Love ya, but...

Valentine's Day and all its lovey-dovineses is over with, and as excited as I am over the Cards all-important win yesterday, it's no time to ignore the uglier underbelly of the performance.

* Rakeem Buckles
Love the hustle, love he way you can pass in the interior. But can you work on that 8-foot jumper in the off-season? The Orange were just daring you to take it, and again and again, you passed it away. Shoot the rock, Rock!

* All Our Guards
Love the intense defense, the desire to defend all 90-feet of the floor. But those silly slap fouls you pick up after we score a basket, trying to make another play, it's like you can't help yourselves. Syracuse kept themselves in the game the last two-minutes at the free throw line. Handing them the double-bonus could make a huge difference down the stretch.

* Swop
Love the way you played with poise in the first half, you almost single-handedly kept UofL in the game after a piss poor start. But could you start grabbing the basketball with authority? You almost gave me a heart attack when you lost that missed free throw rebound out of bounds.

* Samardo Samuels
Love the way you've learned to flash your athleticism. Skying for the alleyoop and rising to block a Cuse layup at an important moment. But you've got to realize when you're not in good position, too far from the basket. Trying to dribble your way to the hole can be hard to watch.

* Peyton Siva
Love just about everything you are capable of doing with a basketball in your hands. But you've got to realize that when passing to big men, they're hands are bigger and less nimble. Spinning a bounce pass to Rakeem Buckles on the baseline with english is as good as a turnover.

* Jerry Smith
Love you Jerry. Make these last few games memorable. That is all.