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Of all the great moments from Louisville’s desperately-needed 90-66 drumming of Syracuse on Wednesday, none felt quite as cathartic as one that occurred about midway through the second half.
Fresh Kimble, who was taken out of the starting lineup for the first time since the start of ACC play, used his quick hands on defense to force a turnover out of Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim. The whistle resulted in a TV timeout, which allowed Kimble to give out a primal yell and celebrate with his head coach and teammates.
Here’s what it looked like:
My favorite clip from No. 11 Louisville's 90-66 win over Syracuse tonight: Fresh Kimble (@freshkimble) forces a turnover, yells and goes over to Chris Mack for a chest bump. That man was hype. pic.twitter.com/o8ZN7LASPe
— Tyler Greever (@Tyler__Greever) February 20, 2020
Inject it straight into the city’s veins.
The best thing about Kimble is that you knew he wasn’t going to blink when he was told a freshman was taking his starting spot. He was going to keep being a positive voice from the bench, and then he was going to keep busting his ass every second he spent on the floor. That’s what leaders do, and I think the recognition of that is part of why Mack reacted as passionately as he did in this moment.
Along the same lines, props to Darius Perry — who was also taken out of the starting lineup and played a very limited role on Wednesday — for also matching Kimble’s excitement level here.
A great moment from a great night.