Last night's match-up between top ranked UConn and 7th ranked Louisville was highly anticipated by many. ESPN brought out the big guns, Dick Vitale and hottie Erin Andrews. Vegas made the host Cardinals 2.5 point favorites.
Oh, to live in Sin City. We would have bet The Ranch on UConn. Ea$y money, baby! Final score: "underdog" UConn 68 Louisville 51.
We are down with Louisville. They have been our homies since the seventh grade when Scooter and Rodney McCray ran around pressing the whole game, Charles Jones blocked everything and Lancaster Gordon scored at will in transition.
We have seen nearly everyone of their games this year (thanks, ESPN). We know them better than anyone.
While the public, including those of the "expert" variety, has fawned over Rick Pitino's guys for six weeks, we have been less enthusiastic. They have a very good all around player in Terrence Williams. A rugged rebounder in Earl Clark. And a bundle of energy off the bench in Preston Knowles.
And that's it, folks. They have no point guard. Pitino privately wishes junior Edgar Sosa would up and leave the program. He had a solid rookie year, capped off with a 35 point March Madness effort against future first round pick Acie Law. Since then, it's been a year and a half of poor play, bad decisions and tons of sulking. (By the way, if Sosa is sulking these days, wait until next year when he sees incoming freshman floor general Peyton Silva start from day one.)
Their poor point guard play (senior backup Andre McGee tries hard, but is physically limited) is compounded by the fact that the Cardinals shoot from the outside as well as your mutha. Shooting guard (a relative term with this cru), Jerry Smith is suffering from Sosa-itus, minus the 'tude. He had a great freshman year, but now can't hit anything. A 6'1" former sniper, he has been unable to get good looks. The few times he is able to, the shot seldom goes in. That has led to more minutes for the aforementioned Preston Knowles. This kid is a bulldog, going full-board all the time. The only problem is...you guessed it...he's not great from beyond 16 feet.
Outside deficiencies can be masked by strong interior play. Freshman Samardo Samuels has had a solid first season (averaging 12 points and 5 boards), but he is not a great athlete, nor is he an ideal center (being only 6'9"). And last night, playing against 7'3" giant Hasheem Thabeet, he soiled his shorts -- going scoreless in 19 useless minutes.
Louisville's third problem is enigmatic 6'9" junior forward Clark. After dominating last March, Clark declared for the NBA draft, where first round earnings were waiting for him. Pitino went ballistic, calling him out for being selfish and ignorant. Presto! Clark said he would be back for his junior campaign. Last night, in front of over 30 NBA scouts, Clark shot 2-16 (1-6 on treys) on his way to a 5 point night. Scared stiff of Thabeet, he was content to say on the outside and hoist jumpers all night. And the master of the double-double managed only 3 (3!) rebounds in 33 minutes.
Now, we live in a society where people wait 5 seconds before passing judgement. Is Louisville as good as UConn, clearly not. But outside of North Carolina and Wake Forest, and perhaps two or three other schools (Oklahoma? Pitt?), no one else is either. So while the Cards are not the best team in the Big East, they are still not a team non-Big East schools want to play in March.
And if they could just hit a few threes, they can still make the Final Four.
1. The Playmaker notched his second consecutive double-double, with 10 points and 10 boards in today's 20-14 victory. That W puts us at 6-5 for the season.
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