Pitino postgame: Coach is "super-excited"

About as giddy as I've ever seen Ricky P.

On the team -- "I've been here ten years, I've had a final four team, had a number one seed. I think this is the fan's favorite team in the ten years I've been here. And the reason is they don't get down, down 18. They don't get down whatever the point differential is. They just keep playing hard. Everybody just keep playing hard. you can see they're not as talented as the number one seeds, they're not as good as some of the players on the Final Four team. But you can see the heart every time they play."

On attitude -- "Ralph kept saying to me, 'look, this is going to be a tough year on you, man. It's gonna be a tough year on you so you gotta stay positive.' I said, 'yeah Ralph, the last two or three have been very easy on me, so don't worry about it.'" (cue laughter)

On Terrence Jennings -- He's really improving. He's about three or four fundamentals away from being a terrific basketball player -- balance, being able to turn over the right shoulder, really having great vision in his stance. But he's giving us a big lift. There's a silver lining in every cloud, and the silver lining is when Gorgui got hurt, he got more minutes, he was able to play better. He's playing terrific basketball right now. He's making his free throws, he's doing a lot of good things."

Team again -- "I've never coached a team in my life -- maybe Providence '87, and this team -- that plays more for the name on the front of the jersey. And that's why I think the fans love this team so much. It just shouts out at you that they're playing for Louisville and they don't care about themselves."

To Kenny -- "Kenny, can you get me something to drink? Beefeater and tonic please." (cue laughter)

Also, Preston Knowles wants to work at UPS.

Cards hold on for dear life, defeat Orange 73-69

Ever wonder what would happen if Preston Knowles and Kyle Kuric both caught extreme fire on the same day? We sure as hell found out this afternoon.

Combine lights-out shooting performances from PK (22 points, seven 3-pointers) and Kyle (23 points, five 3s) with Terrence Jennings continuing to put rebounds and toughness ahead of points, 6 assists and 3 steals from Peyton Siva, two of our Omega-runs to end the first half and begin the second, and maybe the best half-court ball movement of the season, and what do you get?

Apparently you get Louisville hanging on by the thinnest of threads for victory over a spiraling 13th ranked Syracuse team that nearly dealt us a devastating blow by coming back from twenty down to reverse-Marquette us in our own house.

Syracuse is always a tough team, so I'll take the victory and won't complain. (Plus, what a game it was). And I'll also look forward to seeing on replay those two amazing runs. Knowles hitting that long three pointer as time expired. Kuric knocking down 3s and 2s in quick succession. Siva steals, Knowles steals. TJ getting mean and ripping rebounds away from the Orange. Yes.

When we get hot like that, I'm confident there's not a team in the country that can answer. Those Pitino runs are frenetic and sensational and a whole lot of fun to watch. It's what our head coach does better than any other in the country.

But this is Louisville, after all, and the minute we take the foot off the accelerator a team will come back and beat us. It almost happened today. Almost.

Stats here.

Kudos to Peyton Siva for keeping his head, hitting critical free throws down the stretch to finally stave off Jim Boeheim's starving Orangemen. And congrats Cardinals. This was a gigantic victory. What a roller coaster ride.

Michael Bush DUI and other morning nuggets

* Cardinal-favorite, now Raider-favorite Michael Bush was arrested this morning at 5AM for suspicion of DUI in Clarksville, Indiana. If true, it makes me wanna face-palm for the stupidity of a multi-millionaire ever getting behind the wheel after drinking. Hire a chaffeur, get a cab, hell, get a limosine. Not to mention why step foot in Clarksville, Indiana? The whole thing makes no sense.

If true, it's a very poor decision by a man that's been a terrific ambassador for UofL.

* Cards are getting healthy. Pitino reported yesterday that both Rakeem Buckles and Gorgui Dieng will be available against the Orange today, though he cautioned that both are behind on conditioning and that it may limit their minutes. This is great news. If the rash of injuries means getting them out to the way so we can be full-strength for the final push, so be it.

* Jerrell Moore chose to remain a Cardinal yesterday after debating whether to follow bestie DaMarcus Smith to Central Florida. He's the 21st commitment to the 2011 class. A versatile running back and a 3-star prospect, the kind that Strong and Company are going to have a tough time finding a spot for. We're chock full of running back talent, so naturally many of these talented guys are going to have to find new positions. It's a good problem to have.

* I'm probably not as worried about the Orange as I should be. They're starving for a win, and have quickness and skill on the perimeter that perfectly complements their frontcourt size.

But Pitino has owned Jim Boeheim of late, and we have Kyle Kuric, he who eats Oranges for breakfast. I wish that sounded more intimidating. Time to regain the momentum and get a little swagger going before March.

Go Cards.

"The best trick shot quarterback in the Big East"

So UConn's got a junior-to-be quarterback named Johnny McEntee (6 foot 3, 223), who apparently has ridden the pine the past two seasons, but who on this video shows he can put a football pretty much anywhere and hit any kind of target he wants -- pool sticks, basketball goals, rooftop pizza delivery signs on a moving vehicle. In fact, about the only thing he doesn't show he can hit is a receiver streaking across the field -- at least not without wearing a blindfold.

You gotta watch this video... then wonder, how can a guy this accurate not see any PT the past two seasons? I think it's safe to say we could have found a spot for him. I guess some of those passes lacked zip, so maybe it's an arm strength thing. Or skittishness in the pocket, maybe.

Or, further proof that Randy Edsall, who departed the program he built at UConn to inherit the legendary Maryland football program, is just an idiot.

Hat tip: T.K.C.

Relive the memories (welcome back Syracuse)

Given Kyle Kuric's phenomenal and athletic performance on Wednesday, coinciding with tomorrow's showdown against the Orange, it seems only natural to revisit last year's The Final Game at Freedom Hall, when Louisville took down #1 ranked Syracuse and Kuric first laid the groundwork to become the dependable, occasionally spectacular player we've seen his junior year (not to mention the unofficial beginning of his homecoming king campaign... what better platform to run on than "I hit 3 pointers and finish mad alley oops against top-ranked teams"?... I think the next guy was promising more recycling bins on campus).

From Saturday, March 6:

The most memorable game was the last. Pitino donned the red sport jacket that we always knew was in his closet. Griffith, Pervis, DeJuan, Bridgeman and Crum among others helped excite the crowd throughout the game. Jerry kept us close early before injuring his thumb. Sosa played a good overall game, while Siva keyed an important second half run. And Kyle Kuric put on one of the most incredible, athletic, and clutch, game-saving performances I have ever seen (having so many of the Doctors of Dunk in attendance must have inspired at least a few of those soaring dunks and alley oops). Three-pointers, rebounds, steals, slams... the kid did it all, a legendary game from the sophomore from Evansville. Led by Kuric, Swop, Samuels, and Sosa -- led really by everybody who played in the second half, I thought -- the Cards slayed Goliath a second time and earned their NCAA tourney bid. The victory ends our history in the Hall ever appropriately, with a game we will remember for years to come. Go Cards, and goodbye Freedom Hall. I'm going to miss that old building, capable of college basketball thrills and magic down to its very last day...

And Mr. Red summed things up thusly:

I don't even mean that in the tournament-sense, there's time for that later. Today was a celebration of history, of present, and of future. Of what it means to be a fan of the University of Louisville. Watching Jerry Smith ignite our engine in the first half, watching Edgar Sosa hit clutch buckets when the engine almost stalled, watching Reginald Delk again play unsung hero. All seniors, all played proud.

But the day was championed by Kyle Kuric. I'm positive that no where on Jim Boheim's scouting report did the words, "We must shut down Kuric" appear. But that's what is amazing about the sport. Kuric isn't just a stereotypical white-boy jump shooter. In addition to doing everything today except for turning off the lights when he left, he connected on some dunks that surely did all his hi-flying forefathers in attendance proud.

Kuric led the way, but today was for the Cardinals. Much, much more later. But the sun is shining in Louisville. Let's go paint the town Red.

A third write-up, focusing on Kuric's breakout performance more specifically, is available here.

We also posted videos that were the most incredible highlights of the season; you can find them here, or my favorite, Kuric's last alley oop from Sosa that nearly broke the crowd, is here. Or just watch them below.

Long live the Hall.

Terry Meiners with 1986 champs

Has Jerry Jones been frozen in carbonite? He doesn't look a day older than when he retired fifteen years ago. Robby Valentine, David Robinson and Keith Williams.

C'mon baby make it Hurtt so good...

Louisville's D-Line coach and head recruiting coordinator, Clint Hurtt, has now been recognized nationally for his intimidating neck tremendous efforts in bringing aboard the Cardinals best class in program history. Here's what he had to say upon receiving the honor of National Recruiter of the Year...

It's something I didn't expect, but it's a great honor and something I am very proud of. I think the biggest reason why I had success this season was that these families were very comfortable with me. It's about creating those relationships and building trust.

We gotta keep this guy and Mr. Jurich and the program must be willing to pay the man accordingly; top-level competitive salaries equal top-level competitive teams. Keeping Clint Hurtt aboard may very well be the harbinger that tells us whether we can keep Charlie Strong as well when the proverbial "big fish" come calling.

They have an opportunity to do something special here. Since Petrino (god bless him) didn't stick around to finish the job, they have a chance to be the ones that turn Cardinal-red-blood into National-blue-blood.

It can be done here. I hope this is the staff that does it. Make it happen, Tom, once more, please. It feels right this time, everyone senses it.

Earl Clark over Harangody vs. Kuric over some poor SOB

Since we lost, I'll have to console myself by breaking down two of the most epic dunks in recent Cardinal memory; Earl Clark posterizing Luke Harangody in Freedom Hall versus Kuric's monster tomahawk last evening.

And because I refuse to shave with Occam's Razor and just enjoy them both, let's waste some time and analyze which is better! I recommend viewing each below ten times (the Kuric dunk is updated with better quality) before deciding.

Clark Dunk plusses:

*It was over one of the Big East's most highly-touted players that season.

*It was contested at the rim, unlike Kuric's where the player was trying to draw a charge.

*It was done going to his left, and finished with his left-hand, long viewed as weaknesses to his game by NBA scouts.

*Louisville won the game.

Kuric Dunk plusses:

*It happened last night (booze starting to affect the long-term memory synapses).

*It was full speed on a fastbreak; Clark's dunk came out of nowhere and wasn't truly appreciated in real time, it became more impressive on replay. Kuric's dunk had a moment of setup that allowed me to prepare before leaping from my seat and babbling incoherently for two minutes.

*Kuric's technical, let's face it, will cement the jam in our collective memory.

* He was fouled.

* It was a buzzer beater. Buzzer beater dunks are tremendously exciting. I also recall the TWill dunk (also against ND I believe) where he snatched a free ball near midcourt, seemed to take four enormous, Paul Bunyanesque steps to slam the ball home, missing what would have been a game-winning slam by about .3 seconds. In any case, dunks when you immediately look up to the game clock afterwards are extra special.

* Though the game was on the road, therefore robbing us of the thunderous applause, I'll overlook it in this case because of the hilarious reactions of the Notre Dame bench and their cheerleaders, both cringing and reacting helplessly.

* The personalities. Kuric's mildness is fast-becoming legend, so watching him throw down a tomahawk and then get T'd for it is just incredible.

Mr. Red's Vote: Kuric. Normally I think I'd have to go with the dunk in a game the Cards won, just so you don't have to remember that asterisk every time you celebrate it. But I'm bucking that trend and voting Kuric on this one.

The overwhelming factor, I think, is the last one; the personalities involved. Earl Clark's athleticism and ability were well-known by everybody. Kuric on the other hand, whether it's his complexion (let's be honest) or his personality, always adds another "Holy Shit" level of amazement to his flashy displays of athleticism.

Video: Kuric on the dunk and tech

Notre Dame Leftovers

I can't speak for the attitude of the locker room, but based on anecdotal evidence from fans and radio, I haven't seen a loss galvanize the fanbase like this in awhile. It's a combination of factors I guess, but mostly it's due to the bogus T on Kuric and listening to the cloying and crotchety duo of Digger Phelps and Bobby Knight refer to Notre Dame as "we" all night while shaking their heads in disapproval at the Cards.

A win would have done wonders, but the loss can do many of the same things, albeit to a lesser degree. Here's some other thoughts...

* I agree with a caller to the Drew Deener show this morning that said Preston Knowles needs to regain a little bit of a shooting conscience. I understand he takes his role as senior leader and clutch performer seriously, and I know he's earned his green light, but when others are stepping up and having splendid offensive nights like Kuric, Siva, and TJ were last night, he doesn't need to do all the heavy lifting.

He'd do well to remember that perhaps his most clutch play of the season was passing up a jump shot to find an open Kyle Kuric at the end of the Marquette game.

* The bogus T notwithstanding, I thought the refs were atrocious last night. Notre Dame out-free throwed the Cards 28 attempts to 11, in a game where the Cards were the much more aggressive team in the paint. All game Abromatitis, or whatever his name is, was throwing his elbow with every offensive move, using it like a weapon to create space to get his shot off. Not called once.

Add this game to the terrible call that marred the outcome of the Villanova-Rutgers game last night, and the quality of officiating in the Big East is becoming a serious concern.

* Mike Brey made a nice defensive adjustment on the final possession of regular play, switching to zone during the play, taking away Siva's driving ability, and befuddling the Cards. Even though Knowles shot almost dropped, it was horrible execution and the Cards should have gotten a much better look.

Having missed their prime opportunity to seal the upset, I can't imagine most were very confident heading into OT. Notre Dame striking first with a 3 and TJ's subsequent 5th foul, and that was all she wrote.

* There's not much else you can say about Kuric's outstanding game. 28 points 6 boards, wonderfully aggressive without ever forcing. I hope this performance will be a light-switch game in terms of his aggressiveness on the court. When he decides to impact the game with his athleticism as well as his jump shot, the sky is the limit for this kid.

* "Rudy" is moving down on my DVD rotation for awhile.

* Effective minutes by Elisha Justice and George Goode, but Marra still isn't producing enough when he's on the floor.

* Time will tell, but I have a feeling that last night's game will be viewed as a turning point when we reflect on the season. It could be the moment the Cards let a prime opportunity slip away and never regrouped. Or it could be the game that rallied the team together, when they proved to themselves that even as a depleted team they are good enough to go toe to toe with any team in any environment. They only get better as they get healthier and roll into a deep tourney run.

Who knows. When March comes around, I'm not sure what they'll be saying about this team. But they won't be able to say they're not battle-tested, that's for sure.

Kuric on the technical

According to Bozich's blog (kudos for all the coverage Rick):

My guess is there is only one shot that most of the folks in the 502 area code will be talking about — Kyle Kuric’s dunk that appeared to end the first half.

I say appeared because when Kuric dunked on Notre Dame’s Scott Martin with .8 of a second left to play in the first half, Louisville seemed on its way to a 43-38 halftime lead.

Not so fast.

Kuric, a man of fewer words than any player on Rick Pitino’s team, was assessed a technical foul for taunting. Notre Dame made two free throws. Kuric got his basket — plus a free throw.

Louisville led 44-40 at halftime.

All was forgotten — until those two points became critical at game’s end.

Bozich also posted video of Kuric's (restrained) comments on the tech. Kuric said he only looked down at Scott Martin after the play and that's what he got T'd up for. Said he said absolutely nothing. Bozich asked if he had every gotten a technical foul before. "Maybe two... in grade school."

Post and video here.

Final point: it shouldn't be lost amid all the hoopla about the dunk and the technical that Kyle Kuric just played the best game of his career as a Cardinal -- 43 minutes, 28 points on 9-14 shooting including 4-7 from beyond the arc, hit all six of his free throws, and grabbed 6 rebounds. Keep driving, stay aggressive and keep shooting Kyle. Make this the beginning.

Dammit I wish we'd won this game.

Pitino postgame brief comments

Compliments of Rick Bozich, Rick Pitino is downright chipper. I hate feel-good defeats, but this time around -- once and once only -- they've earned the right to feel pretty good about the way they played. All things considered.

The Kuric Slam

Now in embedded video, both the dunk and the weakest technical I can ever remember, a "standing over" technical foul. PS -- Crawford got the sentiment right on his twitter account -- Bob Knight is an idiot should think and reflect before he speaks.

Early video of the Kuric slam...

...available here on Eric Crawford's blog.

Curse of the Irish, Cards fall in OT 89-79

Well, we'll always have the dunk.

The moment Kyle Kuric channeled his hi-flying forefathers. When he was called for one of the most mild-mannered technicals of all-time (he looked more shocked than anything). A dunk that I'll never forget.

But even as part of a greater performance in which Kuric quietly dominated much of the game, it wasn't enough. After playing 40 solid minutes of basketball, the Cards were left a couple inches of a Knowles jumper away from notching their second road win against a Top 10 opponent this season.

It's certainly the most proud I've been in defeat this year. In a game when the Cards couldn't get a lucky bounce of the ball or a kind whistle from the refs, the team out-executed and out-muscled the Fightin' Irish to put themselves in a fine position to pull off the road upset and send the privileged, hopping hordes of South Bend home in defeat.

But in the end, it wasn't enough and the Cards tasted the bitter end of the spectrum; losing a game they perhaps deserved to win instead of winning a game when they had no rightly reason to.

This morning, however, I wrote that this game would be a barometer of what the Cards can reasonably expect to achieve as the stakes grow higher.

This game answered that question, and I'm still holding my head high.

So it's a fight you want, Irishman?

Big game tonight. Notre Dame is solid, ranked 7th in the country, undefeated at the Joyce, and we don't play well in their building. If we can find the willpower to steal this game, we move into second place in the conference with seven to play. Two road wins against top ten teams undefeated at home endears us to the NCAA tourney selection committee. National attention again turns to the Cardinals. Our confidence level as we enter the regular season homestretch ---> jacked WAY up.

We. Can. Do. This.

Look at it this way... all we're up against, all we're facing, is this stupid-looking leprechaun.

Let's do this. Beat Notre Dame. Go Cards.

Holy House of Horrors

Sorry for the brief hiatus, but it came at a good time; all's been quiet on the Cardinal front for the past few days.

The Depaul game, when UofL foundered a way to win, left everyone with a lot to chew on. Mostly, that the Cards better find one of those secret-healing ponds like in the original Zelda or the season could end on a thud quicker than you can say Gannon.

The strange thing about the squeaker against the Blue Demons is that the Cards didn't play poorly. Siva, Kuric, and TJ all had solid outings. It was a sobering reminder that while the Cards don't lack heart, without getting players back stat, all the hearts in Zelda won't be enough. By the way, anyone wanna come over and play some Nintendo?

What was I talking about? Oh yea, it does appear that we're on the mend. Knowles will play tonight against Notre Dame, we've heard rumors that Buckles is getting close to coming back, and Gorgui can't stay out forever, one would think.

But like Pitino said, it's not even having the right personnel for games as much as not being able to run effective practices. Now's the time of year when teams should be fine-tuning and polishing their white swords and charmed arrows before the tournament. Well, that's a luxury our strange rash of injuries hasn't afforded us, and the Cards are left doing what we've been doing all season; scrapping and clawing for every win.

Notre Dame has been a House of Horrors for Louisville the last few seasons. And I can't shake the fact that two days before we battled the Blue Demons to the wire, the Irish dispatched them easily by 26 points in a game that was never even that close.

To predict a win tonight would be foolish, but I do think we'll get an indication of just how optimistic the Cards can be looking ahead to March.

Highlights from Louisville-DePaul

Eight!

Sights and sounds and kid's first game at Louisville-DePaul

Pitino postgame: "We can become a good basketball team, once we get healthy"

*On Siva -- "Peyton's hurt, but Peyton goes down... I've been coaching too long, but I've never seen a man fall down as much as Peyton Siva. He averages, no lie, 15 times per game, he's down on the ground. Against Connecticut, he set a world record. he comes out of his shoes, he falls down. We finally realized why sometimes he dribbles off his foot: he's got size 13 1/2 shoes. For a six foot guy, that's a little large. His feet are pretty big."

*On when Rakeem Buckles will return -- "I have no idea. This doctor who did the surgery on Rakeem Buckles is one of the premier doctors in the nation. But he must have trained under Ronald Reagan, he's so conservative." (cue laughter)

*On the challenge of playing at Notre Dame -- "We're working on it now... Tom's probably the most powerful ADs in the business. We're going to play them, we're just working on rescheduling [the game] right now. At the Yum Center." (cue laughter)

*On the effect of injuries -- "Defensively we have to get better. We were playing terrific defense. Terrific defense. Now we're letting teams shoot too high a percentage. We had people in the thirties, people in the twenties three-point wise, but injuries can do that to you. Injuries can really affect your defense.

"...We've lost the best players on our team. Gorgui's one of the top two 5 men. Preston's the top 2 man, best player on the team. Rakeem's the best 4 man, and Swop never played. So we'll losing the best players. But the guys filling in, they're trying their best."