Former Louisville great Reece Gaines was selected by the Bakersfield Jam with the 13th pick in the second round of tonight's NBA Developmental League draft. In the 2003 NBA Draft, Gaines was selected by the Orlando Magic with the 15th overall pick. I'm guessing this is a rare feat.

Perrin (PERRIN!) Johnson also heard his name called when the Springfield Armor took him in the sixth round.

Best of luck to both in their continued efforts to make money playing a game.

And now, because I can...

To be perfectly honest, I've been fairly pessimistic about the upcoming basketball season since the '08-'09 squad went down to Michigan State. Not "football program" pessimistic, just "I think we may be taking more of a step back than some people think" pessimistic. There's the loss of two lottery picks, the offseason Pitino scandal and a tough Big East from top-to-bottom to deal with. I think lowered expectations are understandable.

While reading into any November game, especially an exhibition, is foolish, Wednesday night was the biggest shot of optimism for me since that loss in Indy last March.

Louisville was never really tested by a Bellarmine team that played pretty well and will challenge for the Division-II national title. The Cards shot well, defended well and cut down on a lot of the mistakes they'd made a week earlier against Georgetown. Overall, this was the most solid exhibition performance from a U of L team in recent memory.

It's safe to say that Peyton Siva again stole the show...

It's impossible to replace the excitement that T-Will brought to the Hall, but the kid is certainly trying.

Bellarmine simply didn't have anyone who could guard him. There was a string of about three minutes where it looked like he was playing a basketball video game against the computer with the difficulty set at "Beginner." Siva would make a simple move and blow past his man, take a couple more dribbles and have an uncontested lay-up or an easy pass to make.

He's insanely quick, he's insanely athletic, he's got terrific vision and apparently an extraordinary attitude.

Again, by the time he leaves Peyton Siva will have become one of the most beloved Louisville basketball players of all-time.

On a team loaded with good shooters who lack the ability to create their own shot, Preston Knowles' ability to knock down the contested jumper with the same ease as when he's left all alone may be the single most valuable skill any player on this team possesses.

PK was advertised as a streaky shooter coming out of high school, a characteristic I thought would stick with him throughout his collegiate career. Not quite sure how it happened, but suddenly he's one of the biggest outside threats in the Big East.

He also plays defense.. and does cool re-enactments of Peyton Siva dunks for his teammates.

With all of the attention Peyton Siva has received today, it should be noted that it may have been Edgar Sosa who played the better all-around game. He hit several shots early to set the tone, finished with a team-high four assists and did a good job of covering Bellarmine's outside threats.

Solid move by Pitino to call off the press and go strictly man against the Knights. Matching up for 40 minutes against a smaller team with several terrific outside shooters was a big test for a pretty young Louisville team playing its second exhibition game. Even though Justin Benedetti and Braydon Hobbs both got several really good looks from beyond the arc, the Cards still handled a difficult task very well.

Really surprised that Kuric didn't get the start and even more surprised that he played so sparingly, but it's a safe bet that the five starters on Wednesday will be the same five being introduced before the game come late February/early March. I know Pitino's mad at Jennings, and I agree that he doesn't appear all that much improved from a year ago, but that combination may have more potential than any other quintet on the roster.

I really think Jerry likes faking defenders out and making them jump more than he likes scoring points. It's the only explanation.

"Run This Town" was a solid improvement for the pregame video. Still, the highlight choices need to be re-edited as the year goes on. I'm looking at you, unnecessary Kuric dunk at the end of the Arizona game.

This was the most impressive performance Jared Swopshire has put forth yet. He snagged some contested rebounds, made a couple of big hustle plays and also scored off some nice moves with the ball.

Here comes the putter throw...wait a minute, maybe this is a new Jared Swopshire.

He also looks like he might be trying to grow his fro back out, which, I have to tell you, I'm completely in favor of.

Reggie Delk also stepped up and had a nice game. I don't think there's a player on the roster whose '09-'10 season is more difficult to predict.

Pitino had the following to say about freshman Mike Marra's shooting struggles:

"He's a very nervous young man, he's from a prep school league where the largest crowd he's played in front of was probably 300 or 400 people. We've got to get him some exposure."

You'd think that if you had the balls to sport those tatoos in public every day not much else would phase you, but who knows. Keep shooting, Mike.

A ladybird messed up during the second routine.

I'm not going to stand for this, girls. How badly do you really want that 877th straight national title?

Rakeem Buckles is a mixture of Otis George and Juan Palacios. This, coupled with the fact that his name is Rock Buckles, has made making him my new best friend the lone goal in my life.

Stephen Van Treese has really taken Pitino's "just rebound" philosophy to heart. He snagged an offensive board right around the rim and did not even think about going up with it. His skill set might be limited, but he's a very big boy and he can be a contributor if he develops a little bit.

Chris Smith: I applaud your outfit.

Dating back to last season I've correctly picked four straight winners in the Kentucky Lottery race thing. What's up, Vegas?

Not sure why but I really, really wanted Chris Brickley to score. The three seconds after he missed that jumper were the most upset I was all night.

The Cardinal Bird jumped on the platform by the railing right behind me and it scared the absolute shit out of me.

Ready for Arkansas.

Jumpin' Alvin Simms is ready.

GO CARDS

My disdain for recruiting is overshadowed only by my affinity for embedded videos.

You look sort of like Edgar Sosa, you play sort of like Earl Clark; let's go ahead and make this thing official, young man.

I realize I'm a little late to the party with this, but you know who else was a little late to the party? Jesus.

Point, Rutherford.

Outside of the home team's spotty outside shooting, Wednesday night was just about everything I expected. Samardo Samuels dominated in the paint against an undersized NAIA team, the Cards made careless decisions with the ball, they committed a lot of reach fouls because they were out of position defensively, but ultimately they found the run they needed in the second half to secure a double-digit victory.

If the last few seasons of Pitino ball have taught us anything it's that analyzing these games too closely is pretty much pointless.

And yet we proceed...

Pitino has stated multiple times that this team has a ways to go defensively - and that was obvious Wednesday night - but what really concerns me about this group offensively is its lack of quickness and playmakers. Louisville has a handful of guys who can hit the outside shot consistently, but just one or two who can create space by themselves to get that shot up.

The lone exception is Peyton Siva, who looked amazingly quick and had no problem getting into the lane and creating shots for teammates. It's no coincidence that he was the catalyst for the second half run that put the contest out-of-reach.

Siva's going to be a bit turnover prone and vulnerable to getting over-excited, but his playmaking ability and leadership qualities were both on full display in his Cardinal debut. When he exited the game for the final time, he was so intense that Samardo Samuels and Preston Knowles couldn't help but laugh.

The kid will leave here as one of the most beloved Cardinals of all-time.

You could almost hear Edgar Sosa thinking, "here we go again" when Siva received his final ovation from the crowd.

Still, I think this is good for Edgar. Either he steps up, busts his ass and becomes the true leader and floor general this team needs or he rides the pine and watches a freshman run the show in crunch time.

The next few months will decide whether or not he's remembered for more than just a made shot against Kentucky and a couple of missed shots against Texas A&M.

Jared Swopshire definitely deserves praise for hitting the weights in the offseason, but on Wednesday he again looked capable of doing little more than taking up space and snatching uncontested rebounds. Whenever he touches the ball on offense his main concern appears to be completing a simple pass to someone nearby.

I do think he has the potential to be a quality Big East forward, I'm just not sure it's his time yet.

To state the obvious, Kyle Kuric is light years ahead of where he was 12 months ago. I'd be very surprised if he doesn't start against Bellarmine, but even if he performs as well as he did Wednesday night, it will do little to shed light on the issue of whether or not he can hang against Big East quality competition.

I don't think I've ever seen a more anal trio of refs. These guys were basically talking shit to the players. At one point, one of the officials asked teh Georgetown guard who had just fouled out, "you got somethin' you wanna say?"

It's getting worse and worse.

Worst comment overheard during the game: "Kuric seems like a kid I would meet at a wedding and just get hammered with. I don't know whether that's cool or gay."

Gay. Really gay.

Fatherhood has done little to diminish Jerry Smith's affinity for the personal foul.

I, for one, am surprised.

We've got a ways to go, but it's going to be hard to best former PRP star Vincent Crutcher for the title of biggest tool on an opposing team. Thinking your Charles Barkley while playing for an NAIA school is no way to go through life, son. Hope you remember that Samardo chest bump.

Preston Knowles.

Terrence Jennings is deep, deep, deep in the dog house to begin his sophomore season. He's really taking the whole Earl Clark imitation act to heart. If he gets suspended for the UK game things will hit Single White Female status.

I found the pregame video a bit underwhelming, but I suppose it will be edited and added to as the season wears on.

Also, given, um, some of the issues that came up during the offseason, I'm not sure if Pitbull's "Hotel Room Service" was the perfect choice for intro music. But whatever, you can clap to it, the kids enjoy it, I get it.

I was a senior at Trinity when the Saxton twins were sophomores. Even though I had a handful of close friends in my class who played basketball, Kyle Saxton was easily my favorite player on the team. I nicknamed him "BTB" because of his amazing behind-the-back move, and the name quickly caught on. One time he was benched for dribbling behind-the-back with no one around him in an effort to appease the wishes of the student section. It was awesome.

Anyway, even though I gave him this nickname and he acknowledged my shouts of praise when he was on the court, I was still star-struck when I saw him during school. Our lockers were literally right next to each other and not until the district tournament came around could I work up the nerve to spit out a "good luck, BTB."

I don't really have anywhere else to go with this other than to say that he scored eight points, is awesome and still intimidates me.

Georgetown would beat Depaul.

I think these are my favorite uniforms in a long time, which is saying something because I've liked every year's rags since the infamous "ass rainbow" NIT season. That said, I'm not sold on the warm-ups.

Chris Smith was rocking some serious bling, but he needs to step his sartorial style up significantly if he wants to bring home the coveted honor of "best dressed player in street clothes." Richie Phares is comin' hard.

Love the idea of honoring a past former Card great on the ticket of each home game. Still, if I'm Jim Price I'm pissed I get Georgetown.

Surely, Dr. Dunkenstein rounds this thing out, right?

I honestly don't think I could have felt more at peace or more at home Wednesday night.

It's basketball season in Louisville.

To be honest, I'm surprised we're that low. It's probably right around where we actually belong, but I'm still surprised.

Here's the poll:

Aside from some less-than-stellar outside shooting from the home team, I'd say this was just about what everybody expected from the opening exhibition.

Georgetown's physical play surprised Louisville in the first half, both teams were sloppy but U of L was able to find the run it needed to secure a double-digit victory.

Token

Full recap in the morning.

Nothing has been OK since the Michigan State game last March, so I'm not even thinking twice about doing this...

GO BASKETBALL

GO ADMM

GO CARDS