Friday Night Lights Out!

Well, the shoe is yet to drop on the supposed Steve Masiello shenannigans. I hope I made clear below that my opinion was predicated on the rumors being true, both to maintain my credibility with the reader, and of infinitely greater importance, to shield my ass from the libel laws of the Commonwealth. Quickly moving on...

Someone get Justin Coleman a frickin' tutor! This is the first I've seen of the dunk compilation below, and I think I could spend the weekend watching it on a loop. In fact, if this phone doesn't ring soon, I very well may. The list of players in the Pitino Era to soar at that altitude begins with a T and ends with a Will. The idea that we're just a few fractions and a 3.5 essay on Beowulf away from a complete lineup next season is almost too much to handle. God, I need a hobby. Is drinking a hobby? Let's call it a hobby.



***UPDATE***
The other shoe dropped.

The hits just keep on coming

Whispers have been passing for a couple days that another negative story about UofL was looming. KSR is reporting, that though unconfirmed, the story involves assistant coach Steve Masiello and a Derby ticket scam.

I will be unavailable for the rest of the afternoon, so let me preface these four points by saying IF the story turns out to be true...

Pitino should fire Masiello for these reasons:

1) One cannot preach loyalty, character, integrity and work ethic to players and not hold assistants to the same standard. If Pitino wants to be taken seriously, he's already on thin ice, and he needs to take action.

2) To answer the immediate retort that it would be hypocritical of Pitino given his less than saintly behavior, it's not. What Pitino did was not criminal. What Masiello is accused of doing is. Period. And even if it were hypocritical, who cares? Pitino is "Too Big to Fail" to use the parlance of the times, but Masiello is not.

3) Pitino has been ill-served by his assistants for the past few seasons. Individual instruction and gameplanning, the realm of assistantship, has sufferred. Chucking Masiello would allow for a transfusion of new blood for a new team next year.

4) If he takes immediate action this is a nonstory, no big deal. If he doesn't it gets added to the litany and will spur more hyperbolic articles pronouncing the decline of Louisville basketball. I can only take so much.

Early Bird Analysis

I just heard Coach Pitino's interview on the "Early Bird" morning show. The man never fails to intrigue. Here are some initial thoughts...

* Whether consciously or subconsciously, Pitino is beginning to define himself as the opposite of Calipari. Numerous times he mentioned the words, "loyalty", "work ethic", "character", "academics", depicting UofL as a new program of scrapper-scholars. I really do think he's weary of butt-kissing the young superstuds. Of course, the fact that he's apparently not very good at it probably plays a role.

* Elisha Justice will get a major opportunity to contribute. Pitino is infatuated with the kid, his desire, and his natural instinct for the game. With a true creative point guard in Siva, and a heady backup in Elisha Justice, I think we'll see special play from the point next year.

* Pitino's hilarious. The way he refers to unsigned players not by name, a violation, but still gets the point across. At one point, when talking about the 1-and-done rule, Pitino said, "I was against it even before Siva came along." It was perfectly clear he was really talking about Marquis Teauge. And later, when talking about the 2011 class, it was clear that UofL's parting with Michael Chandler was at least partially due to his academics, even without mentioning his name.

* Gorgui Dieng is a true diamond in the rough. Averaging 15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocks in a competitive high school league? And he's supposedly improving exponentially. Look for him to play in the NBA one day.

* Those that worry, myself included, about Pitino's fire etc. etc. really don't have much to worry about. He sounds legitimately excited about the team next year. So do most of the fans. Despite the fact that we're losing 4 of our 5 starters, most think we'll see a significant upgrade at nearly every position, as well as make great strides in overall chemistry. Pitino sounded optimistic, ready to begin overachieving once more.

Things that make you go hmmm

So, former Wildcat and unsuccessful gentlemen's wagerer Antoine Walker will be working out with the Louisville basketball team for the next several weeks as he preps for an NBA return. Pitino felt he could provide the team valuable life lessons. Because nothing spells inspiration like a 34-year old overweight baller making a comeback to pay off massive gambling debts.

Joking aside, I think this is a classy move by Pitino. He may not be a faithful husband, he may be a serial job-flirter, but he's always shown a fierce loyalty to former players, assistants, and friends. Walker is clearly going through a difficult period in his life, much like Pitino, so I'm sure he appreciates the help and advice of an old friend. Rick shows again that he's a more complex individual than his detractors give him credit for.

The Purge

Samardo Samuels' mistake was Elisha "The Bullet" Justice's gain. Elisha was quickly offered the future bobsledder's scholarship yesterday.

You want to know Pitino's state of mind? Read this quote and infer away...

Loyalty is a tough word to use these days. The Bullet has shown great loyalty to this university and our coaching staff. He turned down numerous scholarships to walk on at U of L, and we're happy that he'll now be given a scholarship next year.

Loyalty. Who else is he referring to...Teague? Samardo? Calipari? Whomever, the details aren't as salient as the sentiment itself. You could finish the stadium construction with the chip being borne by Cardinal Universe these days. We've been spurned, scorned, and spoofed.

But in the words of Colin Sullivan from the movie The Departed:

"Cui gives a shit".

Our coach is still coachin', the fans are still cheerin', and our AD is still takin' cara bidness.

That's why you won't see many shedding a tear over the loss of Samardo, ironically, now nicknamed "The Departed". Everyone's craving players that want to play in a UofL uniform, and for longer than it takes to learn to pronounce his name correctly. Call Pitino old school, call him out of touch, call him outshined. But he sounds like a Hall of Famer that's tired of kissing pre-madonna ass, and will be calling on guys that want to be Cardinals from here on out. And I'm nothing if not someone that's got the back of a grizzled coach.

So four stars, five stars, cui gives a shit. I recognize I'm speaking from emotion here, but we've seen how far counting on the Samardo's and the Teague's, the Telfair's and the Tyler's has gotten us.

For this program, at this moment, it's no surprise that we'd rally around players that carry a similar chip. I welcome Russ Smith. I embrace Elisha Justice. Chips, fall where may you.

And...

We're back.

Much like the Courier Journal and Insight Communications, we've been battling some technical difficulties of our own in the past week. But since it was Derby, and Cardinal news was slight, I figured our absence would not be that conspicuous.

But thanks to Samardo and a computer technician, we're back in business. Samardo, oh, oh, Samardo. From the day of his curious announcement, things just did not feel right. The fact that he never consulted Pitino before the decision was an enormous red flag. We really shouldn't be that surprised.

But that doesn't gloss over the fact that it remains an enormous mistake. I won't even bother piling on at this point, but I also think the fact that he's Jamaican plays a factor in all this. At the risk of sounding like Bill the Butcher, I don't think the possibility of playing in a foreign league carries the same stigma for Samardo that it might for a native.

A bizarre best of luck to Mardo, we'll always have that Notre Dame game. On to the future...