A few random observations....
I sense a burgeoning trend: more and more, it appears a University of Louisville men's basketball season is not complete without at least one winning comeback from a double-figure second half deficit.
While not in the mold of last season's "Miracle on Main Street" against Marquette, U of L's erasure of an 11-point West Virginia lead yesterday in Morgantown impressed many observers. For the first time since they came out of the gate with 12 consecutive wins, the Cards looked like the team the pollsters voted to the preseason Top 10.
Not coincidentally, for the first time all year, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has enough bodies available to employ his trademark relentless defense and still have fresher legs than the opposition come the last 10 minutes. Such was the case in Morgantown, where a game-ending 13-3 run produced a 77-74 Cardinal win, sealed by Kyle Kuric's steal and two free throws with :05.5 left.
Freshman Wayne Blackshear started the Cards' closing kick with a backdoor layup, the last two of 13 points in his U of L career debut. Pitino had maintained all week he didn't expect Blackshear to play until next Saturday's game at DePaul, but said afterwards he had planned all along to play him against the Mountaineers. Pitino said the deception was mainly to keep WVU head coach Bob Huggins from tweaking his game plan by taking advantage of Internet resources to "e-scout," if you will.
In fact, Blackshear said, Pitino didn't tell him he'd be playing until just before the game. Blackshear's 20 solid minutes erased a lot of speculation about how far he might be from game fitness, although to be fair, there were moments that made clear he still is far from mastering Pitino's system. Even so, that impressive a performance in a February first appearance more than a year removed from his last serious game action gave some credence to the preseason hype. One can only hope Blackshear can sustain something close to that level of performance.
Now that the Cards finally are getting healthy and the newest players have a firmer grasp of Pitino's system, U of L is becoming a dangerous team. We've seen this movie before, Cardinal fans -- and a few times, it's had a pretty happy ending.
Stepping away from sports for a moment, I was stunned and saddened at the news of Whitney Houston's passing. The 48-year-old pop sensation had a well-chronicled struggle with substance abuse, and in a recent attempt at a comeback, her formerly magnificent voice had shown evidence of severe wear and tear, the ravages of addiction combined with poor vocal technique.
While not in the mold of last season's "Miracle on Main Street" against Marquette, U of L's erasure of an 11-point West Virginia lead yesterday in Morgantown impressed many observers. For the first time since they came out of the gate with 12 consecutive wins, the Cards looked like the team the pollsters voted to the preseason Top 10.
Not coincidentally, for the first time all year, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has enough bodies available to employ his trademark relentless defense and still have fresher legs than the opposition come the last 10 minutes. Such was the case in Morgantown, where a game-ending 13-3 run produced a 77-74 Cardinal win, sealed by Kyle Kuric's steal and two free throws with :05.5 left.
Freshman Wayne Blackshear started the Cards' closing kick with a backdoor layup, the last two of 13 points in his U of L career debut. Pitino had maintained all week he didn't expect Blackshear to play until next Saturday's game at DePaul, but said afterwards he had planned all along to play him against the Mountaineers. Pitino said the deception was mainly to keep WVU head coach Bob Huggins from tweaking his game plan by taking advantage of Internet resources to "e-scout," if you will.
In fact, Blackshear said, Pitino didn't tell him he'd be playing until just before the game. Blackshear's 20 solid minutes erased a lot of speculation about how far he might be from game fitness, although to be fair, there were moments that made clear he still is far from mastering Pitino's system. Even so, that impressive a performance in a February first appearance more than a year removed from his last serious game action gave some credence to the preseason hype. One can only hope Blackshear can sustain something close to that level of performance.
Now that the Cards finally are getting healthy and the newest players have a firmer grasp of Pitino's system, U of L is becoming a dangerous team. We've seen this movie before, Cardinal fans -- and a few times, it's had a pretty happy ending.
* * * * * * * * *
Stepping away from sports for a moment, I was stunned and saddened at the news of Whitney Houston's passing. The 48-year-old pop sensation had a well-chronicled struggle with substance abuse, and in a recent attempt at a comeback, her formerly magnificent voice had shown evidence of severe wear and tear, the ravages of addiction combined with poor vocal technique.
I hope she now has found comfort -- rest in peace, dear diva.
posted by Alan at 9:36 AM
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