Billy Reed on Pitino and speculation about Pitino's future

Billy Reed is someone I have long admired; he is, to me, the David Broder of Kentucky athletics. So when he weighs in on something, I typically pay attention. When he weighs in on something about Louisville basketball, I always pay close attention. And when he weighs in, as he did this afternoon, on how well a job of coaching did Rick Pitino really perform this year, and whether Pitino will choose to come back next season or whisk himself away to a less stressful, more friendly job such as the currently available head coaching position at St. John's University in New York, I wonder, I worry, and I begin considering strongly whether there might really be something to what Reed is suggesting.

However, Reed stresses that it is only speculation at this point. Additionally, it doesn't make sense to me. I think it's crazy to think that Pitino would find solace or personal peace in media-crazed, scandal-obsessed New York... as I recall last summer, while we had some gripes with local coverage, Cardinal Laws as well as other hometowners were defending Pitino against the pulpit speeches and feigned self-righteousness of the "out-of-towner" onslaught, including several tabloid journalists from New York, all whom couldn't get enough. By the dozens, they were all calling for Pitino to resign or predicting that Pitino would resign in the wake of the Sypher scandal, because, well, that's a fun thing to do.

Nonetheless, Billy Reed has spoken, and his viewpoint stands out. I also think he hits on a lot of the conflicted emotions that many Cards fans are feeling after yesterday's loss. On Pitino's job performance this year:

On the one hand, you can make the case that because the parts never fit,
because nobody ever really stepped up to fill the sneakers of Terrence Williams
and Earl Clark, Pitino deserves credit for getting as much out of them as
anybody could reasonably expect -- a 20-13 final record, an NCAA bid, and, of
course, that glorious final victory over top-ranked Syracuse on March 6, the
last home game for the Cards in Freedom Hall.

But on the other, you also can make the case that Pitino hurt the team by
stubbornly refusing to play Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings together until
the end of the season, by never starting Peyton Siva at the point and moving
Edgar Sosa to shooting guard, and by erratic personnel moves.

How many times did a player have a good game, only to get little or no
playing time the next time out? Conversely, Pitino kept giving plenty of minutes
to Jerry Smith despite one lousy performance after another.

Early on, it was obvious that Smith, for whatever reasons, was going to be
more of a liability than an asset this season. His two-of-eight shooting
performance in the 77-62 NCAA opening-round loss to California was more or less
typical of his season.

Too often the Cards became perimeter-oriented offensively when it was obvious
their best option was to get the ball to Samuels in places where he could score.
Too often the shot selection was horrendous. Too often the Cards gave up easy
baskets by not playing defense with the usual Pitino grit.

On the notion that Pitino would consider leaving Louisville, Reed suggests that Pitino and his wife may desire a change in scenery:

Only insiders know how much of a distraction the Karen Sypher scandal was for
Pitino. The whole season, I never thought he looked relaxed or happy. At times,
in fact, he looked downright haggard -- haunted, almost. For the first time
since I started covering him in 1989, he rarely seemed to be enjoying himself.

As usual, the rumors have started about him leaving. Just the other day, a
guy was telling me that Joanne Pitino wanted to get out of Louisville because
she felt the family needed a fresh start in a new location.

I didn't laugh, as I usually do at Pitino-is-leaving rumors, because it makes
sense. Besides, whether Rick was working in Lexington or Louisville, Joanne has
remained a New Yorker to the core, declining to get involved in community
activities and spend a lot of time away from Kentucky.

Already jobs are open that I think make more sense for Pitino than Arizona or
Sacramento ever did. I could see him coaching at St. John's or Seton Hall. I
could see him going back to the Knicks or even coaching New Jersey.

But this is pure speculation and should be taken for what it's worth, which
isn't much. Maybe Pitino's future will depend on what happens when the Sypher
case goes to court, if it ever does.

Still, Reed notes that there's a lot to like about next year's squad:

Unlike some observors, I see the Cards being better next season. The senior
guards, Sosa and Smith, will not be missed. Neither will shooting forward Reggie
Delk, a streaky player on a streaky team. And if Samuels returns instead of
transferring or -- horrors! -- opting for the NBA draft, the Cards will have
more returning experience than most of their Big East rivals.

With a
potential starting lineup of Samuels at center, either Rakeem Buckles or
Jennings at power forward, Jared Shropshire at small forward, Siva at the point,
and Preston Knowles at shooting guard, the Cards should be ranked in the
preseason Top 20. Kyle Kuric and Mark Marra will be solid reserves at either
small forward or shooting guard. George Goode will be back from an injury and
Stephen Van Treese could emerge as a useful backup center.

Throw in the new arena opening up, the expected burst in national attention that the program should receive as a consequence (of a different variety than was received last summer), not to mention another year between then and the Sypher episode, shouldn't that combination be refreshing enough? The wild card is recruiting. Pitino has to land a prized recruit and to do it soon, to keep all related parties -- including himself -- happy and satisfied.

Read Reed's full post here.

Theo: "We were really focused on winning. Our concentration was up there...everyone was locked in."

Cal senior Theo Robertson who dropped 21 points, including the dagger trey that ended our last run. Other players hinted they thought they caught UofL unprepared for their gameplan.

Pitino: "We're a young basketball team..."

For a team that starts 3 seniors and who's sixth man is a junior. Almost as head-scratching as throwing Mike Marra to the wolves in the first half after ossifying on the bench for 5 games.

Pitino: "We're going to get a lot better next year"

Follow the link to Pitino's post-game comments here.

Season over: Cards lose to Cal

No names. Not this time, at least not for now. This season ends as a collective failure, and it ends with the Cards as they were at midseason: a pressure-cooker mess, a clutch-play embarrassment. They never learned to execute against decent competition, especially when the opposition hit with a hard punch and waited to see how we would react. As it turns out, our response, tonight and the entire season, most often was to swing wildly but blindly, landing punches here and there but never finding the needed rhythm. In hindsight, the biggest wins by the Cards this season all were driven by individual feats. A great team effort this year? I can think of none (but then again I'm pretty down right now). Defense fed off offense -- rather than the other way around -- and our offense just was never very capable. Even tonight, after thirty plus games together, these Cards looked lost offensively, showing almost no hint of cohesion, even less any kind of identity. Pitiful. Defense? Rebounding? That's a reflection of toughness. Please.

Looking back on this season, there were encouraging moments, even one that was magical: no one will soon forget that final game in Freedom Hall. Maybe the most heartening news is that many of this team's greatest feats were spearheaded by guys who will (or should) be back. More perplexing is why our veterans, our combat vets, didn't more often seem like the driving force behind our greatest successes. But like I said, no names. I am determined.

In my opinion, this team never accomplished much team-wise. Maybe it will mean something, anything, temporarily at least, to view this last game, representative as it was of our entire season, as the collective colossal failure -- by all 14 players, the assistant coaches, and the head coach -- that it was. Despite the accustomed moments of hope and momentum, Cards lose big to Cal, 77-62. Story of the year. And now it's over.

Go Cards.

To ease the tension

Here's Earl Clark and some other dudes singing "Ladies Night"...

The Royal We

Click here and scroll down a tad for Rick Bozich's interview with Edgar Sosa. Funny for a couple reasons. Watch Rick pose some strong-arm leading questions, essentially asking, "It's a well-known fact that fans only remember the Michigan State loss from last season, would you agree that a tournament run would erase that memory? By the way I'm working on a column with that very premise, so a 'yes' would be great."

Fans only remember the Michigan State loss? Really? I think about winning the Big East championship at least twice a day. Don't try to turn these Cards against us, Rick!

Sorry to yell. Getting punchy around here as we countdown. Oh, also watch as Edgar almost cracks up laughing around the :50 second mark over something going on in the background, but admirably stays in serious-mode. Good stuff.

Are you for real?

Watching Xavier-Minnesota, commentated by the one and only duo of Ian Eagle and Jim Spelunker. There's no way those are real people.

Also, the rumors never stop.

Jeremy Tyler calls it a day...

Former Cardinal-bound center Jeremy Tyler has quit his Israeli team midway through the season. He averaged 2.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in his brief career.

Bullet. Dodged. But I'm still dying to know this guy's take on the situation.

Rip off their hard hats

Final reminder: beware the chip on shoulder these Bears carry into tonight's game! Cal thinks they got screwed by the selection committee, deserved to play out west but instead had to travel across country. We know what Rick Pitino would bring to harvest with such fertile soil. Any reason to think Mike Montgomery is any different? Consider C.L. Brown's post from Monday:

Seems like U of L's first round opponent, Pac-10 regular season champion California, will carry a chip the size of the Golden State into Friday's game.

The Bears don't seem too pleased with having to make the cross-country trip to Jacksonville, Fla., feeling that they merited a spot in the West. Of the six major conferences, they received by far the worst seed for a regular season champ. (Consider: Notre Dame finished seventh in the Big East, but got a six seed.)

"Regardless of whatever you do in life, somebody's always going to have something to say," Cal guard Patrick Christopher said. "Everybody's not always going to be on your side, and we've dealt with that, being at Cal, for a while now, and me along with the rest of the guys on the team, we're about proving people wrong. We're going to strap on our hard hats and be ready to go to work."

We can beat these guys, Cards fans... we're better than them. Forget about the whole chip on shoulder routine... outplay Cal, out-execute Cal, beat Cal. We have to stare 'em down, eyeball to eyeball, and send their crying asses back west where they so desperately wish to remain. Let's do them the favor. Go Cards.

Family

"I want you to have a good time but if you get a girl pregnant out of wedlock, I will crawl into the car, drive up to Oxford and cut off your penis."

--Sandra Bullock, playing Leigh Anne Touhy in The Blind Side

The most shocking news yesterday in a day of shockers? Jesse James cheating on Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock less than a week after her touching thank-you speech, in part, to him, and countless recent stories about their beauty and the beast romance.

Weird, wild, stuff. But just like Sandra did in immediately moving out, after a rough first day for the Big East, it's time to circle the wagons tight. Conference chest-thumping is irrelevant right now. It's a fun sideshow, but this isn't a support group, we're in this thing by ourselves.

If you get grief today, don't take the bait, focus on tonight, and the only place you earn respect; on the court. We're staring at Cal, our sole enemy, and a do-able task. Don't get distracted.

The Book of Samuels

We all know how important it is which version of Samardo Samuels shows up, the Incredible Hulk or the Incredible Sulk. We know it, he knows it, Pitino knows it, the Golden Bears know it. So it makes me uneasy when the point is belabored, like it was today in the CJ.

Samuels already has a penchant for forcing. When he feels the pressure to produce, his moves in the post get more bullish, he hangs his head lower when his jump hook rattles out, and the hangover effects his defense. He's a tenured master motivator, but I do question Pitino's media moves quite often.

Samuels is still a sensitive sophomore who can act at times, well, sophomoric. Rather than build up his prowess pre-game, I would rather emphasize that he's an important part of a team seeking balanced basketball, and place the leadership burden on our senior guards. One day, I hope, we can put all the pressure on Samuels' broad shoulders, but not right now.

Wow, part deux

What a finish. The Murray State Racers didn't Cinderalla their way to this one. They didn't sweat out a lead. They played confident all game, had the lead taken, FOUGHT to get it back, fell behind in the final minute, and SEIZED the win at the buzzer. What a game. And I agree with our commenter below, Murray is well-coached and dangerous from all 5 positions. Should we find ourselves single in the future, Bill Kennedy deserves a long look.

Wow

What a start to March. It's looking like 'Nova will advance after all. Watching a highly-ranked team celebrate as they barely squeak by a huge underdog has to be one the most nauseating experiences in sport, right after a sweaty John Calipari press conference. They'll no doubt go on a near-death experience tear, but there were weaknesses on display to exploit should we earn a rematch. Man, I hope we show up tomorrow.

***UPDATE***
I spoke way too soon. Unreal!!! How dumb is Reggie Redding? Who passes up two points to get fouled? He shoots 63% from the line? Even if their clock strikes midnight, what a performance from RM. Inspiring.
***UPDATE II***
'Eff Nova.

Off to the Racers

I got my undergrad degree at Murray State. I lost my virginity there, I selected them in my 8 Pick 'Em group bracket with decent cash at stake, and they face a SEC team today. Needless to say, I'm pretty psyched for the 2:30 matchup.

Murray State is the perfect school for Louisville fans to cheer. In addition to state pride, they have a sneaky tradition of solid basketball, and it's located sooo far west in the state to be outside the sphere of UK influence, which pulls largely from the coal counties of eastern Kentucky. Life in Murray is dominated by the Racers, the St. Louis Cardinals, and boating in the LBL. It's a pleasant place.

Anywho, I'm sure you know this, but this year's Racers squad reached 30 wins, won the OVC conference tourney, and for a moment was a hot sleeper pick. But apparently they crossed that amorphous line from "under the radar" to "trendy". The latter is bad, and many analysts started backing off the MSU bandwagon as the week wore on.

But forget all that, I'm calling Murray State over Vandy the lock-upset of the day. They're going to be the more athletic team on the floor, they guard the perimeter well, and they even got the presidential seal of approval in Obama's bracket. Throw in the heavy heart they must be playing with after the sudden death of junior Picasso Simmons' mother in a car wreck this week, and a win today just seems preordained. Or at least I hope so. Go Racers.

Nova down 6...

At the half. Way too early to get excited, but should the unthinkable happen, suddenly a favorable draw for the Cards starts to resemble the parting of the Red Sea. One game at a time, one game at a time, one game at a time.

Peas and thank you!

It's here. I thought I looked forward to this day as much as anyone, but then I heard the surreal radio advertisement currently being circulated around the city, trying to goad male fans to schedule a vasectomy for the first day of Madness. Why? Because you'll have doctor's orders to just sit around and watch the tournament all weekend, of course! They even throw in a bag of frozen peas and a free pizza from Tony Boombozz. I'm not kidding. It's definitely one of the strangest ad campaigns I can remember, but the fact that someone thought they could entice Louisvillians into genital-surgery with the mere promise of more basketball is a reminder that, along with Derby, this is truly one of the High Holy Days for our city.

Check back throughout the day for thoughts on Day One action and our looming matchup with the Golden Bears. Go Cards.

The long day

The day before Madness tips off, even if we don't play till Friday, is certainly the worst. I've about had it with analyst blather (though I don't change the channel). I respect those that do live-coverage of games, even those I don't particularly care for. It's a tough job, and if you don't think so, hit the mute button on the next game for two minutes and try it with a buddy. Odds are you've said something dumb by the second whistle.

But studio analysts, that's another story. I'm getting a headache listening to former players in suits try and justify their salary with another vague prediction: "Don't sleep on XXX team, if they show up to play, they can make some noise." Thanks Jay Williams, very enlightening.

Once it's tipped off though, and possibilties start to become realities, the nerves fade and the fun begins. What the Cards lack in surefire confidence, we make up for in the comfort that comes from our well-worn role as dark horse, the self-deprecating but dangerous 9-seed.

This year's field has been called the worst in years. It's primed for major upsets. It's primed for the Cards. Call it what you will, but it sounds like fun to me, and it begins oh-so-soon.

***Breaking News***

Cal has suspended starting power forward Omondi Amoke for tournament play for violation of team rules. The 6'7'' sophomore averaged almost 5 points and 5 boards a game. Great news for Samardo Samuels, as he looks to face the already undersized Cal frontcourt.

General Montgomery

I admit it. I've already had a little fun this week making snide remarks about west coast basketball and our sunbaked brethren's lack of basketball tradition.

Like most stereotypes, there's some truth to it, some of it hype. But one thing is resolute, I sure will look ridiculous if we don't come through on Friday night.

Everyone is in agreement, however, that the Golden Bears have a seasoned and competent coach stalking the sidelines in Mike Montgomery. If you don't recall the name, believe me, I wiki-ed him and everything. His resume is indeed impressive, especially the deep March runs he orchestrated (1 FF) while at Stanford...

Montgomery compiled a 547-244 (.692) overall record in 18 years at Stanford (1986-2004) and eight seasons at the University of Montana (1978-1986). He boasts 25 winning seasons in his 26 years as a head coach at both Stanford and Montana. Montgomery's Stanford teams reached the NCAA tournament ten straight times from 1995-2004.

Stanford reached the Final Four under Montgomery in 1998, the school's first Final Four appearance in 56 years. He made his third appearance along the USA Basketball sidelines in 2002 when he was named an assistant under George Karl for the US national team in the 2002 FIBA World Championship.

In 2000, Montgomery was named the Naismith and Basketball Times Coach of the Year. He was also named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times. Following his career at Stanford, he was awarded the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award

The Golden Bears are a senior-laden, veteran squad. Combine that with a competent coach, and we better show up sharp lest I once again eat crow, that salty-carrion to which I've acquired an unfortunate taste.

All Hands on Deck

Jerry Smith will return from his thumb injury in time for tournament play, according to Coach Pitino. This is welcome news for several reasons. Firstly, he was playing lights out last time he saw action, and we need as much depth as possible to wear other teams Cal down (sorry Mr. Black) with the kind of aggressive defense we want to play for 40 minutes.

But more importantly, he's a senior, and deserves another shot at March glory. The intensity Jerry brings to the court is tailor-made for the Big Dance, and we need it to rub off on the rest of the team.

Opposition research

Articles from the student-run Daily Californian here and here, San Francisco columnist here... from the tone of the first write-up, the Golden Bears -- at least their paranoid student journalists -- apparently are terrified of playing us. A sample (sorry for the weird formatting):

Let's start with Samardo Samuels, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward who leads the
team in scoring with 15.3 points per game. He's the type of specimen that will
paint (pun intended) an impressive stat line in Friday's box score simply
because of his size. Jamal Boykin, Markhuri Sanders-Frison and Max Zhang will do
their best to contain him, but the Bears' lack of depth in the frontcourt will
be a glaring issue in the face of a low-post presence like Samuels.

Then
there's Edgar Sosa, a 6-foot-2 senior guard who averages 13.3 points and 4.5 per
game. He is a confident floor leader who has the ability to hit big shots, as
evidenced by his game-winning three-pointer against the Wildcats last year. Sosa
also boasts a decisive physical advantage over Cal point guard Jerome Randle,
who has struggled against taller defenders.

And let's not forget
Cardinals coach Rick Pitino. Montgomery is known for his sideline experience and
his repeated success in the collegiate ranks, but he'll meet an equally talented
conductor in Pitino.

Pitino has coached three separate programs to the
Final Four, brought Louisville to the Elite Eight in the last two seasons and
has more than 500 career wins to his name. In this case, Montgomery's resume
isn't relevant because it isn't superior.

This level of overstatement might even be heavier than Pitino's typical hyperbole (but rely on our coach at least to give 'em a run for their money... what did he say yesterday, Cal is the toughest 8 seed he's ever seen?). Glad we have earned begrudging respect out west, but even if the Pac 10 is a perennial weakling as my collaborator suggests, I hope our guys won't overlook the fact that these Bears will be hungry... no, that's too cliche... eager beavers (better).

Stay focused

Edgar Sosa says the Cards were hoping for the chance to play Kentucky in the second round. I'd feel better if Sosa's comments were more to the tune of, "We've had the type of season this year where know we can play any team in the country, but we also know that we can get beat by any team in the country, especially when we let our guard down. So from this point forward, it's all about California on Friday night. Only Cal. Only Cal." I know that sounds curmudgeonly, and I also am aware that I'm taking one slice of Sosa's interview grossly out of context. So be it, for war has made me very paranoid. We can't be thinking about Duke, not about Purdue, not about Texas A&M or Villanova or Baylor or any other team in our bracket and certainly not about Kentucky. Only Cal.

Cry me a river

A close runner-up for the most annoying thing about Day 1 of bracket analysis? Calipari continuing to claim that Kentucky's youth is such a burden. Cal's false modesty may have served its purposes back in November, but now it's just uber-annoying, even more over-the-top than Pitino's spin. You have four NBA first-rounders on your roster, you're not fooling anyone. You can't build a career-long reputation by recruiting one-and-doners, and then lament your lack of experience. You're good, just spit a few cliches and shut up.

(**Random aside. It's slightly fortuitous that our opponent is Cal. When my mind processes the letters, certain Pavlovian-synapses fire and I find myself mustering more hatred for a runathemill Pac-10 team than I would have otherwise. Life's funny.**)

But no, that's not the winner, the most annoying thing about Day 1 of bracket-anaylsis was the national pity-party thrown for the #1 overall Kansas Jayhawks and their perceived outlandish draw. Tony Kornheiser called it "The group of Death!". Bob Ryan threw a conniption fit on Around the Horn, going as far to claim, "It's the worst draw I've seen in my entire career following the tournament!"

Ryan and company make the error I always go back to; he rattled off 11 teams in the region that could conceivably beat the Jayhawks. But, Bob, you don't have to beat 11 teams from your region, you have to win 4. Just because a bracket has a slew of talented teams doesn't mean that it's an impossible draw for the top-seeds; the others are going to knock each other out.

The Jayhawks have to beat the winner of the play-in game, and then either UNLV or Northern Iowa for a spot in the Sweet 16. That doesn't seem that treacherous. Proceeding from there, you know what, the games are supposed to be hard. If you cannot win two semi-challenging matchups in a row, you don't deserve the Final Four, let alone the national championship.

After the top 8 teams or so, everyone is more or less equally flawed and equally dangerous on any given night. Man up and play the hand you're dealt. Rant over.

His team

I'll miss him. I really will. While we're still rallying around the present, like most fans you've probably peeked ahead a little to next season, and are doing your own math. Addition by subtraction, Siva greater than Sosa. Perhaps it's so, and I won't burden you with the rollercoaster cliches.

Maybe he is too manic to ever go down as one of the greats. But from all accounts, anecdotal and otherwise, Sosa is one of the most thoughtful and respectful players to pass through our program in recent years. That's not the stuff legends are made of, but it shouldn't be undervalued either.

Likewise, his on court accomplishments should not be dismissed. He led the team through our rapid ascendance to the bigtime Big East. He's never played in the NIT. His fingerprints are on every accomplishment the Cards have achieved in four seasons. And of course, he fired The Shot Heard 'Round the Commonwealth.

This may read like an epitaph, but it's not. The Cards will continue to have as much life as our senior guard breathes into them. He wears his jersey proudly, and his legacy isn't etched just yet.

Well, they don't seem intimidating...

Here's Cal basketball's Christmas serenade.

Profits Up!

The Louisville Cardinals have already logged one accomplishment, or the fanbase has at least. They are the most profitable program of any team in the NCAA tournament, as reported by CNBC. Louisville was 5.4 million dollars ahead of the next closest competitor.

We can do this

We're witnessing a massive case of collective amnesia. And I love it. A few days off and a favorable tournament draw, and the entire city is penciling us in to the Final Four. Actually, screw the pencils, hand me a pen.

Who am I to go against the zeitgeist? I can't lie; I too like this draw. You can say it. With this squad, forget about hexes, jinxes, and reverse-karma. We're past all that; we've been believers and been burned all season. We're jaded, but we're ready. Just tip it off.

I like this draw. I know nothing about Cal, but I respect west-coast basketball about as much as I do John Edwards. Should we prevail, we then get, in my opinion, the weakest #1 seed in field. That's as far as I'm willing to look.

Who am I kidding? Of course I'm looking farther. How great does the bottom half of that bracket look for us? If we somehow manage to dipose of Cal and then the Blue Devils, only two Big East teams remain in our way; Notre Dame whom we've beaten before, and a Villanova squad that we once had against the ropes, but as Dennis Green would say, "We letumoffthehook!".

There's a definite side-effect to having the kind of tumultuous season the Cards have had. Sure, we may not have much swagger, but most fans do have a weary-confidence, that we've seen it all and are fased by little at this point.

We can do this. But can has been this team's MO all year.

On Cards and Clinton

Draw me a picture. Today is one of the great ones, when the monotony of inhaling and exhaling is broken, when we learn the names of players we didn't know existed 24 hours ago, when our own hopes and insecurites are projected onto Louisville, our great city-state. We're about to Dance.

Most likely, the Cardinals will be the most dangerous 9 or 10 seed in a field of 65. Will we meet UTEP, will Derrick Caracter finish his unfinished Louisville legacy? Or will we be bracketed with the hated Wildcats, will we get another crack at Cal and his curious band of all-stars?

Oh, right, Hillary Clinton. The point is, you don't get anywhere on this globe through meekness. Like our chief diplomat, the Cards have been humbled and humiliated, but we rise again in the morning with some confidence and a shoulder-chip, ready to stare down the posers.

We remain hungry. We can once again pick ourselves up off the mat and earn our enemies' grudging respect.

It's March. And despite the odds, I like the Cards I'm holding. Draw me a picture.