The Unclutch

This is the second game in a row where the Cards have wasted a tremendous effort and surrendered a "big-time," season-altering victory that should have been theirs. Edgar Sosa, our senior leader, misses 4 of 5 free throws down the stretch. Had he made them, or even half of them, it would have put away the game. Inexcusable. In OT, the defense completely fell apart, allowing Pitt to penetrate at will... I think they ran the same driving play -- where a Pitt dribbler was allowed to glide across the high lane to find open space near the basket -- three times in a row. Pitiful.

Worst of all, our senior duo, far from leading the way, has become our weak spot, the team's Achilles' heel. Sosa missed the free throws and at times played out of control. Jerry Smith disappeared completely, again, save for the final seconds of regulation when he committed a reckless and costly tripping foul. Like the last one, this game offered much for Cards fans to like, but it's all coming from our juniors, sophomores, even freshmen, guys like Samuels, Knowles, Kuric, and Siva. I'm sorry to say this, because I root for them so desperately (especially Edgar Sosa), but Smith and Sosa are letting this team down. Think back to Kentucky, think back to Villanova. With the game on the line, they are the ones missing the free throws, commiting the silly foul, turning the ball over. They are the "unclutch." The Cards' season now hangs in the balance. Something has to change.

Sosa = Goat

There's no real way around it. The Cards choked away a desperately needed win with Sosa's poor free throw shooting and carelessness with the ball. They pissed away the best performance of the season by Samuels (a mans game) and Knowles (clutch and smooth) with another shaky performance at crunch time. This team seems destined for the NIT.

Things have got to change. We can't keep sending Jerry Smith out there with no production. Sosa doesn't make his teammates better. If we're going down, we should at least go down with our best 5 on the court. This one hurts.

How awesome is Denny Crum?

Ever the avid sportsman, Denny Crum is spending the weekend in the LBL hunting geese. On the Joe B. and Denny Show (or as I call it, the Denny and Joe B. Show) yesterday before he left, they were recalling a story from last year when Denny had gone on a similar hunting trip. He still did a segment on his radio show from a cell phone, presumably from his duck blind in the middle of no where. At one point he halted the interview, sat his phone down, and then a shot rang out clearly audible to his radio audience. He got the duck of course, and then picked up the phone and continued the show. That story tickled me for some reason.

The Pitt and the Pendulum

The Pitt Panthers are on a roll, knocking of UConn last night to make it 7 wins in a row. The Cards have an enormous challenge awaiting them on Saturday. This is a good thing. Why? Because this team has little to gain right now by beating up on another middling Big East team. We need a validating win. More practically, they need to start building a resume for the selection committee. But more importantly, the team needs it from a psychological perspective. They've lost two close, emotional games to top-5 teams. Though this team has plenty of fire, there's only so many times that you can keep picking yourself off the mat and maintain confidence. The Cards need this one lest doubt begin creeping in.

Deon Rogers

This video (after the commercial) is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it's shows Georgia commit Deon Rogers commenting on his excitement level after joining the Bulldogs. Now he may be poised to be the next player to defect the Bulldogs for the Cardinals. It's also a reminder that Signing Day can't get here fast enough for this blogger, as several key future Cards like Michaelee Harris and Corvin Lamb are visiting other schools as well. Football recruiting is a frustrating business, and when you're dealing with 18 year-olds, impulse decisions based on cheerleaders with the hottest uniforms and cafeterias that serve the best chicken tenders aren't out of the question. Look at that frame though; with his speed Rogers is going to make a hell of a strong safety wherever he lands.

Faceoff

Well, the big news of the day in college football is Lane Kiffin upping the ante for scumbag coaches and bolting UT. Louisville fans know a little bit about being jerked around, but nevertheless, I can't muster much sympathy for the Vols here. When you lay with dogs you're going to get fleas. It is a remarkable story though, and this'll take Tennessee a few seasons to recover. I do hope Charlie Strong is on the phone, however, offering words of comfort to the spurned recruits. What can I say, it's a tough business.

In more provincial news, everyone that thought the first in-state Strong-Joker recruiting battle would be for Central linebacker Tim Patterson, think again. Jody Demling reported yesterday that PRP d-lineman Brandon Dunn, who committed to UK before Christmas, has reopened his recruiting in the wake of Charlie Strong's arrival. This is getting fun. Have I said that before?

Sy Dieng...sy what?

Some sources are reporting that the Cardinals have offerred a scholarship to 6'10'' big man Gorgui Sy Dieng from Senegal. I'll be the first to admit I was wrong if Dieng becomes the next Neon Budeaux, but this news doesn't have me very excited.

After our early season losses to Charlotte and Western Carolina, Coach Pitino spoke frankly at his press conference about getting better on the recruiting trail, an area traditionally believed to be his strength. I don't know much about Dieng, he has only been in the United States since October, but this offer is dispiriting for a couple of reasons. First, the success ratio for these sort of "project" big men from foreign countries is alarmingly low. Ask UK fans how these sort of things usually turn out. Second, the offer was made after a visit to see legitimate prize Justin Coleman, Dieng's teammate at Huntington Prep (Dieng is 6 inches taller than Coleman, yet Coleman outweighs him by 10 pounds). Whenever Pitino and McCarty go on these recruiting trips they can't seem to walk away without offering scholarships to whatever teammates also happened to play well that day. Such was the case with Michael Chandler and Ryan Taylor (and correct me if I'm wrong, but at one time I think there was a third player) who were recruited from the same Indianapolis high school. Michael Chandler is certainly a worthy recruit, and all indications are that Taylor is impressive as well, but these sort of spur of the moment offers create the appearance of laziness. Or at least that scholarship offers are being made without a tremendous amount of thought being put into continuity from class to class.

I don't want to be overly negative, but since Pitino himself cited slippage in recruiting to explain UofL's inability to become a "permanent top 20 team", I think it's fair game. Wayne Blackshear's commitment was a fine indication of Louisville reasserting itself on the recruiting trail. I can't say the same for Gorgui Sy Dieng.

Siva played big

Peyton Siva showed during the second half last night why he is, in many ways, the future of Louisville's offense. During a critical stretch when the Cards' more experienced ball-handlers demonstrated they hadn't the faintest ability to break a high-court double team (throwing the ball away four times in quick succession), Siva was inserted into the game and quickly restored order -- though by then it was too late. In front of 17 NBA scouts, Siva broke with ease Villanova's midcourt traps that so confounded Sosa and Knowles. He also hit a big three and ended a drive to the basket with a highlight reel pass to Samardo Samuels that the latter should have thrown down (Samuels was fouled and hit both free throws). The freshman fouled out on a questionable call and played only eleven minutes total, but during that time, it was Siva, not our two senior guards, who was the reassuring presence in the face of Villanova's trapping defense. That's a hopeful nod to the future, but what is says about the present is not so reassuring.

Team Conan

Absolutely no relation to the Cardinals, but Mr. Red thinks what NBC is doing to Conan O'Brien is a travesty.

The dual Pitinos

Not many coaches have the onions to look at a scouting report of an opponent chock full of veteran guards, and say "screw it, we're pressin' them all out"...and all while rocking a white suit. For the first half the Cards pressured Villanova like a vice. Their savvy dribblers could barely get the ball past halfcourt. Pitino-ball looked glorious.

Then halftime.

Then adjustments. Jay Wright skillfully Xed and Oed his guys past the press in the second half, and the Cards didn't seem to have any other tricks in the bag to frustrate or foil. And that's the only problem with Pitino-coached teams. He does what he does extremely well. But that's all he does.

Refusing the advantage

Looking at the stat sheet from last night's loss to Villanova: Samardo Samuels scored 21 points. He did not miss a field goal or, even more impressively, a free throw attempt: he was 13 of 13 from the line, including his final two free throws after getting banged in the eye and having trouble seeing. His rebounding was lackluster (7 rebounds total, and only 2 offensive boards), but he partly made up for it with four blocked shots. He held Villanova big man Antonio Pena, who is averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds, to 4 points and 5 rebounds. Late in the game, he demonstrated why he can be so frustrating to watch yet is our best hope: on the receiving end of a Peyton Siva highlight reel pass, Samuels was caught flat-footed underneath and could only draw the foul when he should have finished big -- following which he made both free throws.

The individual heights of Villanova's starting lineup were 6'8, 6'5, 6'5, 6'2 and 6'1. Against this, Samardo Samuels couldn't miss a shot, but was only allowed to shoot four times from the field. Yes, all attempted shots on which he was fouled were nullified from the statistics, so that's about six more shots, so ten total. Ten shots from our big guy against a bunch of guards, versus 34 three point attempts on a night when clearly we were not hitting. What am I missing?

7 out of 34...

...is what we shot from beyond the three point arc against Villanova. 7 out of 34, or 20.6 percent. The Wildcats hit two more 3 pointers than we did, but took 21 fewer 3 point attempts. When our guys are "on," then clearly, the three point attempts should rain down. And yes, I know that shooting 3s is philosophical to Pitino ball. But at some point, when the offense isn't hitting and especially when its producing contested shots from far away, the coaching staff needs to encourage more aggressive play and feeding the ball down low. Must our entire season rest on the increasingly random status of our long range shooters?

2:17

Technically, it wasn't a must-win. But emotionally, intuitively...it was. A sea of white, T-Will flown in, a legendary suit, the bright lights of ESPN, and a team desperate for a marquis victory. We had the moment in our grasp...and watched it slip away.

With 2:17 left in the game the Cards took destiny into their own hands. After a Louisville basket to make it a one possession game, Jerry Smith turned up the defensive heat, shadowed the Villanova ballhandler to midcourt, and then stole the ball away almost by sheer will. A season hung in the balance. After a frenetic stampede back downfloor, with a crowd ready to explode, Jerry drove, drew the wing defender and passed to a wide open Swopshire behind the arc. Clang. Game over.

Is there someone to blame? Not really. Maybe that's what's most frustrating. The energy was great, the focus was there, the execution simply lapsed in the second half. A team full of good shooters cannot knock 'em down in the clutch.

Even up 17, everyone knew there was no blowout in the works. The run was coming, this one was destined to be a dogfight from the opening tip. The question was how the Cards would respond.  From Samardo's clutch free-throw shooting to Peyton Siva ably taking the reins of the offense, the Cards didn't do anything wrong per se, but no one stepped up to win the game. For the most part, there was a lot of heart on display. But the game isn't measured by heart, it's measured by moments. This team keeps missing them.

Cards lose to 'Nova

This one will be hard to get over. Up 17, the Cards spit up their entire lead and lose by 8. Louisville has no go-to guy when the Cards feel the heat. Sosa's the closest thing, but the stars still have to be aligned for him to play well in the clutch. Jerry Smith continues to suffer from a season-long shooting funk... and it's killing our chances. Maybe my ears are just ringing from three hours of Jay Bilas commentary, but I have to agree with him and wonder why the heck the Cards didn't feed it more often to Samardo Samuels against a four-guard defense. Jeez, this is a tough one to swallow. Major opportunity to beat the #4 team in the nation, what would have been a team-defining victory... wasted.

Large Kadron Collider

Mike Leach's loss may be the Cardinals gain. In the wake of Leach's firing, Kadron Boone, the highly-coveted receiver out of Florida is entertaining new suitors, despite having previously committed to Texas Tech. He was a part of the mega-class that visited campus last weekend, and word is he came away highly impressed with the Cards. Stay tuned.

Suit Up

The Cardinal family circles the wagons

T-Will's twitter from about an hour ago:

coach P ask me to be at the louisville game, well he's the BEST so I will grant his wish, on the bird taking off we need this win fellas

Sosa: "We have the greatest fans"

Thanks Edgar, it's nice to feel appreciated. Follow the link to see the CJ's video wrap-up of the St. John's game and player post-game interviews.

P.S. in the video, check out the poster behind Sosa in his own locker. What can you say... our guy's got swagger!

This is fun

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but there's another future Cardinal to be excited about. St. Joseph running back Kamal Hogan commited to the Cards yesterday. He's been compared to Knowshon Moreno, and was being courted by Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, among others. By my count, this is the 73rd running back on our roster for next year; so obviously, some adjustments will be made. Part of the fun of the first year under Coach Strong will be watching these athletes find and grow into their respective positions.

Any realistic UofL fan will admit that the hatred we feel watching UK's resurgence in basketball is tinged with more than a little jealousy. Being an "it" program is an amazing feeling. Having players want you as much as you want them makes a fan's chest puff out just a little more (or in the case of UK, a lot more). Charlie Strong has done an incredible job amassing an army of explosive talent in his brief time at the helm. Obviously, UofL is far from the "big dogs on the block" on the college football landscape at the moment. But a corner has indeed been turned, and now, no recruit seems out of reach. UofL is no longer competing with Tulsa and Southern Miss for the best of the leftovers after the big schools select their talent. And he's not done yet. This is fun.

 

Untitled

My apologies to NCAA football. I besmirched the college game last week, stating the NFL is far superior in terms of balance and competitiveness. Yesterday's first round NFL games proved yet again I have no idea what I'm talking about. I know there are a lot of Bengals fans around these parts, and I don't want to rub salt, but what a bad display of football. I couldn't believe I was watching playoff teams. Let's hope today's games live up to expectations.

For Cardinal football, the Charlie Strong recruiting machine rolls on. Two more commitments yesterday, Senorise Perry and Kai Dominguez. Loyal readers know that I'm a sucker for cool names, and next year's class is delivering the goods. Senorise Perry, Michaelee Harris, and my favorite, Quan Weaver. They roll off my tongue like a melody. Good stuff. Here's a remarkably well-produced highlight video from Kai Dominguez's high school career...



Also, here's further evidence of Senorise Perry's athleticism (Hat tip: guyngreen at Card Chronicle).