season was a favorable fluke that the basketball Gods bestowed upon us.

That “feel good” bridge is beginning to look like a bridge to nowhere.

We can say all we want about refs, injuries and missed practices, but nothing excuses our anemic offense and sudden loss of a basketball IQ.

by BayAreaCard on Jan 7, 2012 7:46 PM EST reply actions  

Disagree

I think losing those three guys has made a huge difference. Gorgui is much better than he was last year, but he is our only 5. If we had TJ back this year, those two would make an amazing tandem, and say what you will about TJ, he looked to score.

Preston and Russ may be similar in terms of scoring and fearlessness, but Preston was a leader who would yell at guys and make plays when we needed them. That’s what we are missing.

Chane is not being used on offense right, although he did much better tonight.

I think last year was not a “fluke” but we definitely don’t have the same “it” that last year’s team had.

by CardsFan922 on Jan 7, 2012 7:53 PM EST up reply actions  

Well I partially agree with you

Last year was special. This year is different. Not sure exactly why, but the sum of last year’s parts >>> the sum of this year’s parts, and it is questionable whether this year’s parts even = last year’s parts.

by CardsFan922 on Jan 7, 2012 7:59 PM EST up reply actions  

I just posted about these topics...

catching up, but I think the additions would be greater than the losses from last year if we didn’t have all the injuries we’ve had this year.

GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!

by 4ul4life on Jan 8, 2012 6:32 PM EST up reply actions  

The Most Concerning Issue

right now is Siva. He’s clearly crippled. He has to jump off two feet when he gets into the lane. When Siva was healthy last season, he was playing and finishing above the rim. The best he can do now is flip it from his waist, or do the bunny jump, which often leads to trouble.

I like Siva as much as anyone, but his ankle’s obviously not healthy. Today it seemed like he almost hurt us as much as he helped us. Made me wonder if Bullet may have been worth an opportunity in spurts at the point, because Bullet has shown he can make the three, not turn it over.

We’ll be all right. But Siva must get healthy, and return to last season Big East Siva, the Siva who played above the rim, not on the ground.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 7, 2012 7:52 PM EST reply actions  

also wanted to add

He’s not able to pull down any rebounds like he did last season either. He would be able to jump up high, grab a defensive rebound and go coast to coast with it. Remember the Big East Tournament last season when everyone was praising him for playing with a “jetpack” on his back? That jetpack is broken right now.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 7, 2012 7:56 PM EST up reply actions  

Although...

There was a play in there where one of our bigs blocked a shot and Siva was up there with his shoulders above the rim ready to swat at the ball as well. I saw spurts of the Siva of last year tonight, I think he will be good if we give him a few more weeks… hopefully

by mtbred on Jan 7, 2012 10:21 PM EST up reply actions  

Might Be Worth

Sitting him for a few weeks now to see if he can get any healthier for later.

by REALISTICCARDSFAN on Jan 7, 2012 8:23 PM EST up reply actions  

We deserved that loss but one thing pisses me off...

We would have won by one if Kuric makes all three free throws when he was fouled on the three pointer. And it wasn’t Kuric’s fault on the miss. He stroked the first two like butter and then freaking Pitino stops play to put Chris Smith in the game. I don’t care what his reason is. When a shooter has to step away from the line when making crucial free throws, it bothers him. It’s the reason other teams call time out. Pitino basically “iced” his own player…and it worked.
The loss is a loss, we will get better, tonight everyone, especially Buckles sucked but Pitino should have never broken Kuric’s rhythm. Basketball 101. And yes, I played basketball in case you wondered (I forget who keeps asking that).

by David Lyons on Jan 7, 2012 7:55 PM EST reply actions  

Pitino Needs to Wake Up

1. Siva is killing us…..He can not shoot 3’s….He turns the ball over…….He drives the lane with no plan, no shot, no one to pass to and is stuck rgrowing up trash.

2. We better practice Free Throws….we suck from the line

3. We stand around on offense with no plans or offensive plays

4. Our offense is no different from back yard street basketball

5. Please put some else in the game from off the bench because Buckles, Ware & Swopeshire are not going to get it done….Please change something in the game plan….every week has been like ground hog day the movie…same thing over & over.

by atdasa on Jan 7, 2012 8:01 PM EST reply actions  

Looks like I'm gonna be here for a while looking for answers...

But, atdasa, who comes in for Siva? I was of the opinion that he needs to sit for a while. But really, who replaces him? Bullet? He can’t create off the bounce, something we’re in DIRE need of and Siva does better. Ware is still to green. And as for your pt#5, who replaces those guys? Again, very green players. I admire that your proposing solutions, I just wonder if they’re desperarate.

by BayAreaCard on Jan 7, 2012 8:08 PM EST up reply actions  

Yes. Play Bullet.

Might not be able to slash but won’t turn it over and will run an offense. Give him a shot. Siva isn’t working right now. what we’re doing is the definition of insanity.

ALL HAIL

by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 7, 2012 8:14 PM EST via mobile up reply actions  

I don't think it's the players, it's the offense. Either they don't understand it, can't do it, or it just doesn't work.

There is no other reason for talented athletes to just be constantly “standing around”, “not guarding the three”, etc. Something else is going on here. I am not buying that our whole team suddenly can’t play. Makes no sense.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 7, 2012 8:25 PM EST up reply actions  

by Einstein's definition

yes, it’s insanity. There’s probably not a bigger Rick Pitino fan on the planet than myself, but I think it’s time, after this loss, to perhaps try shaking some things up.

It’s disheartening watching Siva be a shell of his former self. And it’s NEVER been Rick’s style to cry injuries, so you’re not going to hear it from him. But Siva is killing us right now because of his ankle, not because of his lack of effort.

I honestly don’t think Bullet would have hurt us against ND, not defensively, and Bullet can make threes and not turn it over. That’s just my opinion. We played him against Butler, why not ND at home? Heck, Bullet saw more minutes as a freshman than he has this season. That’s kind of confusing.

And I am the LAST to be armchair quarterback, but I think 50 minutes for Kuric is simply too many. Back to the insanity thing and shaking it up, we have a 6-7 freshman on the bench who’s shown he can score in Nunez. I don’t think it would be the end of the world if he at least got a few opportunities, given this team’s offensive woes.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 7, 2012 8:31 PM EST up reply actions  

Nunez has shown a silky smooth shot.

I’m guessing he’s a liability on defense, which is why he doesn’t play. I have no problem with Kyle playing every minute, but it becomes a problem when he goes invisible(not that he did a ton today). Drive and kick instead of the scoop in the lane. Siva driving isn’t working as it has in the past. It’s time to adapt

ALL HAIL

by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 7, 2012 8:40 PM EST via mobile up reply actions  

I may have been the only person to think this

But other than a couple points in OT, he was checked out.

Had he moved on Siva’s drives like Russ, he could have had plenty of corner shots. Plenty.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 8:41 PM EST up reply actions  

Great Point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Play Nunez.

Play Angel Nunez! What is CRP thinking this kid can flat out shoot has good height and can REBOUND. I think he should sit Siva play Bullet and keep Nunez in Heavy Rotation HES GOOD RICK! And Bullet actually can shoot the 3.

by Die hard CaRd! on Jan 8, 2012 2:42 AM EST up reply actions  

I agree

Insanity is right……..how about Bullet at point….He will follow Pitinos instructions…Bay area Card……look at Siva’s post game interview……“We need to listen in the huddle more….coach told us not to drive the lane and pick up a charge but that is just what I did”…talking about the play at the end….when he drove the lane against two defenders…through up a shot… lay-up with his back to the basket…..Wow thanks Siva…..try anyone…..Angel Nunez……look at the St.John’s game….Siva fouls out and Bullet comes in and the bleeding stops.

by atdasa on Jan 7, 2012 8:37 PM EST up reply actions  

We need some easy, open shots.

And Bullet ain’t doin that anytime soon.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 8:43 PM EST up reply actions  

Bullet

I know that it’s bad to make recommendations when I haven’t spent a second at a practice, but I’ve seen bullet do some amazing things (although admittedly many in high school) & I think he could make a difference. There are so many heady little guards around the country that run their teams. Love to see him get a chance.

by RodneyScooter on Jan 8, 2012 7:29 AM EST up reply actions  

I looked up his senior year stats and was surprised to see..................

Kentucky’s Mr Basketball (in same class as one Chane Behanan)
Kentucky all time leader in steals
Averaged 20+ points per game
Shot 56% FG%
Shot 82% FT%

Seems like we should be to get a little more out of a kid with these credentials.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 8, 2012 8:46 AM EST up reply actions  

Impressive to say the least.

IDK why he’s not seeing more PT with Siva not himself since he saw plenty of time in Pitino’s system in the past.

GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!

by 4ul4life on Jan 8, 2012 7:17 PM EST up reply actions  

It Really Is a Mystery To Me

Why we’re not seeing any Bullet (I know we don’t see practices, yada), but we saw more of him as back-up last season when Siva was healthy and playing great. I don’t get it. Heck, Rick was the one who saw him in high school by accident, loved him and nicknamed him Bullet. Now it’s like he’s a cigar player. I think Bullet is better than that. The main reason I’m chirping Bullet is because Siva is obviously not Siva, and by my eyes, still crippled. He can’t even dunk the ball. Like I said, there’s never a bigger CRP fan than myself, but it’s almost like he’s having ‘Ronald Reagan’ moments this season with his memory.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 8, 2012 7:46 PM EST up reply actions  

Has anyone else thought we might be seeing a repeat of the final years of Denny Crum?

Denny was a great coach and recruiter for many years, but for the last few seasons it was clear that the players were not listening to him at all and the teams were just not functioning well. I full well remember a game where he called a timeout and was instructing his team, and not a single player was looking at him. They were staring into the stands, looking at their shoes, etc. That’s when I knew his time had passed.

Does anyone think we are seeing a repeat performance?

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 8, 2012 7:53 PM EST up reply actions  

Absolutely play Bullet.

He’s not flashy, but he’s steady and he’s an excellent passer. He can get the ball inside to Gorgui/Chane- and he can shoot the three. We need to get over the idea that the point guard “getting past his man” and getting into the paint to “drive or dish” is the very definition of basketball. There are other ways to play. Siva desperately needs to let that ankle heal. That’s the lesson I’m taking from the last few games.

by Loouhvul on Jan 8, 2012 5:39 PM EST up reply actions  

Lob to Dieng before Peyton gets charge and game is over.

Stop running the same shit. Like the fucking 3rd down draw play all over again. Or Dom running it out of the wild card.

Also, I didn’t wanna do this, but I just got on twitter and I’d love to get some followers. I’m talking to fucking no one right now. RealRobAlcorn is the handle. Please follow. Please?!

ALL HAIL

by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 7, 2012 8:10 PM EST via mobile reply actions  

SMH...

I just dont understand this team. There is PLENTY of talent here…

I wasnt able to watch the game, but periodically checked the box score. WTF has happened to CS5? I think he had 2 points total when I checked in the waning minutes of the game. I dont get this team…we almost beat a damn good Georgetown team, but fail to put away a half ass Notre Dame team. Only 65 points after TWO OVERTIMES???

I agree with your last statement-this team is in trouble if we cant figure things out soon! I hope that this loss drops them out of the top 25. Ive felt the ranking was way too high throughout the season anyhow.

Go Cards!

Oh yeah- bring on the "Fire Pitino" threads….sigh

by twistedwedge on Jan 7, 2012 8:21 PM EST reply actions  

what's happened to CS5

The answer was seen behind him in the post game interview. Get rid of the purse and you’ll quit playing like someone who wears one.

by rojoastro on Jan 7, 2012 8:46 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions  

talent yes but no go to guy

We don’t have an NBA caliber guy who you can give the ball to and get the hell out of the way. The last one we had was Francisco and that is a long time ago.

by cbcard on Jan 8, 2012 11:35 AM EST up reply actions  

T-Will?

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 8, 2012 11:51 AM EST up reply actions  

Something just doesn't feel right about everyone bashing siva like this.

I mean, he didn’t play well. I’m not saying that. It just seems like everyone turned on him, really quickly, around the time of the WKU game. He only had 5 assists, but its hard to get assists when no one is making any fucking shots. When Chane can’t finish (but gets fouled and hits his free throws, god bless him), when Chris Smith can’t make open 3s, etc… A good example is the play were C.Smith missed the three and gorgui got the rebound, made it and got fouled. C. Smith was wide open.

Pitino ran the “siva beats his man and wins the game for us” play too many times. But, how many times has that worked? He beat Vandy and Miami on that play already this season.

The team scored 65 points in 50 minutes tonight. that’s gross. But, ND ran 25 seconds off the shot clock every possession before they started their offense. We actually shot 42% which is pretty good for UL. What killed us was the turnovers. And yes, Siva was the worst offender in TOs. I wonder what the tempo free stats say about this game….

Disclaimer: I supported Sosa until he left, and now I freely admit sosa sucked ass. He was our sal smith.

by johnnyjoejohnson on Jan 7, 2012 8:23 PM EST reply actions  

Peyton is making a LOT of bad decisions right now

The turnover when we had an opportunity to put the game away in regulation was the most recent significant example. I feel bad for Peyton, but he has become one-dimensional, and it is really hurting our offense.

by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 7, 2012 8:25 PM EST up reply actions  

Agree somewhat on Siva

He made some huge shots again today and was getting into the lane with ease late in the game, but they played him well at the end and he passed to Kuric, who missed the 3 but got fouled. And by this point EVERYONE knows what play is coming.

But he’s the PG and he’s supposed to create, and he’s not creating good shots for guys. He’s just not 100% either physically or mentally or both. Love Siva, we only go as far as he takes us.

by CardsFan922 on Jan 7, 2012 8:26 PM EST up reply actions  

everyone knowing what play is coming is on pitino.

But, in his defense, the play at the end of regulation that didn’t go to Sosa was a disaster. You gotta get a shot off.

The only thing I thought he did that was terrible was turning the ball over after the steal when we were up 4 with around 2 minutes left. There was no reason to push the ball there.

by johnnyjoejohnson on Jan 7, 2012 8:46 PM EST up reply actions  

Anyone else wondering

Why we didn’t foul on the floor when up three in the last 40 seconds of regulation? Were we not in the bonus? If we foul on the floor there, don’t they just get two free throws (which couldn’t net more than 2 points) and then we get the ball back to win it by 1?

by REALISTICCARDSFAN on Jan 7, 2012 8:25 PM EST reply actions  

There was way too much time left

IMO, it would have been a bad decision to give them 2 points. The talking heads on TV say coaches don’t consider it if there’s more than 5 seconds left.

by johnnyjoejohnson on Jan 7, 2012 8:43 PM EST up reply actions  

I had ref Tourette's the entire game

I know there were too many mistakes that allowed ND to stay in the game (breathe). But, I just can’t overlook the full arm push on Dieng from unCooley at 15ish in 2nd half, the entire 2nd overtime or any other bad call you want to point out. Also, I refuse to listen to anyone that says there were bad calls both ways. The refs affected the outcome (period). UL has got to stop putting themselves in position to let the refs F us, cause they probably will.

by CardTrainHustle on Jan 7, 2012 8:31 PM EST via mobile reply actions  

I was esp. angery

On the play where Gorgs fouled out. Cooley blatantly walked (what else is new) and proceeded to draw the foul on Gorgui.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 8:40 PM EST up reply actions  

I've accepted

the fact that officiating has hit an ALL-TIME LOW in college basketball. Twenty years watching the sport, it’s at its worse. SIX players on the floor in a WKU game. Really?

We officially got shafted by the stripes in the Kentucky game. After that game, I had seen it all. Now I’m immune to it. I just accept it. Horrible officiating comes with the territory now.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 7, 2012 8:53 PM EST up reply actions  

Here's all I got to say.

Rick’s teams live and die by the three. This team sucks horribly at shooting in general. Turrubleness ensues.

I’m not gonna lie. I’m a fan of Rick, but he absolutely needs to modify the offense to going through Gorgui, and Chane to a lesser extent. Gorgui and Chane had great games and we were doing well on the inside.

CS5 sucks, Kyle doesn’t move and doesn’t shoot unless the shot is a godsend, Peyton is the opposite. He went most of the game doing nothing but turned it on during OT. Russ has to learn that when he’s cold, don’t take bad shots, and the stupid fouls have to stop. Bench outside Russ and at times Rak has given us zero. Lots to fix, but I think we’ll be fine. Just gotta play through the adversity.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 8:39 PM EST reply actions  

I'm confident

Rick will fix things, he usually does.

Losing at home surprised me, losing to ND didn’t. FIVE straight OT games. Mike B. knows how to play us. It is what it is. We’ll be all right.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 7, 2012 8:46 PM EST up reply actions  

Who?

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 8:44 PM EST up reply actions  

I felt guilty that in the 2nd overtime, I wanted Buckles and Kuric to foul out just so Nunez and Price could get a shot....

Top 5 things that need to improve:
5. Siva’s internal problems.
4. A back up for Kuric and Dieng
3. Maturity (stop making silly fouls, clock management)
2. Leadership. (someone pulling this team together like Preston!)
1 Offensive effectiveness.

This team could be really good, but we are racing against the clock. Those 5 areas have got to be addressed as soon as possible.

by chango on Jan 7, 2012 9:07 PM EST reply actions  

I just don't understand this Pitino system anymore.

Let take Calamari for example. The cayuts don’t run a full court press and they’re #1 in the nation in defense. Everybody jokes about the dribble drive, but he consistently has players go to the NBA and excel there. They do just fine without years of Rick Pitino teaching them the intimate details of the game and telling them they aren’t ready to play.

Yet we have Pitino and his “system” of insane conditioning and full court pressing. First of all, why do you need to be so well conditioned when you have a deep bench? I didn’t notice it phased Notre Dame at all in 2OTs. Let’s ease up on the treadmills. Second is the full court press really benefiting us so much when we can barely inbound the damn ball or run a play? Might help to focus on some other aspects of the game. Don’t get the obsession with defense, its like the game has passed him by.

I just want to see us win. If what CRP does is working, like last year, fine I’m happy. When when our team is falling apart and he acts like nothing is wrong and passes blame, my blood starts to boil. Hes the CEO of our team, whatever problems we are having are on him, period.

by Jason G on Jan 7, 2012 9:08 PM EST reply actions  

On the following:

1. perhaps our constant pressing is not overly effective, giving up too many fouls away from the basket and too many easy looks for 3pt from the wing
2. Pitino’s system need to be evaluated. When athletes the caliber of ours cannot effectively run an offense, maybe we need to alter the system. And absolutely agree that we seem to be unable to do the basic things like inbound the ball and block out on the defensive glass. What the hell kind of system is it that has such glaring deficiencies? I’m no coach but damn, lesser teams seem to be able to do these things rather easily. I wonder if our system has people out of position for those rebounds. And if they are not covering the 3 pt shot (which we are doing very poorly this year), and we are not in position to block out and rebound, what the hell kind of system is this?
3. I am a little suspect about his conditioning. Maybe he is contributing (not causing) some of our injury problems.
4. As the team’s CEO, the responsibility to fix this falls squarely on the coach.

Granted, like many fans i am a little pissed right now after this loss. I don’t really mind a loss when we play well, execute our game plan and just get outplayed. That happens. But to look as lost on offense as we do, is demoralizing.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 7, 2012 10:05 PM EST up reply actions  

1. Press has gotten us back in games and ignited. See Ohio, Vanderbilt, etc.
2. System must go through Gorgui. My 2cents.
3. Nah. If they were all the same type of injury, then I’m with you. But I don’t think lots and lots of different injuries can be justified. Hernias, broken fingers, broken noses, don’t happen cause of conditioning. If they were all the same though…
4. TWO FOOOOOT SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTS FREE THROWS REBOUNDING

This loss is a joint effort. I don’t like some things Pitino did but the players did some downright stupid stuff today (BUCKLES).

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 10:14 PM EST up reply actions  

1. If our offense was better we wouldn’t need to “get back in” games
2. I love Gorgui but I think he may be too new to the game to handle that responsibility yet
3. You’re probably right here but i am still a wee bit skeptical
4. You know how I feel about free throws and rebounding. And now you can add 2 foot shots – unbelievable.

Tell me, do you think the defensive schemes Pitino runs is part of the reason our guys are so often not in position to rebound and allow lots of team to get far too many offensive rebounds (and often easy put back and or fouls)?

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 7, 2012 10:20 PM EST up reply actions  

Get back in is a poor choice of words.

Ignites the offense, crowd, players, and the gnomes.

As far as rebounding goes… our guards aren’t supporting the PF and C during rebounding at all. Peyton is obviously gimpy, Russ doesn’t rebound, Kyle doesn’t rebound, Chris doesn’t rebound, and I could go on and on.

One thing about rebounding is that Gorgui needs to learn to try not to block everything.He’s the big man on the boards. He can’t be trying to block everythign and risk an offensive rebound.

This leaves one man rebounding.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 10:27 PM EST up reply actions  

But in this game for example........

when they run the clock down to under 10 seconds almost every possession, EVERYBODY knows that a shot is coming very soon. Now if the forwards aren’t covering the wings and the 3 pt line, and not under in box out/rebounding position, where are they? There is not much court space left.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 7, 2012 10:32 PM EST up reply actions  

I agree about the shooting.

That part is not pitinos fault. Either these guys need to spend way more time in the gym shooting, or they just plain suck.

by Jason G on Jan 8, 2012 7:52 AM EST up reply actions  

This isn't given enough credit

Like FT shooting, coaches can teach technique but can’t control what you do all summer or in your free time during the season. You have to want to improve. Motivation is a coaching issue but there’s only so much they can control.

by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 8, 2012 2:58 PM EST up reply actions  

+1

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 8, 2012 3:58 PM EST up reply actions  

Remember Peyton's 360 dunk last year?

It was a real crowd pleaser and all over Sports Center. Now you can’t convince me that this shot just happened to pop into his mind as he was dribbling to the basket. Nope. That’s one he had dreamed about and done in the gym, probably a hundred times or more, to the ooooh’s and ahhhh’s of his teammates no doubt. And all the while he’s shooting 68% from the free throw line, 15 points under where he was as a high school senior.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 8, 2012 4:33 PM EST up reply actions  

Not that good

We are/were overrated. The detractors were correct. We can get so far on grit and good D, but we have possibly the worst interior offense in the Big East and when you can’t shoot the 3 to counteract that, well, you get losses at home to teams that are not very good, like today. At least we’ve discovered this pretty early on, so the disappointment of the entire season will be tempered. It’s going to be a long time until August. I wish I liked baseball even a little bit. And if you feel the need to bash me, I don’t mind. I’m just being honest about the bill of goods I was sold as a fan about this year’s team.

by CardsRuleBE on Jan 7, 2012 9:29 PM EST reply actions  

I've had this same thought after watching the game today

We’ve lost 3 of 4 (one, of course, non-league) since league play began, and two of those were on our home floor. And this is a bad ND team. We can’t shoot consistently from the perimeter, and while I don’t agree that our interior offense is one of the worst in the Big East, we don’t finish well enough at the rim. I think the perimeter shooting is the larger problem. But in short, our offense is awful.

I’m beginning to wonder if we’re not headed for a .500-ish conference season, which may or may not be good enough to lock up an NCAA tournament bid. That may be an overreaction, but I find it really difficult to be optimistic about this team after seeing how badly they played offensively against a weak ND team.

And after 2 straight first-round NCAA losses and 3 straight losses to UK, I’m just not in the mood to hear, “Wait till next year.” I’m not. We have one of the highest-paid coaches in the country, perhaps the finest arena in college basketball, and a rabid fan base. If we can’t finish with a decent conference record and advance to the second weekend of the NCAAs this year, then something is badly broken.

by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 7, 2012 9:36 PM EST up reply actions  

It's that last bit that has me in such a funk

Today just finally made me decide to stop being diplomatic about it all. I’m tired of making excuses and always thinking ahead. I’ll always be a fan, but I’m done saying “Oh well, next year we’ll be an elite team.” I don’t expect Final Fours every single year, but why shouldn’t Louisville fans with one of the best coaches ever expect at least one Final Four from every recruiting class? UK does. UNC does. Duke does. If they don’t make a Final Four trip at least every 3-4 years, the fan base really gets agitated. Why don’t we? We should. I am starting right now. I’m done expecting less and making excuses for underperforming year after year.

by CardsRuleBE on Jan 7, 2012 9:46 PM EST up reply actions  

Exactly.

That’s what we are paying RP millions of dollars for. Not memorable regular seasons.

by Jason G on Jan 7, 2012 9:58 PM EST up reply actions  

uh...

UK has been to as many Final Fours as Louisville in the past decade plus. Kentucky has been to one Final Four since 1998 (when Pitino’s players were on campus). That’s not every recruiting class.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 7, 2012 11:27 PM EST up reply actions  

Yes

I was not saying those other programs had actually achieved the goal of one Final Four per recruiting class. I was saying the expectation was there in the fan base. It’s like we have come to expect less and – worse – that we’re OK with that. That’s what I’m done with. Maybe I’m spoiled because I’m older and remember Crum routinely going to the Final Four from ‘75 – ’86. But when a jagoff like freaking Calipari can get top talent in the few years he’s been at UK and actually go to a Championship game (and own us along the way recently), I’m done making up reason and excuses. I might love CRP, but the product on the court is not good enough, period.

by CardsRuleBE on Jan 8, 2012 10:26 AM EST up reply actions   1 recs

^ This. and rec'd.

We should expect more, we must expect more. We must strive for excellence and not settle for less. That must be what Louisville athletics is about. And unapologetically so, I might add.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 8, 2012 12:01 PM EST up reply actions  

Calipari

didn’t get to a championship game at Kentucky. He got to one with Memphis and it was vacated from existence, along with 38 wins. He’s been to one Final Four on record in over 20 years of head coaching.

I’m old enough to remember Crum, too, but quite frankly he was cooked after the three-point line came into play. Zero Final Fours after that. He didn’t adapt. Louisville hadn’t been to a Final Four in 19 years until CRP got them there in 2005, I think the expectations for Final Fours need a reality check.

I get what you’re saying, as a fan, you want to feel like you have a chance to be a Final Four team. I’m not making excuses for CRP, but there’s been some bad luck involved too, and you definitely need some luck to reach a Final Four. I think last season’s team goes to the Final Four with a healthy Buckles (we were 2-0 versus UConn and Butler with a healthy Buckles). We would have received a better seed in the NCAA Tournament (we were clicking on all cylinders leading up to the Pitt game at home last season when Buckles went down), Knowles wouldn’t have broken his foot in Denver. In 08 and 09 we were playing to get there, that’s about all you can ask for as a fan. Rick will get us back to the Final Four, I have no doubt. It’s a lot harder than it used to be, the game has changed a lot. But we’ll get there with him. He’s not done with his job yet in Louisville. He saved his best for last at Kentucky, and I think he’ll do the same here. We’re in a funk right now, but there’s a lot of games left. Keep playing.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 8, 2012 8:05 PM EST up reply actions  

Agreed.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 9:46 PM EST up reply actions  

I'm with you on all of this (not a big baseball fan either)

I do think that we have some very talented athletes who seem to be completely lost much of the time. It is inconceivable to me that they seem to play so poorly under Pitino’s system. If very good athletes can’t perform under a system, maybe the problem is more with the system than the players. I don’t purport to be a HOF Coach, but when top athletes aren’t performing up to par, we need to look at ALL possible solutions.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 7, 2012 9:51 PM EST up reply actions  

On the bright side,

If things don’t improve, we don’t have to worry about the sting of another first round loss. And we’ll get an opportunity to see more home games and make up for these losses if we are a high enough seed in the NIT. I’m pissed and really confused right now.

by cardchomp on Jan 7, 2012 9:58 PM EST reply actions  

On the blindingly bright side

Charlie Strong just landed two four star linebackers today.

So there’s that.

by Jason G on Jan 7, 2012 10:00 PM EST up reply actions  

HCCS's recruiting is like crack,

I see the tweets and the announcements and I just want more and more.

by cardchomp on Jan 7, 2012 10:01 PM EST up reply actions  

IT IS Time to panic beacuse

This team couldn’t come close to beating last years team. We are not cohesive, not together, not plying as a TEAM. We have been “Russ Smithed” into playing street ball.
Siva seems to have morphed into the latest Pitino Point guard….. ala Edgar Sosa. So is it Siva and Sosa’s fault or Pitino???? Right now you couild put Sosa on Sivas back….wait no you cant because Sosa could hit three pointers.
How or why do we run an offense, that ALWAYS end up in the paint?
Pitino says he doesn’t anyone to sub for Kuric, so the kid plays every single minute. NO friggin way can Kyle Kuric play every single minute and be able to perform like he should.
Im sorry but this team is about to implode. And Pitino doesnt know what to do to keep it from happening. Come March, we will be a bubble team

by russ4cards on Jan 7, 2012 10:15 PM EST reply actions  

In a day of crappiness...

We scored 36 points in the paint as compared to ND’s 20. I like to see that.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 10:17 PM EST reply actions  

free throws- Free Throws- FREE THROWS!!!!!!

No, it’s not the only problem, just one of a blue billion this team has. But again, if we’d just make the “free” throws we’d have a “W”. It is already a well known point by many in Card Nation but we are the WORST 13- 3 team in the country. We should be more than terrified that we go 10- 8 or 9-9 in the BE. 3 of the next 4 on the road…we’re done if you ask me. Now I have to once again here in rural Kentucky hear all of the arrogant kool-aid drinking- blue shirt to church wearing Cat fans talk about our loss & their win. ND was 0-6 on the road till they come to an overrated’s backyard.

by ruralvillefan on Jan 7, 2012 10:30 PM EST reply actions  

WTF?

So the win over Marquette didn’t propell us to wins over Syracuse, Pitt, UConn twice, St. John’s, Notre Dame, among others?

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 10:35 PM EST up reply actions  

Last Years Team...

didn’t have a 2 game losing streak until the last 2 games of the season, which were the post season…that’s NOT improvement. I was at the Marquette game…exciting, but I’d rather had an NCAA tourney win…or 2…or 3…or 4…or 5… or 6! Like UConn did!

by ruralvillefan on Jan 7, 2012 10:38 PM EST up reply actions  

Screw the rest of the season right?

Scorpio, is that you?

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 10:41 PM EST up reply actions  

No

I’m new to the CC. Been a Louisville fan since the days of Darrell Griffeth, the McCray’s, Wagner, Hall, Thompson, Ellison, Samaki, etc… Not even from the ’Ville. Live in the midst of corn fields & tobacco barns but a Card fan to the core. Just want to see us do what LOUISVILLE is supposed to do. “Just Win Baby”.

by ruralvillefan on Jan 7, 2012 10:46 PM EST up reply actions  

seriously?

One of those back-to-back losses was to the eventual National Champion in the BET finals, and the other was after Preston got hurt, though that’s still no excuse for losing to Morehead State.

by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 7, 2012 10:41 PM EST up reply actions  

Yep, I sure did watch all of last season

driving 2 & 1/2 hours one way to get to 4 games at the Yum! Center. Got ESPN full court so I could watch last season. I watched a team, with a lot of heart & a desire to win, break my heart in the tourney in NY & the NCAA. Again with last year’s team…FREE THROWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by ruralvillefan on Jan 7, 2012 10:43 PM EST up reply actions  

So many reasons to worry about this team right now.

Worst of all, given the comments coming from the locker room, it seems like they’re having some serious internal issues.

That’s the scariest part. How many times last year did we hear them talking about how the “negative influences” weren’t there anymore? Seems like it was a lot.

To hear things like what Chris Smith said tonight makes me worry more than anything else. At this point they are who they are from a technical standpoint. IE: Kyle/Chris aren’t taking anyone off the dribble, Siva can’t shoot, they’re not deep, ect,ect,ect.

But, if they don’t have that togetherness and unwavering belief in themselves and each other,……. we’re in deep shit.

Fool's names are like their faces, often seen in public places.

by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 7, 2012 10:31 PM EST reply actions  

Go to the CJ web site

Fool's names are like their faces, often seen in public places.

by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 7, 2012 10:32 PM EST up reply actions  

Kind of worried me

when Siva and Swop fought over the rebound. Like they’re both trying to pad stats.

by REALISTICCARDSFAN on Jan 7, 2012 10:33 PM EST up reply actions  

I thought it was more like

each expected the other to let go and didn’t want to let go himself, for fear the other would as well, and the ball would be lost.

by Loouhvul on Jan 8, 2012 5:55 PM EST up reply actions  

Apparently Ware's dad said that

Rick should bench “Bum ### Siva.”

Oh boy.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 10:47 PM EST up reply actions  

the scariest part

is Siva can’t even DUNK. Just read C.L. Brown’s post-game notes. This team doesn’t improve if Siva remains crippled, which he clearly is.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 7, 2012 11:29 PM EST up reply actions  

Then why not play Justice?!?

If Siva is playing bad cause of injury, then sit him. That’s why you have back-ups

by cardchomp on Jan 7, 2012 11:34 PM EST up reply actions  

Why has everyone gotten so low on Justice?

He can run this offence. Or at the very least he certainly can not make it perform worse. The kid is strong with the ball, tough, and a good passer. He also has a decent jump shot.

Give the kid some minutes. We need to simply admit that Siva in injured. Justice, Russ, Kyle, Chane/Buckles, and Gorgui is a good line up in my eyes. Heck I would be happy with CS5 in there for Russ.

We need to get CS5 going. He has a good to very good mid range. He has been entirely invisible for the last month. I could be wrong but I feel like almost all of CS5’s success came when he was at the 3. Why cant we use a Siva/justice, Russ, CS5, Chane/Buckles, Gorgui line up? Or have we done this and I simply missed it? Lets use CS5 to take some of Kyle’s minutes and pair CS5 up with Russ.

by BetaCard466 on Jan 8, 2012 12:26 AM EST up reply actions  

IMO

Its time to remove all access to outside "stuff". One of the worst things these days is all the stupid shit on the internet. Twitter, Facebook, etc etc. (no offense Chick) These guys need to focus on what they’re here for-education and basketball. Its time for an intervention, Rick..

by twistedwedge on Jan 8, 2012 1:52 PM EST up reply actions  

It's true. CS5 knows.

Also no gf’s for anyone on the team.

by GOCARDSATTITUDE on Jan 8, 2012 2:01 PM EST up reply actions  

Kuric and Behanan Double - Double

And no win. That hurts. I got a new Louisville Shirt for Christmas. It has maybe cost us the Belk, the Kentucky game, and this one. It may not see another game day this season. Can’t explain Georgetown though.

by REALISTICCARDSFAN on Jan 7, 2012 10:32 PM EST reply actions  

Yeah and someone tweeted how poor our assists were today. If players on the team don’t trust each other it means no offense flow/no assists which means a much smaller window for victory

by midwestkids on Jan 7, 2012 10:39 PM EST reply actions  

There you go...

That says it all. As it stands we have NO margin for error or window for a victory. This makes me want to throw up. What in the world is going on?

by ruralvillefan on Jan 7, 2012 10:40 PM EST up reply actions  

also when you add notice how Pitino’s attitude has changed to what Chris Smith said. He went from I could coach until im 90 to I’m done after 2017. You don’t hear him talk about how fun it is coaching this team and how everyone gets a long and practice is a lot of fun anymore. But some of that probably just comes with losing

by midwestkids on Jan 7, 2012 10:41 PM EST up reply actions  

Also reflects a lack of making shots

The Cards had 7 assists on their first 10 made field goals in the first 14 or so minutes of the game, and then 2 more assists the rest of the way. Including 2 OTs, that ’s about 36 minutes, so 1 assist per 18 minutes during that span.

by UL is my hot hot sex on Jan 7, 2012 10:47 PM EST up reply actions  

where would I be able to look at the assist #s for every game so far?

by midwestkids on Jan 7, 2012 10:55 PM EST up reply actions  

This is ND team is not good

And what’s most disturbing about this loss is that it didn’t seem like a fluke. The Irish didn’t hit 12 3s. They didn’t come in and get a ton of easy baskets on backdoor cuts. They shot terribly most of the game and stayed in because we were an absolute mess on offense.

I’ve never seen a UL team that misses as many close shots as these guys do. I don’t know what the problem is, but Buckles, Behanan, Gorgui, Siva—guys who have CLEAR athletic advantages against Notre Dame, were missing bunnies. Hasheem Thabeet was not in the paint today, yet it still didn’t matter.

As for Russ, I’m on board with the whole “you take the bad with the good” deal with what he gives us, but that does not mean he is immune to criticism. His back tap attempt with the game tied in double OT was embarrassing. I know he is a playmaker and thrives on steals, but that is an indefensible play at that position, and sums up how I’ve felt about this team in the past few weeks. I don’t know if it’s coaching, execution, or a combination of the two, but there is just too much stupidity out there that needs to be addressed. No, Pitino is not a terrible coach—he’s actually damn good, and so are our players. That’s what makes this particularly frustrating. We are not this bad when we play smart.

by doctorofdunk on Jan 7, 2012 11:25 PM EST reply actions  

They need to go back to the basics and hit that little white square on the backboard

to get the ball to fall with more frequency up close!
The game has gotten too far away from that IMO.

GO! CARDS!
BEAT!
PURDUE!

by 4ul4life on Jan 8, 2012 9:09 PM EST up reply actions  

Our problem to me is the system. It’s finally catching up to Coach P that his attempting to change every bodies game is not working. We have like 5 offensive sets and when the 3 that we use breaks down you then come up with the recent results. U will only get players like Russ and high caliber offensive players that can score when u give more people the green light. Ware, Chane,Blackshear when he comes back all need to free light so they can create. What’s the deal with all the bodies on the bench?! How does he expect kids to get better riding the bench??? I can’t believe that we are having this conversation about the only college team I have ever rooted for. I will die a Card fan but these problems we face now will not be the results of cardiac arrest..lol.. These are fixable problems but we need Coach P to stop being so damn stubborn and fix these issues. Notre Dame is weak as hell and they just out played us..we need to communicate on defense and stop playing down to the level of our opponents! If they run a slow burn offense then a zone won’t cut it!! Let’s fix this and get back to Cardinal Basketball…Let’s Go Cards! I believe…

by megiz on Jan 7, 2012 11:26 PM EST reply actions  

Yeah, zone was stupid today

I felt a little embarrassed that we let a weak ass team come in YUM! and dictate the tempo the entire game. We should have played some man, pressured the ball and forced turnovers. Then, those fuckers couldn’t stand around and burn clock cause they’d be down by 15-20 points if they did. C’mon man!

by cardchomp on Jan 7, 2012 11:37 PM EST up reply actions  

That offense really is hard to speed up.

Going back, we’ve never successfully sped them up. Brey has always done well with the Drexel offense.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 11:43 PM EST up reply actions  

All of the teams that lost to ND last year disagree.

Just saying, I’ve never seen a fullcourt ND game, through their good and bad years.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 7, 2012 11:46 PM EST up reply actions  

Imagine being a ND fan and having to watch “burn offense” or as I like to call it “stall ball” all season long. Say what you want about Rick but his up tempo style has made for some amazingly exciting games.

by midwestkids on Jan 8, 2012 12:09 AM EST up reply actions  

Doing to bed now,... as bad as tonight was, it's gonna seem a lot worse if we don't get a win at Prov. on Tuesday.

BTW,… they’ve lost all 4 of their Big East games so far adn we’re going to be the last of a 3 game home stand for them.

So yeah, I’m pretty much thinking they’re gonna beat us on Tuesday. Yep, I said that.

They might suck, but we’re playing horribly right now and they’ve gotta be about as desperate for a win as they have been all year.

Bryce Cotton goes for 20+

Fool's names are like their faces, often seen in public places.

by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 7, 2012 11:27 PM EST reply actions  

Thank Goodness for this!

Opening day is just under 3 months away. All jokes aside Card fans…look forward to a short viewing weekend come the 1st rd of the NCAA tournament.

by CountryCard on Jan 8, 2012 1:20 AM EST reply actions  

Hours after the game, my feelings haven't changed

Siva should be benched for a while. All emotion aside, he needs to be sat down and forced to step away so he can look at things from a different perspective. He is completely lost right now. He is playing stupid, selfish, and turning the ball over way too much. No way we make it out of the first weekend with him like this (assuming we get there). It’s time for Rick to own up to reality and accept there is a huge problem with our offense and be the hall of fame coach he is and make the necessary adjustments. He can start to remedy the situation by getting Siva back on track.

________________________________________________
www.lordkayoss.com

by LORD KAYOSS on Jan 8, 2012 2:00 AM EST via mobile reply actions  

I think Siva should be sitting because he's HURT. If he's hurt, he can't perform to his usual standards.

I love Peyton. I’d much rather see him healthy in February while getting less minutes in January, than toughing through the entire season and not be at a high level when the tournament comes around. Everyone saying we might not make the tourney are absolutely insane. Just can’t see it happening.

ALL HAIL

by Cardinal_Pride on Jan 8, 2012 9:39 PM EST up reply actions  

Buckles lost us the game

He fouled a three point shooter put them on the line fouled again when we had the ball on a screen (turnover) couldnt hit a open lay up. I feel if we had more bodies out there playing Dieng wouldnt have fouled out and the game would have been so much different (GIVE THE FRESHMEN CHANCE TO PLAY)!!!!!!

by Die hard CaRd! on Jan 8, 2012 3:08 AM EST reply actions  

It has to kill our recruiting

Seeing so many guys ride the pine year after year.

by Jason G on Jan 8, 2012 8:03 AM EST up reply actions  

Yes

Its Destroying our RECRUITING!

by Die hard CaRd! on Jan 8, 2012 10:49 AM EST up reply actions  

Pastry Chef Siva

From CBSSports.com message board
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/34250441

Bench Siva and let the other 7 guys on the bench have time, someone will step up. I sure miss last years TEAM.

by storm8259 on Jan 8, 2012 5:22 AM EST reply actions  

These kids are not in a position to succeed

I dont blame any of the players. It is the system, the conditioning, and the inflexibility of the head coach. I waited 24 hours to say this. But after 10 years, I am starting to check out mentally on Pitino. I dont want to pile on, but my expectations are very low right now, and I see this as the beginning of a bad time for UL basketball. A guy who publically muses about retirement does not have the drive to win a title. Pitino hasnt done anything in 15 years, and I forsee 2-3 years of bad basketball followed by a ungraceful exit. My passion is gone, I am a Cardinal for life, but I am in detachment/self-preservation mode right now regarding the current basketball staff. Good luck to all, I will try to refrain from negative posting until this works itself out.

by Chip Constant on Jan 8, 2012 8:51 AM EST reply actions   1 recs

Scott Martin

I’m not sure why, but think about the calls this guy has gotten against us:

1. Technical foul on Kuric last year on the dunk.
2. No travelling call on the play Gorgui fouled out.
3. In a controversial call against a top 10 team playing at home with the game on the line, he draws the charge.
4. In 2OT, when Siva drove Martin definitely moved and bumped into him. Granted, it was a wild play by Siva, but that is called a foul all day long in every college bball gym around the country.

by Quinn1979 on Jan 8, 2012 9:45 AM EST reply actions  

All I know is

leading up to this season, everyone was saying that Pitino finally had that ‘great’ team he’s been wanting ever since he got here, and that if things didn’t go well this year, heads would roll. I just think our guys are much better than they look right now. Is that coaching?

by pianoman on Jan 8, 2012 9:56 AM EST via mobile reply actions  

having slept on it

it appears pitino cannot or will not fix the problems with this team. he thinks the offense is “fine,” refuses to draw up worthwhile inbounds plays, and is more concerned with our players body fat % than their FT %. We’re also seeing the results of him having so complicated of a system that Price and Nunez don’t get it, so don’t get any minutes early in the season, and now are forced to ride pine when we could really use their minutes (price behind dieng, nunez behind kuric). The other problems seem to be personal problems among the players, as hinted by Chris Smith and Kevin Ware’s dad. Pitino has very little influence on these problems – he needs his captains to step up and lead.

So where does that leave us? We’re likely an NIT team this year (no wins against anyone of note, esp. on the road), unless things change (though as I mentioned above, coach is either unwilling or unable to change much of what ails us). Going to the NIT will be just another nail in our recruiting coffin – along w/ injuries (siva’s comment about “never 100%” doesn’t help), highly rated recruits riding the pine all season, pitino’s retirement comments, etc. and decline of our recruiting will lead to the overall decline of our program.

so from a big picture, ask yourself this: in pitino’s 11th year, did you ever dream that we’d be wondering about making the tournament halfway through January? the fact is, it’s time for the fans to start demanding results. 3 times past the first weekend in 11 years is not acceptable – just ask denny crum, who was fired after four trips past the first weekend in his last 11 years. we need fresh blood in our basketball program – not a past-his-prime, dreaming-of-retirement has been. we’ve been putting up with past-their prime coaches for nigh on 20 years at this point; we need a young, hungry coach who’s going to put a solid product on the floor. in short, we need a charlie strong for our basketball program. Jurich, can you find that person, or are you going to let pitino drag us back into the dark days of crum’s final years?

by wscii on Jan 8, 2012 10:00 AM EST reply actions   1 recs

I'm going to say this once

RP has absolutely nothing to do with our current problems at the line, and 65% of our offensive crappiness. FTs and shooting are directly tied to the extra time the player puts in. 100%. Rick can show them how to shoot as Jason G said, but they have to put in their effort.
Peyton and Russ have obv put in their time- Kevin Ware has not. Not has Chris Smith.
As JG said earlier, an inability to hit two footers shows a lack of individual work on it.

Not that this offense doesn’t have problems, but Rick isn’t the big one.

Remember the Beef Bowl!

by HorsePig55 on Jan 8, 2012 10:01 PM EST via iPhone app up reply actions  

PITINO FIND THE PASSION!

CRP needs to find the love he once had for basketball and trully made a bad decision of joking about his retirement to the media that automacticly STOMPED on our recruiting. My opinion is that hes either losing his will to coach or he has other things on his mind because a team is only as good as its leader. Not forgeting the good runs we had in the past and Im still thankful for the great things he has accomplished BUT something has got to change in this line-up. Louisville is a 5 Star school and as Cardinal fans we wont stand for this!

by Die hard CaRd! on Jan 8, 2012 11:06 AM EST reply actions  

How do you know it stomped on our recruiting?

How many recruits have we lost since Pitino made that comment? How many commits decommitted?

I think it was a boneheaded comment, and I think it’s likely to hurt recruiting down the road, but nobody can state as fact that it has already “STOMPED on our recruiting.”

"I am willing to donate to the charity that is working on the prevention of whatever the hell Dick Vitale has." - noobmaster

by rickmbari on Jan 8, 2012 12:20 PM EST up reply actions  

Why would it do that?

No one they’re trying to recruit now will be here in 2017. A couple of years down the road, now, Pitino had better be quick to disavow that statement.

by Loouhvul on Jan 8, 2012 5:42 PM EST up reply actions  

I haven't seen anyone call him an asshole here or anywhere else.

I haven’t heard anyone say they don’t like him. Lot of people are saying he needs to hit the bench but that’s not a personal attack. It’s a legitimate criticism. He either needs to rest his injury or get his personal shit straight, whatever it is.

Then we get highly recruited guys like Ware come in and even though Siva is playing like crap, CRP won’t give him any minutes. I just don’t get it.

by Jason G on Jan 8, 2012 12:12 PM EST up reply actions  

Non of the kids need to be called anything other than lvl basketball players

I can guarantee that each and every one of them want to win just as bad as we want them to win.

Now I do feel criticism is fair. Its just what comes when playing ball at a top tier program. Not to mention comes with life in general.

Lets just criticize in an appropriate manor and remember they all want to win just as badly as we want them to win.

"Winning gets you where you want to go"
-CS5-

by lvl1 on Jan 8, 2012 12:16 PM EST up reply actions  

Greened.

"I am willing to donate to the charity that is working on the prevention of whatever the hell Dick Vitale has." - noobmaster

by rickmbari on Jan 8, 2012 12:21 PM EST up reply actions  

But be careful

You’ll piss off people who think it’s their God-given right to ridicule Peyton’s religious beliefs.

"I am willing to donate to the charity that is working on the prevention of whatever the hell Dick Vitale has." - noobmaster

by rickmbari on Jan 8, 2012 12:23 PM EST up reply actions  

Peyton's not an asshole...

rickmbari is. I make one “Waterboy” reference and you have me nailing him to the cross. Get over yourself

by cardchomp on Jan 8, 2012 5:16 PM EST up reply actions  

Agreed that people shouldn't make personal digs at our players, but criticism is to be expected

Peyton doesn’t need to read CC to know how badly he is struggling right now. But he also shouldn’t come here and find our fans calling him a bum – that is not acceptable.

by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 8, 2012 12:25 PM EST up reply actions  

It truly breaks my hear that there are only a handful of true Louisville fans

who actually love and support our players game in and game out, no matter what happens.
This isn’t a team of stuck up big fat ego’s like TWill’s and others….
Why do you all think Peyton plays bad? Why is he too nervous to shoot? Because there are thousands of people of facebook and RIGHT THERE IN YUM! cursing his name anytime he doesn’t do exactly what we need him to.
I blame the FAKE FANS for hurting Siva, and if I could punch every one of his haters in the face, I would.

Go Cards and LOVE YOUR TEAM.

by GOCARDSATTITUDE on Jan 8, 2012 2:06 PM EST up reply actions  

I love this point

But I’m really sick of the 08 and 09 team getting bashed. I loved that team. I don’t care if they had egos. And please GCA this is not me bashing you. I really like your input to this site, and you have clearly been posting on here since before I knew the site existed. But those teams were a freak 19 footer on back to back trips by Tyler Hansbrough and a Michigan State team that its best day from 3 all year away from BACK TO BACK final fours. I liked those teams. Lets just try to avoid bashing them at the expense of our current team. That team may not have had the heart of last years team or the grit of this one, but they had confidence and swagger. Two things this team could use.

MUCH LOVE

by arbuch02 on Jan 8, 2012 10:24 PM EST up reply actions  

Russ should start at the #1

he can shoot way better and right now has the most heart and energy! all he is is uncontrollable and stupid mistake making, just how Siva is now so basically he is Siva with a jumpshot! Bullet sucks ass! we should bring in Nunez to start at the 2 and keep Kuric at the 3. Start Buckles over Chane

Sit Ubu sit, good dog!

by Austin Montgomery on Jan 8, 2012 12:24 PM EST via Android app reply actions  

Everybody has their own Opinion.

Stop getting so offended we are simply just Die Hard fans that want to see our team WIN! Uhhh stop crying were just pissed rt now.

by Die hard CaRd! on Jan 8, 2012 1:10 PM EST reply actions  

If you pretend that all these comments are by one author who is a paranoid schizophrenic

It actually is pretty entertaining. A lot more entertaining than losing to ND and agonizing about what magical catalyst will turn us into a top 10 team.

by James Sutherland on Jan 8, 2012 1:14 PM EST via mobile reply actions   2 recs

It was time to panic in December

I don’t often post here, but I think the time to panic came in December. The warning signs something wasn’t right were flashing bright red when we failed to blow out the myriad of weak teams we played at home. If this team really was as good as the ranking suggested, we should have won half of the December games by 30 points. Instead, they were mostly nail biters.

I’m sorry, but I don’t see a whole lot of talent on the court. Yes, Siva, Behanon, and Blackshear were McD AA’s, but they’re surrounded by a group of rag tag role players. In fact, many of the players Pitino has recruited are better suited to play at Bellarmine. One or two might be fine for a 13 man roster, but not six or seven. Recruiting, as a whole, has been a complete joke since Pitino’s been here. There’s been no consistency or focus to what he’s tried to do.

Certainly, injuries have had their impact on this team, but let’s not pretend Marra would have changed much. He’s 21% career three point shooter. I’m also sure Siva’s ankle injury has slowed him, but he’s never shown an ability to hit a jump shot. More importantly, the book is out on him. Don’t give him a free drive down the lane and he’ll make a mistake.

Pitino hasn’t forgotten how to coach, but he’s facing the same problem Denny faced. The game has changed and he seems unwilling to adapt. Every team scouts now. Every team conditions now. And every team seems to understand the one-and-done player is a part of the college landscape. I’m not sure Pitino realizes that. On top of that, his reliance on defenseball is making most top players look elsewhere.

I don’t know what’s going to happen the rest of the season, but I suspect it’s going to be a painful slog. Every game will be close because our offense is so bad. Right now, this season looks to be what last season was supposed to be. A repeat of 2010 is conceivable and that is a major worry. Another early round exit and it’s going to be a miserable time for Pitino.

by Whacker77 on Jan 8, 2012 1:20 PM EST reply actions  

Our D.

We are so focused on DEFFENSE that we are completely lost on offense.

by Die hard CaRd! on Jan 8, 2012 1:27 PM EST reply actions  

It's very sad to hear all these people calling our players names.

Selfish and childish. We are Louisville. We have way more class than that. You want to rail Pitino? Fine. He deserves it if this season tailspins into what it looks like it’s going to. But calling players “selfish bums” and “untalented losers” when you have no idea what they’re going through is a disgrace. We’re better than that. At least I thought we were.

Now, talking about the coach and the program, I think we’re at a tipping point. The problem that we really face is what’s going to happen next year? This was supposed to be the year. Starters were giving up scholarships to walk on so we could have depth. We lost two key contributors, and were replacing them with guys who were supposed to be at least more talented. So far, that’s not panning out, and what happens next year? We lose Kuric (leading scorer), Chris Smith (co-captain), and potentially Swopshire. And who are we adding? Terry Rozier. Now, no offense to Rozier, because I think he can become a great player. But he’s one guy, at a position we will likely already have backfilled.

I don’t know if Pitino realizes that time is almost up for him. It was bad enough to have to deal with the Sypher situation, but fans aren’t going to stand for following up a season that ended in a disappointing tournament run with three straight seasons where the run ended at the start line (or worse). Not to mention losing to Kentucky three straight seasons (in more places than the basketball court).

This season is really going to have to get back on track if Pitino wants to regain the trust of the fan base, and I’m concerned that he doesn’t even really understand it.

by CARD_G6 on Jan 8, 2012 1:56 PM EST reply actions   1 recs

Except one point - next year, presumably, we add Blackshear and Marra as well

If Blackshear is anything close to his high school self, that is a major talent upgrade. Even if I’m not happy with where things seem to be headed this year, I honestly expect things to be better next year (no matter how tired I am of saying, “Wait till next year,” and believe me, I’m tired of saying it).

by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 8, 2012 2:33 PM EST up reply actions  

I would like to see Peyton start taking a few mid-range jumpers again

The late sequences against ND played out the way they did because nobody thinks Peyton can or will stop to make a 12-15 footer anymore. And he can shoot his way out of this, and he will have to do so. If our offense is going to improve, he needs to re-establish that he can hit a mid-range jumper; it would allow him to drive under control and help him to reopen the floor for other shooters.

I am fully confident that Peyton can make that shot with reasonable consistency, but he has to start taking it, even if he misses a few. He makes our offense go, and he is just too one-dimensional at this point.

Also, I liked the emphasis on getting the ball inside yesterday. If we’re not running the S/R with Peyton, I like going inside to Gorgui or Chane on the block. Establishing an inside game and getting Peyton going are both critical to freeing up our wing shooters for a few open looks. And we badly need that.

by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 8, 2012 4:53 PM EST reply actions  

I would like to see Peyton do this in practice............

1.Bring the ball down to the top of the key
2.Pass into the post
3.Come around a screen
4. Receive a pass back from the post
5. Shoot that 3 point shot IMMEDIATELY!!!!

DO NOT catch and look to pass, look to drive, or look to do anything else. Catch and shoot immediately.

Do this about 100 times in a row and chart the results. Does he do better going left or right off the screen, etc.? This should do two things:
1. ELIMINATE THE HESITATION/THINKING that he is now doing. He is obviously looking to do something other than shoot that 3 pointer. You can often see the panic in his eyes and it sometimes results in a bad/forced pass to avoid taking the shot.
2. Will give him the confidence he needs to get and make that shot.

I believe he can be a good shooter, but he must get that confidence and eliminate that hesitation/thinking phase before the attempt.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 8, 2012 6:23 PM EST up reply actions  

People talking shit about the players need to chigaty-check themselves. These are not professionals, they don't get paid to do what they do. This is on Pitino, who I'm firmly convinced has lost his mind.

Yes I just said that. Either that, or he thinks that one of CBB’s most savvy fan bases suddenly forgot everything they know about the game.

It’s not gonna make anyone feel better any better if he just says “yes, we’re really struggling to score the basketball right now” but, continuing to proclaim with a “damm the torpedoes” mentality that the offense is “fine”,….. is really starting to piss me (and a lot of other people) off.

He can blame the defense,… he can blame Russ, Kyle, Chris, or anyone else for things like rebounding, reaching, or whatever it is he’s spinning. The fact is, if the offense was functioning at even half ass levels, we might be undefeated right now, or at the very least wouldn’t have lost to G-Town and ND at home

I heard it summed up pretty well on the radio this morning while I drove to E-town; “Louisville’s defense will keep them in any game, their offense will keep any team they play in the game with them.”

And that’s pretty much it. You can play harder than any team out there (which I don’t think they did yesterday) but if you don’t score more points than the other team,…. you’re gonna lose every time.

These guys could still get it together, Pitino is very capable of getting it done,….. but it’s become painfully obvious that what he’s doing is not (IS NOT) working.

Unfortunately, for us the fans, it seems as though Rick is bound and determined to sink or swim with the lineup/ offensive philosophy that we’ve seen through the first half of this season.

I fear that if he doesn’t do something soon it’s going to be too late.

Siva may indeed be hurt, and if that’s what the problem is then he needs to be rested. But bashing him or any other player on this team is unnecessary. Rick Pitino is the man in charge of recruiting and putting the players he recruits in position to win. No one else.

Fool's names are like their faces, often seen in public places.

by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 8, 2012 6:08 PM EST reply actions  

What happened to this?...

“We’re going to play like the Loyola-Maymount teams of old. You all are going to be shocked when you see the pace that we’re going to play at. It’s going to be completely different that anything you’ve seen from us. We’re practicing with a clock and anyone that doesn’t get the ball past half court in 3 seconds takes a seat. We’re going to push it every opportunity that we get. This is part of the rebranding of UL basketball that I’ve been talking about”.

Rick Pitino – 2011 Pre-Season Media Press Conference

by Cardinals Cardinals UofL Cardinals! on Jan 8, 2012 7:17 PM EST reply actions  

PLEASE PLAY OUR RESERVES THAT WOULD CUT DOWN ON THE FOULING OUT!

We need our players out there and switching up bodies is what CRP said he would do this year because we are so deep. Thats the key fresh bodies off the bench, half of the teams we play only play about 6-7 players(kentucky) its our strength and we have the capable players to do so.

by Die hard CaRd! on Jan 8, 2012 9:14 PM EST reply actions  

Here is the deal. The players' game play can be analyzed, but no personal attacks should be thrown; imo. As far as Pitino:

He made me mad when he commented on his retirement. He made me mad when he commented on the Big 12. He made me mad after the UK game. I’m over it.

Last year we had a preseason loss to Drexel (really bad) and UK. Then we lost some games we shouldn’t have in the Big East (Providence). Then when upset a bunch of ranked teams only to crap out in the tourney…????

There is no telling what this team will do. They may drop a bunch of games and then make a deep run into the Final Four.

I do know that I don’t have to worry about Pitino’s future. He has a building with a huge mortgage on it. If, he keeps dropping games at home to weak opponents then we won’t need a fan uprising; the fans will just quit coming. Tom Jurich is not fool; he is not going to let CRP tank this program.

This should make us want to get behind our coach as much as possible at least for this year. Cause we have to support the Yum! and the program as whole. The program is bigger than the coach. Let’s hash it all out at the end of the season

Go Cards!

by chango on Jan 8, 2012 10:07 PM EST reply actions  

One Play

Despite all of the things that went wrong yesterday, and all of the people on here with their pitchforks out (love how winning gets one-fourth of the comments that losing does on non-game threads), it’s worth noting that this game turned on a single play with about 1:30 in regulation.

I haven’t looked at the tape, but here’s how I remember it: an Irish player makes an ill-advised move toward the basket, loses the ball, and we come up with what appears to be either a 4-on-1 or 4-on-none fast break. Siva fails to make the play to get the ball to our of our open guys on the run out, they get it back at half court and counter with a three. What appeared to be a 50-44 game with 1:25ish left was instead 48-47.

Obviously you all remember this play, I’m just reminding you that if Siva gets that ball ahead and we go up by 6, the armchair coaches are out in full force right now. I’m as frustrated as anyone, but I wonder how many people are up in arms if we dunk that ball and win ugly. Just a thought.

by doctorofdunk on Jan 9, 2012 12:01 AM EST reply actions  

good point

If we keep losing, then we can freak. It’s natural to have some questions, but let’s see what happens the rest of this month before we throw in the towel. We looked pretty darn good versus St. John’s. I thought we played Kentucky really good, got some horrible calls. This team has question marks with health, and players who can create their own shots. But CRP’s usually pretty good at making the best out of what he’s got.

Siva has to get healthy and return to the Siva of old. That’s priority number one. The rest will fall in place.

by FrankensteinsJacket on Jan 9, 2012 2:09 AM EST up reply actions  

He's clearly hurt

he had the break away into our end of the student section and he barely got the ball over the rim. This incarnation of Siva has heart but he needs to be healthy for later in the year, fuck right now. He is too important to play hurt for three months. Rest him. play Ware and Nunez and Wayne for spells. Run like crazy to counter not having Siva and we will be fine. Our team should honestly be 11 deep.

by arbuch02 on Jan 9, 2012 11:36 AM EST up reply actions  

Even if we make that play, it doesn't change how poorly the offense is playing.

Winning is great, but knowledgeable fans know when a team is playing well and when they aren’t. Winning a game does not change the fact that there are phases of the game that we just aren’t performing well.

by Carolina Cardinal on Jan 9, 2012 6:34 AM EST up reply actions  

I know that I wouldn't be nearly as frustrated if we had won

But I would still be worried. The entire ND game was very troubling, and it continued our pattern of offensive woes. If we don’t get the offense straightened out, there will be plenty of additional losses to come.

by cardsinindy2010 on Jan 9, 2012 8:36 AM EST up reply actions  

FWIW,..... I think there are a lot of people, myself included, who have seen the problems that we're having as very troubling from very early on, and have been worried about them whether we were winning or not.

I’m not saying that you, or anyone else, haven’t noticed them.

What I’m saying is that for some people as long as we win, “it’s all good.”

But for some of us, to see our team scraping by in pretty much every game, against teams we (hypothetically) shouldn’t be having any trouble with, and doing the same against Vandy/ Memphis who ARE talented but not playing well at all to start the season,……

Well, for some of us it was a big red flag all along and it was not “all good.” We were worried that as soon as we played a talented team that was playing good basketball,… we wouldn’t be able to pull it out at the end, as we’d become accustom to doing.

It is what it is,… people can arm chair QB this thing to death, people can bash Rick, or Siva all they want,…. but the truth is that something has to change. Whatever we’re doing on offense isn’t getting it done; and, I don’t care what Rick says, the offense is anything but “fine.”

We were playing with fire during the first part of the season against the Ohio/ Charelstons of the world.

Well, good teams can play with fire against the MAC/ Southern Conference and get away with it. But, you can’t play with fire against the Big East or someone is gonna throw a bucket of gasoline in your face. Those teams we beat were good, but they weren’t Big East good, and they certainly weren’t Kentucky good.

Wins are wins, but you’ve gotta put them into the proper perspective. We don’t have any wins against teams that are currently ranked, we struggled our way to home victories over teams that a Big East/ Final Four contender should’ve blown out,…. and we’re now 0-2 at home in our league.

People are freaking out, but it’s not like they have no cause to do so. From the sound bites coming out of the locker room on Saturday,… a team that once looked to be a solid group now seems pretty fragile. That might be the scariest part of all.

Fool's names are like their faces, often seen in public places.

by Chick-Stratino'sUrDaddy on Jan 9, 2012 10:03 AM EST up reply actions  

#OccupYum

We are the 99%. Pitino is the 1%.

by centrecard on Jan 9, 2012 12:04 AM EST via mobile reply actions  

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