After the Buzzer: Kentucky

Quick Hitters

-Has too much time passed that you are done with the win over Kentucky? No? Good, then let’s get into it.

-The film review for this one was the most clips I have ever done. I try to keep them around 10 or 12 total, but this one ended up being 17. I didn’t think people would mind a few extra for this game. And honestly, if you know me by now with doing this, you know it’s not 17 positive plays for the Cards. I believe it’s 10 positive plays and seven negative plays. Even in a win like this, if I see it, I will point it out, and there was plenty to point out that needs to be fixed. But my word, it’s so much better to show those mistakes when you know this ends in a win over the Cats. So, so sweet!

-It helps when the two best players on the floor play for your team, and that was the case on Saturday. David Johnson and Carlik Jones were outstanding. Carlik kept things under control, made big shots, looked for teammates, played solid defense, and hit the big free throws at the end of the game. David Johnson, well he just couldn’t be stopped when he drove to the basket. He was also, get this, 3/4 from three. WHAT? Add it all up, it’s a deadly combination (in my 90’s country voice).

-Carlik and David combined for: 37 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.

-Louisville shot 12/15 from the free throw line. Kentucky shot 14/22. In last year’s game, Louisville was 9/20. Practice your free throws, kids.

-An unsung hero in this game for me was Quinn Slazinski. Within a minute of entering the game, Quinn dove on the floor for the loose ball and saved the possession by calling timeout. He also buried a big three in the second half and took a charge, both on Isaiah Jackson, who got a nickname from Quinn if you happened to catch that.

-I don’t want to harp on it too much because I mention it in a long play on the film review, but Sam Williamson has to be better. It’s not missing shots. And I don’t even know if I can say it was effort because I am sure he was trying. But it certainly looks like he was moving at a different speed and not in a good way. Is his toe still bothering him? I don’t know. But I am not one to give excuses so I can’t roll with that theory. His cuts seemed half speed, he scored the first bucket and then disappeared. He just jumped on my radar as someone to watch going forward on how hard he plays. I didn’t think this was the case with him before, but something struck me with him in this game. I hope I am wrong, but I was just disappointed in his effort on Saturday. He seemed so nonchalant.

-Dre Davis attempted the most threes on the team with five. That is a problem if he isn’t going to make any of them. I like him driving and forcing contact better.

-We know sports (and everything) are weird in 2020. Seeing little to no atmosphere for this game is just something I never want to see again. “Weird” is the only word I can come up with for it. Not to mention you have announcers calling the game from their house. What a time!

-I have to give a quick shoutout to my boy, Sam Bearden, the walk-on from Holy Cross. I coached Sam for three years in high school and to see him on the bench and in the locker room celebrating a Louisville win over Kentucky just makes me very proud of him. He is living the dream!

-Kentucky shot 20/58 from the field for 34.5%. I can not understand why we had guys leaving their feet on ball fakes. It seemed to always be in the mid-range. Shot fake, defender jumps, and the guy would duck under and get a shot up. I know for sure Samuell Williamson did it once and Dre Davis did it twice. Those three mishaps resulted in six points for Kentucky. Yes, they scored every time we went for the fakes. Again, they shot 34.5%...LET THEM SHOOT AND JUST GO GET THE REBOUND!

-From three, Davion Mintz was 4/6 and the rest of the team was 1/11. Let. Them. Shoot.

-Thinking back to how the game was unfolding at the end. Turnovers, Withers traveling under the basket, Dre stepping out of bounds. We all felt what was going to happen. I cannot believe the Sarr shot rimmed out. So relieved that we were able to hang on.

-They are mad. Don’t let them bring you down to their level. All they are going to say is “congrats for beating our worst team ever by three points.” How do you respond? Just say thanks and smile. And remind them who we are still missing from our team. Because you KNOW how they would have been if they won. So it was either going to be “ehh you beat a terrible team” or “HAHA LITTLE BROTHER WE OWN YOU CATS ARE BACK BABYYYYY!!!” No in between. There never is with them. They will try to bring you down with them. Don’t fall for it. Enjoy it. They have won plenty of ugly games in this series. All that matters is the W.

-As always, thanks for reading. Sorry this took a few days to get posted. I didn’t want to rush just to get it done. Hopefully the film review is worth your time. Go Cards!

Film Review