Let's tackle a tough topic

We have to proceed cautiously here. Let me start by saying, well I hope it goes without saying, that I'm a huge Rakeem Buckles fan. He's by all accounts one of the most genuine "good guys" you'll ever meet. Unfortunately, good things don't always happen to good guys.

In his freshman year, Buckles dazzled Cards fans with tantalizing moments of a high-flying power forward with a NBA skill set. Sadly, injuries have derailed the promising prospect.

Buckles broke his finger 24 hours before the UK game last year. It's strange to remember how major that was at the time. Now having torn both ACLs, Rakeem Buckles faces an uncertain future. The diagnosis is already in that Rock will miss all of next season rehabbing the new knee injury. Mere days after being cleared after a long rebab of the other, and the elephant in the room is obvious.

Is Rakeem Buckles basketball career over?

It's far too early to tell. Knee ligaments are tricky buggers and each person's comeback from the trauma is different. But in Rock's case we're looking at over 3 years lost for participating in competitive basketball. It's difficult to imagine a scenario where he returns to the Cardinals in the same shape and form that we saw his freshman year.

Difficult but not impossible. I hope another famous Cardinal, David Padgett, himself no stranger to overcoming knee injuries, will reach out and support Rock throughout the long journey ahead. Hell, I hope David gets an assistant gig at UofL pronto, it just feels right, and can help Buckles rehab himself.

Perhaps reading some of these tea leaves, the topic came up today in Rick Pitino's press conference, when Coach was asked if Buckles' situation changes things for Jared Swopshire, who is being ushered out the door next season by scholarship math. Pitino quickly shot down the notion, saying that since Rock will still be on scholarship, the situation is the same.

We'll see. My heart wants me to cheer on a successful comeback story in the 2013-14 season, but my brain tells me that we may have seen Rakeem Buckles play his last game as a Louisville Cardinal. No matter what his future holds, Rakeem Buckles will have the support of Cardinals everywhere.

Tray Woodall has been cleared to, um, go?

Much like the Cards, Pitt is also waiting on some bewildering injuries to heal, most notably point guard Tray Woodall's abdominal strain that has kept him out of the Panther lineup for almost 6 weeks. Adding to Pitt's dysfunction is that some have been reporting Tray was cleared to return almost two weeks ago, and that the decision to sit out has been his. He said this recently...

That’s the thing. Everyone has been saying I’ve been cleared to play. I heard it on the ESPN game when I watched it again. I never had the word that I was cleared to play. If I had the word, I probably would have tried to play. When I’m ready, I’m going to get on the court because I want to help my team.

It should be noted, it's not some mysterious message board troll claiming that Tray Woodall could/should play, but Jamie Dixon, Pitt's coach, that's fed some of the fire, insisting that it'll be "his decision" on when to return. Weird.

This will actually be Woodall's second comeback attempt of the season. He convinced the team trainer to let him play against Notre Dame in late December, but hurt both himself and the team as he was repeatedly burned defensively.

But just our luck, Tray Woodall appears ready to play. But this is one matchup I think the Cards can exploit. If Peyton Siva is going to get his groove back, an opposing point that hasn't played for 6 weeks and whose lateral defense is likely to be slowed is s a good place to start.

Presser recap

* Pitt is a good team, better than the record indicates. One of the Top 5 rebounding teams in the country.

* Kyle Kuric a gametime decision.

* The team will not travel to Pittsburgh until tomorrow. Then will stay overnight.

* Rakeem Buckles in good spirits. Corrected, decent spirits. They took him out the night after the news broke, and he'll stay on scholarship while he rehabs next season.

* The idea is to play Angel Nunez at the power forward spot (in the future).

* Gorgui inexperience is the reason for his foul trouble. His fouls are not "good fouls". But won't tell him to back off, because Dieng becomes a different player when he does.

* Zach Price is not ready to play. Reminds that he skipped a year of high school. Says he's not a good passer or free throw shooter. But he will see action out of necessity.

* Assistant coaches want Chane Behanan to play center when Dieng goes out. Big Rick not keen, didn't say why.

* Kevin Ware has missed the last two days of practice and will likely not play tomorrow. Said Justice ready to go, "has come alive" and "is back from the grave".

* "Not at all" optimistic about forthcoming recruiting news, i.e. Derek Willis without mentioning his name.

* Wayne Blackshear has not participated in full practices yet. In addition to shoulder-issues, he suffers from bad asthma-related issues. RP broached the idea of WB redshirting the season if he cannot reasonably come back to contribute. So he has four years of eligibility.

* Van Treese unlikely to return this season.

* On Luke Hancock, "he's our best basketball player".

* Despite all the adversity, still believes in this team because of its attitude. They never get too down.

Friday notes

Arguably the two most disappointing teams in the Big East square square off tomorrow night when Louisville takes on Pitt (I say arguably because Villanova may wish to throw its hat in the ring). Both teams are in dire straits and desperately need the win, though I won't use the phrase "must win" because it's overused, and in my mind, should mean something different than really really really want to win.

Beset with his own problems, Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is not feeling any sympathy for the banged up Cards, and seems quite up to date on UofL's scholarship situations. From the Pitt Post Gazette...

"They have a lot of guys on scholarship and a couple of extra guys as well. They have a lot of depth, a lot of players. They've got 15 players, 13 on scholarship and two others who have been on scholarship. Depth is something that stands out. They have an injury or two, but they started out with more players. I don't really think of it as a limited bench. They'll have plenty of guys on the perimeter as well as inside guys."

Take from it what you will, and of course he could just be keeping his team focused, but Dixon seems quite aware of Pitino's scholarship maneuverings in the off-season and may not be the biggest fan.

* Derek Willis is set to announce his decision at 4:00 this afternoon. You can watch here, but I wouldn't advise it, because this doesn't appear to be a closely kept secret; everyone reporting Willis will play at UK. Derek's AAU coach called into Matt Jones' radio show (again) today to offer his insider analysis, which basically amounted to him being given a forum to talk about how this is a complete disaster for Rick Pitino and offer opinions in that vein everything short of where Rick Pitino is currently holed away and crying over this turn of events.

I took away two things from it. One, his coach, an admitted UK fan, is clearly relishing his moment and again makes me wonder why this is being reported as a "slam dunk" recruit for UofL that Rick Pitino whiffed on. Both his dad and his coach expressed obvious antipathy for Pitino; so why is UofL being regarded as the once-heavy favorite for his destination? Two, his coach reported that "some of the things going on" around UofL right now swayed his decision. I agree, and essentially made the same point yesterday. No one should expect Louisville to clean up local basketball recruiting right now, there's just too much negativity swirling. But so long as Rick Pitino and Wyking Jones are doing their work elsewhere, the harm doesn't need to be great.

* But what can change the attitude and culture most quickly is winning basketball games. As in, tomorrow. Rick Pitino has said that Kyle Kuric is again "doubtful" for the game but we've seen that before. He could sit out, he could play 40 minutes. We'll just have to wait and see.

* Like everyone, I got a kick out of the CJs article that explored Russ Smith's record breaking rate of shot-selection.

* LouisvilleSportsLive takes a look at whether UofL is getting its money's worth with this coach. Pitino's enormous salary is always brought up when things go bad, though I don't think it has much to do with anything but raising the blood pressure of disgruntled fans. You cannot blame a bloke, however, for wondering what another coach given the same budget, salary and facilities could do with it on the recruiting trail.

2012 CL Resolutions

We're more than a few days late, per usual, but that doesn't mean that we don't have big goals here at Cardinal Laws for 2012 until the Mayans prove it all futile.

Till then though, here's some things we'll be implementing and looking to foster in the coming Cardinal year...

1) Community. We're truly thankful to everyone that clicks by to read our daily ramblings. Our site's readership has grown steadily since its inception two years ago and it has been a ton of fun for me, Mr. Black, and recently CliffySmalls to share our thoughts with you.

While my own self-regard knows no bounds, we're still very interested in what you guys have to say. We're making it a point in the New Year to be responsive and fostering of feedback in the comments section. We want thoughtful, honest, uncensored discussion. So if you've been commenting, keep it up, and if not, pick a handle for yourself and let's have a chat.

2) Doggone Days of Summer. Dornnnn!!!!! I just bought my first RiverBats cap and I'm counting down the days till spring training. Does minor league baseball have spring training? I better get on that.

Because in addition to our regular coverage of all things UofL, Cardinal Laws will be following the Louisville Bats religiously this summer. To be honest, I lost track of the national pastime somewhat after I gave up a promising career at the age of 13 to pursue masturbation. But it's high time I picked it up again. Baseball, I mean. Cardinal Laws is all in on the upcoming Bats season, we'll attend as many games as our schedule can allow, and we'll bring you everything you wanted to know about our Triple A squad...and more.

We don't have long to get up to speed, cause opening pitch is April 5th. A season preview will be forthcoming in March. Dorn fever, baby. Catch it.

3) New voices. Want to be a blogger? Course ya do. We're interested in adding another writer in the New Year. If you have a passion for the pen and UofL sports, let us know. The site e-mail address is cardinal.laws@gmail.com (mind the dot). Find a topic you're keen on and give it a try. We'll post your piece(s) on a trial basis, and if you're good, we'll add you full-time.

4) Greater focus on the "lesser" sports. Rule #1, stop referring to them as "lesser sports". Though I spend 99% of my time and energy to UofL men's basketball and football, we need to find time to highlight the other athletic achievements of the Louisville Cardinals. And after that, wife and family. In 2012, we seek to put greater attention on all Cardinal athletics and I look forward to getting to know the student athletes that make UofL sports great.

5) Podcasts. Oh, they're coming. We're working out the kinks, and perhaps the number one priority around here is to get podcasts up and running. I know a cast of characters that need some mic time, and we'll be tackling lots of sports topics soon. Big East tourney and then the Big Dance will likely be amongst the first subjects. And brace yourself, my voice sounds exactly like Fransico Garcia's, so don't freak out.

Here's to 2012 and hopefully many Cardinal victories to celebrate, or in the case of basketball, a victory would be a nice place to start. Thanks for following. Go Cards.

Quote of the Day

"Bite me Lachlan, now I know why everyone hates you."

-Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year, Drew Deener, responding to Lachlan McLean. Charlie Springer investigates the beef here.

Derek Willis and Louisville recruiting

Derek Willis, the Bullitt East High School forward, is set to announce his college decision tomorrow afternoon, and those behind the scenes are indicating he will choose UK (though there are rumors of Louisville making "a late push" for what that's worth in recruiting parlance).

Because it's a "head to head" battle for a player between Cal and Pitino, Willis' announcement will get a lot of attention. And it is a pretty interesting story. Willis was once committed to Purdue and his father famously commented that he didn't trust Calipari or Pitino. But after he de-committed, Derek and family decided to give both schools another look and not surprisingly it was Calipari who was first able to repair his image in the eyes of the Williseses'(?).

So what does it mean? First and foremost, it's a disappointment to lose out on a talented forward. Derek Willis would seem to fit into Pitino's system even moreso than Cal's (think Swop but bigger and better), and with Rakeem Buckles' uncertain future, there will be minutes to be had in the post. This almost feels like when Cal offered an 11th hour scholly to Elisha Justice, or called Chane Behanan on his way to his Louisville visit, as if he wants Willis because he doesn't want the Cards to have him. But Cal's motivations are neither here nor there.

I expect some will describe this as another "epic failure" by Rick Pitino on the recruiting trail. But in this instance it will be vastly overstated. While it may be true that Willis is local and his father occasionally wears UofL gear in public, it's clear that Derek Willis was never very high on Rick Pitino's wish list or he would have gone after him more heavily the first time around and never allowed pops to get such a negative impression of him straight out of the gate. Pitino and Co. threw the UofL hat in the ring after Willis' de-committment no doubt, but it's a fallacy to pretend that Rick Pitino is missing out on a sure-fire prospect that he had been pursuing heavily for years.

In fact, while being local is thought to be a boon for many recruits, I think Willis' proximity to some of the dysfunction and disappointment of recent seasons could be a negative. Until this dark cloud passes, I think Louisville will have better recruiting success in the great "out there". Like Anton Gill, the Top 50 player on board from North Carolina or Jarrell Martin, the power forward from Louisiana who recently said he was "blown away" by UofL.

These players are far enough from the smoke and fire to see the Louisville program more clearly right now in terms of history, tradition, Hall of Fame coach, stellar facilities, etc. The 2013 recruiting class is all-important, and I won't pretend that I wouldn't welcome a player with Derek Willis' talents, but the class will not be made or broken wherever Willis lands.

Peyton Siva puts things in perspective

When you see a story like this, you remember how little an errant jump shot matters to the kind of person Peyton Siva is and the struggles he's overcome. A must watch.

Putting the Cards back together again. 6 ways to do so...

1) Feed the post

I don't know what the offense needs to change to stop passing the ball to Chane Behanan behind the arc, but it needs to do whatever that is. Chane is an effective "slasher", as far as post players go, but the offense would be a different animal if he were getting the ball in the 10-foot range of space instead of the 20-foot range. I think he and Gorgui could be such an effective tandem in the post. But it takes two to tandem. And in my opinion, any possession that sees Behanan pump fake behind the arc is a wasted one.

For this team, Gorgui should be option 1 and 1a each offensive set. And Chane needs to be down there to rebound and tip in misses.

2) Stoke the Strokers

So the ball should go through the post, but the Louisville Cardinals under Pitino always need to pull the trigger from 3. This isn't a team full of sharpshooters, but the problem is exacerbated by the wrong players taking too many of them. Sorry Chane, see point above. You too, Siva (feel free to pull up in the lane before you draw contact, but you punish yourself too severely by continuing to launch 3s).

So for the record that list is Kyle Kuric, Chris Smith, Russ Smith and Angel Nunez. Everyone else should face suicides in practice for taking them. And on the flip side, the four mentioned above should face suicides in practice for not taking them. Kyle, if you're open from here on out, you shoot. No exceptions.

3) Zoned OUT

For a team that Rick Pitino stubbornly insists spend 85% of practice time on defense, we've become one-dimensional and ineffective. The vaunted matchup-zone has entered the Twilight Zone (eh? ehh?). The Cards are doing nothing on the defensive end that seems to be befuddling the better offenses we face. If the opposing team scores on consecutive possessions, go man-to-man. You have to zig when you're expected to zag, and for all the precious practice time this team has spent on defense, I still believe we're a better and more disciplined defensive team than what we've shown the last three weeks.

4) Home court advantage

I'm deadly serious about this. Rick Pitino talked about the importance of the fans staying positive and supportive of this team earlier in the week. But I fear the negativity has snowballed to such an extent that the environment in the Kayefseum could turn toxic. I was there for the Notre Damn double OT loss and there were boos after the buzzer and the team walked off the court. There were bad calls rampant in that contest, so it's possible they were directed towards the refs. I sincerely hope so.

Like I've been saying for the last few days, I don't think any Cardinal should be judging another for how he or she is reacting right now. Peruse these pages and you'll see that Black, CliffySmalls, and myself all vacillate between positive and negative to some degree. It's the right of any fan and changes, indeed, need to be made.

But for the 40 minutes between the buzzer, I hope that every Cardinal present at a game takes the responsibility seriously. If you've been there during a huge run you know how the building reverberates with noise and energy, how the team feeds off it, and how it can put just a split-second of doubt in the opponent's head that leads to a big play.

We're all in this together. If the Cards are going to right this ship, the legions of fans need to do their part.

5) Kevin Ware

To be fair to Peyton Siva, it's not that Kevin Ware has outplayed him. And to be fair to Ware, it's not as if he's had the opportunity to. But it's insanity to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. It's time to shorten Siva's leash and take him out of the game if/when he can't take better care of the basketball. Hell, he takes himself out of most games by fouling.

Ware has the size and athleticism to do things for this team that Siva can't. Whether by splitting reps at point, or by being the first one off the bench to play the 2 or 3 spot, Ware needs more minutes. The team has to be shaken up, and Ware is one of the few (somewhat healthy) pieces left the Cards can use to do so.

6) Free throws!!!!!!!

There's only one player on the team, Chane Behanan, that you could just write off as a bad free throw shooter. And even Chane has shown an ability to knock them down when the chips are down. The difference from a wipe your brow, whew that was a close one and a deflating defeat is narrow, and so often this season it has been the free throw margin.

We have a center with a remarkably fine stroke, a forward (Swop) too, and a bevy of guards that have no excuse. It's more mental than physical. Rick Pitino needs to emphasize it more (like Mr. Black said, after the Marquette loss was the first time I can recall him mentioning FTs).

This team is not good enough to sacrifice the easy points at the line. The season hinges on it.

Giving Brandon Radcliff his due for doin' what he do too

Somewhat lost in my excitement over Ace Wales commitment and despair over the Marquette loss was proper respect for the commitment of Miami running back Brandon Radcliff.

CliffySmalls correctly dubbed him the Thunder to the Ace Wale's Lightning. 5'10'', 215lbs. Charlie Strong seems to favor a featured back for his system like he found with Bilal Powell in his first year. We may find that yet, and certainly Dominique Brown will enter next season with high expectations.

But the stable is at full capacity. Brown, Jeremy Wright, Senorise Perry, Kamal Hogan, Corvin Lamb. Now Anthony Wales and Brandon Radcliff. Some may have to find other positions, others patiently wait their turn.

You can never have too much talent on a roster. And this kid is a welcome addition. This video is sick...

Was Rakeem Buckles brought back too early?

I don't know, but it's a fair question. I think almost anything and everything is a fair question at the moment. I don't care if they have to toss Karen Sypher's prison cell looking for voodoo dolls, it's not too much to ask for some accountability in a season that's spinning more rapidly towards the drain.

Maybe it was just another fluke injury. More bad luck. But the Mayo Clinic does advise that rushing back from a  knee ligament injury increases the risk of reinjury to that knee and puts additional stressors the other knee's ligaments if that leg is being favored. So who knows.

But lots of UofL fans are searching for answers. How did we get here and why? And most importantly, how do we get better?

Some fans, but not all. Others are sticking to the old talking points and seem content to shake heads at the string of misfortunes. Drew Deener, the newly minted Kentucky sportscaster of the year, was particularly surly on the Early Birds show today, repeatedly hanging up on callers he disagreed with or that he felt made factual errors when trying to make a point.

Deener hung up on one caller that claimed part of UofL's problems are our diminutive guards after he incorrectly stated that Chris Smith was 6'0'' (which is wrong, but he's not 6'5'' either). Another caller made Deener "want to bang his microphone against the wall" when he suggested that Kyle Kuric hadn't developed as a player (is this really that off the mark? Just because Kuric came out of nowhere does not mean, ipso facto, that Pitino should be credited for his development. Seems more likely that he was always a great shooter and an overlooked athlete).

But what makes me want to bang my microphone, err, laptop, against the wall is when our faithful fans are painted as unreasonable and idiotic for expressing frustration about the state of our basketball program. What more can you expect from a fanbase, Drew??? We've stood by as our coach went through a scandal that turned our team into a national punchline, we've witnessed our archrival trump us handily for three consecutive years when we've never craved a win more, we've seen our team exit the NCAA tourney after the first game two years in a row, and we've developed a nervous tic picking up the CJ sports section for fear of learning which player has joined the triage unit on the bench. IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR TO MAKE THE FRICKING TOURNAMENT NOW?

I don't think so. And I also don't think it's too much to ask for a UofL radio host to show a little more respect to his callers and Cardinal fans for asking the questions that should be asked by said host.

Rakeem Buckles tears ACL

By now I'm sure you've heard the news. Last night it was announced the forward Rakeem Buckles tore the ACL in his other knee against Marquette and will miss the rest of the season and next season with rehab.

It's devastating news for Rock, who has taken the full brunt of the hurricane of injuries suffered by the Cards in recent years. That's two knee surgeries and 2 1/2 seasons of action missed. It's just a terrible fate for the once high-flying forward whose future seemed limitless.

Keep your head up, Rock. We're all rooting for you.

Ace Wales doing what he do

I admit, sometimes these embedded videos of recruits can be tedious. No offense to the o-lineman and defensive tackles. But this one has got me fired the eff up! Duh da da duh da Da Champ is Here! Duh da da duh Da Champ is Here! If Wales gets greyshirted, someone remind me in 2013 when he's sprinting for TDs to make this his official theme music.

Doom, gloom, and more Charlie Strong swoon

* The Ace Wales commitment yesterday was a watershed moment. UofL has been mopping up in the state of Florida. But now it's unofficially official that Charlie Strong has passed Joker Phillips for intrastate recruiting supremacy as well. Landing the best talent from the city of Louisville blended with prospects from the state of Florida is precisely the formula Bobby Petrino used to some success. And Strong is recruiting at a higher level than even Petrino in his UofL heydey. This is fun.

Next up. James Quick.

* And for the record, I'm aware that Mike Hughes at ITV is reporting that Wales to UofL is not a done deal. But Jody Demling said that Wales personally told him he has verbally committed to Vance Bedford, and that's good enough for me. There may be lingering issues of when Wales joins the team due to his recent shoulder surgery, but I'm assuming this gets worked out.

* Well, there's no use beating around the bush, we have to talk basketball some time. Perhaps the most telling part of this last loss, is that many fans, myself included, have stopped even talking Xs and Os and basketball strategy. Not that there aren't problems, but they pale in comparison to the attitude, chemistry, and mental collapse that is plaguing the squad. Till our player's body language stops making me want to listen to Elliot Smith albums with all the blinds in my house drawn, what's the point of even tackling anything else?

It boggles the mind how just one month ago this team was being described as joyous, incredibly bonded, unselfish, and egoless. Something has happened. We'll likely never be privy to it, but rumors will inevitably start to swirl.

* It was also confirmed over the weekend that Gerod Holliman, the 4-star safety from Miami has made the grades, is enrolled at UofL, and will participate in Spring Practice. Some people have forgotten how big a deal this kid is, and I expect we'll get reminded quickly. With the departure of Shenard Holton, look for Holliman to see the field early and often next year

* Can things get better this basketball season? Of course they can. But we also need to face the possibility of them getting, gulp, worse. Like Mr. Black alluded to in his post-game recap, the final stretch of 8 minutes against Marquette were very discouraging. The team looked like the team that gave up against Providence again. Complete one-on-one basketball and a level of focus that suggested the Cards were just going through the motions. Watching a team filled with beloved players give up in January is too depressing to even contemplate.

* Much was made of the team's "player only" meeting after the Providence debacle (Charlie Springer at Card Game is not a fan of such sessions and had some humorous comments). My problem with them is that having a cathartic, Dr. Phil dishfest is all well and good, but what happens when things go wrong again? The game is already mental and emotional, hell we're proving that, and I wonder how many times a team can keep getting up off the mat after what has to be a draining exercise.

* Everyone has different coping mechanisms for going through these hard times. Some use gallows humor, others relentless optimism. Mine's bourbon and Disney movies, whatever, it doesn't matter. The point is we need to refrain from challenging other's fandom and loyalty. We're all Cardinals, we're not going anywhere, and we're all on the same team. Let others do what they need to do to get through these dark days without judgement.

* Not to pile on, but I can't imagine how the staff is supposed to recruit in this environment. The vibes are just too negative right now. We're not very good on the court, our players cannot stay healthy, and Pitino's record for developing highly-touted recruits is pretty dismal. I have a feeling Rick Pitino was projecting quite a bit when he lashed out at C.L. Brown for "giving 1500 other programs ammunition" that could "hurt recruiting" with his article. The sad truth is other coaches do have a lot of ammunition to go negative on Rick Pitino and UofL right now, but it has little to do with the work of a CJ beat reporter.

Ahem...On the Bright Side...

With many Cards fans already counting the days before football starts, it's good to hear that Coach Strong and his staff are continuing their success on the recruiting trail.

Per Jodi Demling, three star RB Anthony "Ace" Wales (Louisville Central) committed to the Cardinals today. The 5'9" 170lb local star was also heavily recruited by UK and WKU. It's good to see UofL keep the city's talent at home. He reportedly runs a 4.45 40, which I suppose is pretty good. Last time I moved that quick I slipped on some ice. Adam Leftkoe is reporting that it won't be "official" until next week due to some questions about Wales' shoulder. Considering the problems Vic Anderson has had since he hurt his shoulder, let's hope everything works out alright for Ace.

UofL also recieved a commitment from Brandon Radcliff, a brusing 5'10", 215 lb RB from Miami (FL) Columbus. The Thunder to Wales' Lightening, Radcliff appears to actually run at some defenders just to knock them over. He's already got a college build, so we may see him early on in his UofL career.

The train is rollin'. I'm on board.

Another One Bites the Dust: Marquette over Louisville 74-63

As the title of the post suggests, we're in real danger of reaching the point where losing is the expected result. And when that happens as a squad and as a program, it will only be a short crawl to the NIT for the country's formerly fourth-ranked team.

There's no new way to describe our poor execution of a flawed and deficient gameplan -- we'll force turnovers and it'll create offense! -- that at best masquerades as a competent strategy to win.  When Marquette wanted, they slowed us down, and we had no halfcourt offense with which to answer. What's worse is that Louisville looks less and less comfortable in transition -- so when the defense does create turnovers, we increasingly seem to be wasting that opportunity. The game plan fails even when it works.

Free throw shooting was another embarrassment and AGAIN provided the margin of victory -- 4 of 10 from the line, versus 16-18 shooting from Marquette. Let's repeat that: we hit 4 free throws and they hit 16. We lost by 11. Shooting free throws is mental, has nothing to do with your body fat index, and it requires practice and repetition. Percentage-wise, we get out-shot almost every game. You do the math. It's just not a priority with this team -- Pitino almost never discusses it, even as it prevents us from being more competitive.

I hate to start quoting Coach Ken from Saint Stephen Martyr's 7th and 8th grade basketball B team, but when you don't hit your free throws you're just giving points away.

Passing was, in my opinion, awful, except for the opening few minutes when Louisville jumped out to a sixteen point lead. The Cards had more assists (17) than some previous outings, but I saw some real lackadaisical passes that seemed to increase in frequency during the second half. They turned the ball over 17 times. Some of the passes late were unforgivably lackluster -- hate to say it, but it started to seem like the players had stopped caring again; at minimum, they weren't focused and didn't have their heads in the moment. 

And is the defense getting worse? Marquette may have shot 41 percent from the field, but scored over 70 points, with four guys scoring in double digits.

Stats here.

Put simply, we haven't gotten any better at executing our game plan, whatever it is, since The Great Slide of 2012 began. Whatever Rick's doing during his beloved practice sessions, it's time to trash the playbook and come up with something better, preferably a strategy that gets the ball into Chane and Gorgui in the post with opportunities to create. Both played well today, but went long stretches of time without being involved.

Out-executed. Out-coached. Outplayed. The Cards go down in defeat again, and the sad thing is the shock of each loss fades a little more each time.

Pre-Game: Louisville at Marquette

Among UofL's many basketball rivalries, I think most UofL fans would agree that our games against Marquette have been the most fun. Jerry Smith's shot, the Reece Gaines vs. Dwayne Wade matchup's, the Miracle on Main, Dwight Schrute and Moe Howard roaming the sideline opposite Crum and Pitino...Ahh, memories.

The latest installment of this match-up should be a good test of whether the DePaul game was a fluke or our beloved Cardinals have found the secret sauce. As of this writing, Kuric will be out of the game, giving my favorite freshman Kevin Ware significant minutes for the second game in a row. I know he's frustrating some fans with his turnovers and "freshman" mistakes, but I like that he can create his own shot and moves around. I love King Kyle, but as long as he's content to have others create his shot for him, he's less effective than he could be.

Marquette is led by senior Darius Johnson-Odom, a 6' 2" guard averaging 18 points per game and a joy to watch play. Keep your eye on #1.

Right now our teams seem pretty evenly matched, with Marquette running the floor a bit better at this point in the season. When I predicted us to lose this game a week ago, I didn't think Kuric would be out. If Ware continues to create opportunites at the 3, I think we have a shot. If Russ goes H.A.M. again, we've got this one locked up. I'm calling this one 68-62 Cards.

P.S. I overheard a guy refer to Russ Smith as "Lil Penny" yesterday. Perfect.

Blog Challenge #5: What are your school's best traditions?

(previous challenges here here here and here)

* The White Squirrels. The University of Louisville campus has had a population of albino squirrels scurrying about since the 1930s. They're a welcome presence, especially to biology professors, who use them as a first-rate example of genetic propagation in action. You can see first-timers fumbling with camera phones when one pops up, and legend has it if you spot one while on the way to take an exam you'll ace it.

* Tailgating...too hard. There's not a more dangerous place to be on the day of a football game than between a Cardinal fan and a cooler of cheap beer. That passion is so fierce it often comes at a price, namely, the game itself. It drives the hardcore fans nuts, but the tradition of many stumbling in late and leaving the game early for more parking lot revelry has become a staple of Cardinal football. So much so that new coach Charlie Strong has done his utmost to implore the fans to change this culture since taking over at UofL. But old habits die hard, and for now, the amorphous crowd is as much a part of Cardinal football as any.

* Rain or shine basketball. On the flip side, you'll never find a contingent of basketball fans more passionate than Louisville's. Win or lose, rain or shine, you can always count on a packed house of 20,000 plus to cheer on the Cards. UofL basketball has been in the Top 3 of attendance annually since records began being kept.

* The Ghosts in the Old Medical building. Built in 1857 the Old Medical School building is about as venerable as buildings come. How many times did I just use the word building? Too bad, I'm not changing it. The building served through Wars and Depressions and saw many medical breakthroughs over the decades. Maybe the building did too good a job, for many former patients are said to still roam the the building. One of the most haunted buildings in the city, even nonbelievers are sure to get a chill if you walk by the building alone at just the right time of night. Boo!-ilding.

* For comedic purposes, the campout for student basketball tickets is a tradition unlike any other. The event is always plagued with logistical issues, weather fiascoes, and downright chaos from the organizers. Plus it's always fun to see some of the "students" come out of the woodwork. Some appear to be on the 20 year plan, but somehow maintain a tenuous enough connection to the University to merit the discounted seats.

* Louis Brandeis' grave. A native son of Louisville, the legendary Supreme Court justice is the namesake and benefactor of UofL's law school. The graves of both he and his wife lie in front of the main entrance. Before exams, future lawyers throw pennies on Brandeis' grave for good luck. Mine always bounced off and ran into a gutter for some reason.

* The Freedom Hall personalities. Louisville basketball moved out of its longtime home of Freedom Hall last year, so we're still in a state of flux regaining some of the traditions that had sprung up organically over the 54 years at the venue. The names are as familiar to the diehard Cardinal as family; Crazy-Old Guy, the bane of referee's everywhere. Boogie Cam Guy. The Birdchirper. Handstand Guy. Run back and forth Guy. The Undertaker. All made Freedom Hall special, and we're slowing getting back to full-force in our new home downtown.