We may not be as good as we thought....

...But we're a lot better than we looked a couple of weeks ago.

So say fans of the University of Louisville men's basketball team, winners of four consecutive Big East Conference games and playing with a confidence missing since at least December.

Saturday, the Cardinals dispatched visiting Rutgers 78-66 at the KFC Yum! Center, behind 23 points and 11 rebounds from freshman forward Chane Behanan.  Behanan recorded his sixth double-double of the season and hit 11 of 12 attempts from the field, his only miss a wide-open three-point try -- a good shot, merely off target.  He finally shows signs of learning the craft of rebounding at the college level; as a result, other players, teammates and opponents alike, who dare dispute a missed shot with him do so at their peril.

Behanan said his major influence is former Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair, now of the San Antonio Spurs, whose mantra is "Treat every rebound like a dollar sign."  That voracious pursuit of every carom reminds me of a host of former Cardinals, but when I look at Behanan, I see Rodney McCray.  If Behanan wore No. 22 instead of 24, he'd be a figurative McCray clone.

Behanan                                                             McCray

These head shots don't look much alike -- facially, Behanan looks more like McCray's older brother Scooter -- but from the neck down, the resemblance borders on eerie.  The two also play very similar games in the paint, and their statistics are very much alike as well.  Here's a comparison between Behanan this year and McCray as a freshman in 1979-80:

                                                   Behanan                             McCray

Minutes played per game                  24.9                                   32.6

Field goal percentage                        .486                                   .543

Free throw percentage                      .605                                   .647

Rebounds per game                           7.7                                    7.5

Blocked shots per game                     0.5                                    1.8

Steals per game                                0.8                                    0.8

Assists per game                               0.9                                    2.0

Points per game                                9.7                                    7.8 

Overall, McCray shot slightly better from the field and from the line.  Rebounding is practically a draw.  McCray averaged about three times as many blocked shots, but unlike Behanan, he didn't play with an eraser like Gorgui Dieng; on the '79-80 Cards, McCray played center and was the team's best shotblocker.  Steals are dead even.  McCray averaged double the assists, and indeed was a brilliant passer, but in order to record an assist, two things must happen: a player must make a pass, and the receiving teammate must make a shot.  McCray played on a team that shot 52 percent from the floor; Behanan plays on one that currently shoots 43 percent.

Behanan averages 9.7 points per game for a team that averages 71.3; McCray averaged 7.8 on a team that not only scored 76.9, but had Darrell Griffith averaging 22.9 -- nearly 30 percent of the total.  Kyle Kuric, this season's top scorer, has accounted for 16.9 percent of U of L's points, leaving more offense for Behanan to grab a share of.

Similar physique, similar numbers -- if Behanan stays healthy and continues to improve, I believe he could join McCray in U of L's very exclusive 1000-point, 1000-rebound club.  (The other members are Charlie Tyra, Wes Unseld and Pervis Ellison.)

* * * * * * * * *

Some observers believe U of L was overrated as a preseason Top 10 team, based on the record so far this season.  I would presume to point out the team the pollsters ranked so highly before play began in November has never yet been on the court.

That team would have had a healthy Mike Marra and Rakeem Buckles and gotten meaningful contributions from Wayne Blackshear and Kevin Ware.  It also wouldn't have lost more than 80 player-games to injuries and spent so much time unable to practice due to lack of bodies.

With a full complement of healthy bodies getting more meaningful practice time, Louisville arguably would have collectively learned its offensive and defensive systems more quickly, thereby avoiding the mistakes that cost it late leads against Georgetown and Notre Dame and negated a brilliant start at Marquette.

Had the Associated Press and ESPN/USA TODAY polls not held the Cards in such high preseason esteem, I think Planet Red would be more accepting of the current 18-5 record.  The current 6-4 Big East record still might have engendered some grousing, but I believe the collective angst level would be lower.

Perspective and patience are called for, I think.  This team is rounding into shape, and as long as Dieng can roam the paint and block and alter shots, this team is capable of great things.  We shall see.