John Clay’s Sidelines

For those who don’t want to follow along on the Liveblog chat, I’ll be posting old-school updates of Kentucky-Louisville throughout the game at Freedom Hall:

• Sosa hits deep three with 2.8 to give Louisville win 74-71.

• U of L up 71-67 with 32.4 left.

• Louisville up 69-64 with ball with 58.5 seconds remaining. Two bad turnover son last two Cat possessions.

• Cats call time at 1:59, with ball, down 66-64. Porter 3 cut it to 1.
  

• Ville up 66-61 at 3:49 mark. Williams just called for palming. Louisville has 12 turnovers to 19 for Cats. Ville now down to 45.7. It missed four shots in one possession. UK up 29-20 on boards. Cats shooting 50 percent.

• There’s Meeks for a 3. It’s 64-59 Ville as Cards call time at 6:43. Samuels back in.

• Louisville leads 64-53 with 7:48 remaining. Cards have hit 10 of 17 threes. Who says Pitino has lost it? Smith is 3-of-3. Williams is 3-of-4. Louisville shot 29.6 percent from floor on Wednesday. Cards are shooing 51.3 now.

• It’s 57-48 Louisville with 11:57 left. Wild half as neither bench is happy with officials. U of L had a 12-0 run after the Gillispie T. UK  is shooting 48.6 percent for game. Meeks (18) and Patterson (17) have 35 of UK’s 48 points.

• Louisville back in front 49-43 at 15:35. Cards have scored 7 straight since Gillispie technical at 17:14. Will Scott off the bench for four of those points, including a big 3. UK had gone ahead 43-42 before Billy G. was hit with T.

• Patterson had nine rebounds the first half.

• Louisville shot 44.4 percent on 12 of 27 shots the first half. Cards made five of 10 threes, and 9 of 10 from foul line. Cards were outrebounded 19-9. U of L turned it over six times, and had eight steals to two for Cats. Clark and Sosa each have nine points.

• Kentucky shot an even 50 percent the first half, making 12 of 24. UK was 3-of-7 on 3s, and 8-of-9 from foul line. Meeks leads way with 14. Patterson is next with 8. UK committed 14 turnovers in the first half.

• Halftime: Louisville 38, Kentucky 35.

• Louisville 36-29 with 3:16 left. Cards are 12-of-24 from floor. UK is 11-of-21. Meek has 14, but no other Cat has more than five. UK up to 12 turnovers.
  

• It’s 28-24 Louisville at 7:13 TV time. UK is shooting 62.5 percent and down four. Meek is 5-of-8 from floor, 2-of-3 from 3. Remember, he scored 46 on this floor against Appy State. Louisville has six points from Jerry Smith, who just hit two threes. Meeks has 14 points to lead all scorers.

Continue reading ‘Updates: UK-U of L’

As we stumble into the New Year, good to know some things remain resolutely unchanged. On the final day of 2008, I earned confirmation with my trip to Freedom Hall to scout out the Louisville Cardinals in advance of Sunday’s annual Cats-Cards mash-up, only to witness Rick Pitino’s team take an unexpected pratfall and lose to a UNLV team minus its best player.

I admit that my admiration of Rick has grown with both time and distance, but losses still bring out the more petulant Pitino. Thinking that Terrence Williams was fouled on his final drive (in vain), Rick eschewed the post-game handshake with Vegas coach Lon Kruger to go after the official he believed blindly failed to make the deciding call in his favor. When the striped bandit proceeded off the floor and on to his New Year’s Eve plans without giving Rick the time of day, Pitino just continued on to the tunnel, head down.

Then in the post-game press conference, WLKY sports anchor Fred Cowgill asked the coach if Terrence Williams must shoot well for the Cards to shoot well. It was an obvious question with an obvious answer. Williams was a dreadful two-of-15 from the floor, and the rock-throwing ‘Ville wound up shooting a ghastly 29.6 percent on the way to its third loss of the season.

But, being the ultra-competitor, Pitino wasn’t having any of the media’s half-cocked theroies, even the correct ones. So Rick snapped, “No. That has nothing to do with it.”

In Pitino’s defense, this Louisville team could put Mother Theresa in a bad mood. The Cards are blessed with talent but cursed by a lack of early-season chemistry. You thought Kentucky had a point guard problem, Louisville has point guards but no one who plays the point, at least effectively. The Cardinal offense is disjointed, at best. Edgar Sosa is the key the way Rodrick Rhodes was often a key to Rick’s Kentucky teams. In 13 minutes last night, Sosa contributed four turnovers without finding his way to an assist.

So, in the spirit of the New Year, we’ll cut Rick a break. After all, he did end the press conference by wishing us a Happy New Year. His hope is that the new year will bring him a new and better team.

I’m at Freedom Hall tonight to get a look at Louisville before Sunday’s UK- U of L matchup:

• Williams misses drive to basket and Vegas pulls the upset, 56-55. Louisville ends up shooting 29.6 percent.

• Louisville turns it over and Bellfield scores off glass to give Vegas a 56-55 lead with 14.2 seconds remaining.

• UNLV’s Willis makes just one of two free throws, cutting U of L lead to 55-54. Cards call time with 56.8 ticks left.

• Louisville up 55-53 with 1:38 remaining.

• UNLV is back in front 51-50 with 3:15 left after Louisville had taken a 48-47 lead and then a 50-48 lead. Preston Knowles has helped the Cards get back in it, scoring 11 points on night. Vegas’ Tre’Von Willis stuck the three to give the Rebels back the lead.

• Louisville is finally making its run and has cut the UNLV lead to 43-38 with 7:28 remaining. That’s the closest the Cards have been since it was 3-0. Terrence Williams (2-of-12), Earl Clark (4-of-10) and Samardo Samuels (1-of-5) are a combined 7-of-27 from the floor.

• Vegas leads 40-32 with 11:36 left. Cards got it down to 38-32 after five straight points by Clark County’s own Preston Knowles. But Knowles has missed three shots since then. And the Cards are shooting 23.8 percent for the night. The clock is ticking.

• We’ve played just over four minutes in the second half and Vegas lead is still 11, now 38-27. Earl Clark is 3-of-9 from the floor for the Cards. Louisville is shooting 24.2 percent for the night. Rick Pitino’s team is going to have make a run, and soon, if they are going to avoid the upset going into Sunday’s game with Kentucky.

• All in all, a pretty putrid half by the Cards, who played as if they were more concerned about their post-game plans and New Year’s Eve parties. Keep this up, and my guess is that the party will be on the practice floor under Pitino’s critical eye and jagged voice. Not the way you’d want to ring in the New Year.

• Vegas shot an even 50 percent the first half. Louisville shot a frigid 23.1 percent. The Cards were 6-of-26 from the floor. Earl Clark led the home team with six points. Vegas’ Rene Rogeau led all scorers with 12. Louisville committed seven turnovers to UNLV’s six.

• Halftime: UNLV 32, Louisville 21.

• Rebels up 27-17 with 3:48 left in half. Cards have made a bit of run, and are now up to 23.8 percent from the floor. Vegas has made 61.1 percent of its shots. Remember, UNLV is doing this without its leading scorer, Wink Adams, out with an abodominal strain.

• UNLV leads 22-10 with 6:47 left in first half. Louisville’s first field goal came with 11:31 left when an Edgar Sosa shot was goal-tended. The Cards first actual field goal, that went through the hoop, was a three by Preston Knowles at the 7:26 mark. The Cards are 2-of-17 from the floor.

• It’s 14-3 14-4 UNLV with 11:55 left in first half. The Cards are 0-of-11 from the floor. Terrence Williams has missed all five of his shots. All three four Louisville points have come at the foul line.

• Vegas leads 10-1 at the 15:42 TV time. The Rebels jumped to a 10-0 lead. Pitino called time at the 18:22 mark when it was 6-0 UNLV. Then when Samardo Samuels hit the second of two free throws, finally putting the home team on the board, there were mock cheers at Freedom Hall.

• Louisville’s starters: Preston Knowles, Jerry Smith, Samardo Samuels, Earl Clark and Terrence Williams.

• If you missed it, Minnesota lost its first game of the season this afternoon. Tubby Smith’s team was beaten by visiting Michigan State 70-58.

• Looks like Earl Clark is back in the starting lineup tonight.

• UNLV’s leading scorer, Wink Adams, is questionable for tonight’s game with an abdominal strain.

TiVo-ed last Saturday’s Louisville-UAB game to see U of L’s 82-62 win accomplished with the Cardinals’ top player, Earl Clark, glued to the bench at the tipoff.

Did Billy Gillispie suddenly become the U of L coach?

Kidding.

The Cards own talented cargo but very little cohesion. With Clark as a sub, Pitino started freshman forward Jared Swopshire, who contributed some effective minutes. He also tried the combo of Jerry Smith and Preston Knowles in the backcourt, keeping regular point guards Andre McGee and Edgar Sosa fastened to their seats. The Cards took control with a 10-2 run at the end of the first half and never looked back.

Three thoughts:

• Pitino’s obviously in full search-party mode for a point guard. Sosa appears to be the next Roderick Rhodes candidate, a talented prepster who can’t keep his head straight as a collegian. Even as a junior, Sosa’s hoops IQ often goes south and he’s not quite as dead-eye a perimeter shooter as he himself believes. Knowles, though more of an off guard, gets more done on both ends of the floor. Pitino indicated Saturday he wants to stick with the Smith-Knowles backcourt to see what happens.

Continue reading ‘An early look at Louisville’

Georgia had 11 offensive plays of 20+ yards in the Bulldogs’ 42-38 win over Kentucky.

Four of those came in the fourth quarter:

Jeff Goodman at Fox Sports is reporting that Louisville forward Earl Clark is returning  to U of L.

Just after Louisville’s loss to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, Clark said he would put his name into the NBA draft.

If true, this is a huge boost for the Cards, who now figure to return a top-five team for next season.

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports.com is reporting that Louisville’s sophomore forward Earl Clark is going pro, according to sources close to the program.

At Charlotte last week, U of L coach Rick Pitino said he had told Clark not to go pro, and he felt confident that the 6-8 forward would be back for another year.

If Clark departs — he has until June 16 to withdraw his name — that would be a blow to a Louisville team that figured to be stacked next. The Cards are losing center David Padgett and forward Juan Palacios, but Pitino has an excellent class coming in, led by 6-9 forward Samardo Samuels.

Goodman writes that Pitino received an assessment from an NBA executive who rated Clark as a first-round pick. NBAdraft.net, however, does not rate Clark in it either of its mock first two rounds.

Heading into tonight’s Louisville-North Carolina East Regional final, U of L coach Rick Pitino is 5-2 in Elite Eight games.

Here are his seven previous:

• 
  1987 - Providence 88, Georgetown 73
  
  • The No. 6 seed in the Southeast, Pitino’s Providence team whipped Alabama by 21 in the Sweet 16 game, then came back to beat John Thompson and the Hoyas at Freedom Hall to earn an unlikely trip to the Final Four.

• 1992 - Duke 104, Kentucky 103 in overtime
  
  • You know, the greatest game ever. Christian Laettner hits the shot to win it in Philadelphia. WHAS’ Terry Meiners used to have a great radio routine with a Kentucky fan following Laettner around just to boo him wherever he went.

• 1993 - Kentucky 106, Florida State 81
  • The Cats overwhelmed Pat Kennedy’s team in Charlotte to earn Pitino his second trip to the Final Four, his first at Kentucky. In New Orleans, the Cats lost in overtime to Chris Weber and Michigan.

• 1995 - North Carolina 74, Kentucky 71
  • The Cats had rolled through the firsts three games of the tournament, winning by an average of 30 points per game. Birmingham was full of Kentucky fans confident of another trip to the Final Four. Didn’t happen. That Rodrick Rhodes missed all seven of his three-point attempts and went 2-for-10 for the game didn’t help.

• 1996 - Kentucky 83, Wake Forest 63
  • Pitino did one of his best prep jobs here, shutting down Wake Forest center Tim Duncan with a variety of double-downs and traps. Wake, coached by Dave Odom, was never really in the game, played in Minneapolis. Was nearly a UK-U of L Midwest Regional final as Wake Forest beat Louisville by only one point, 60-59, in the semifinals.

• 1997 - Kentucky 72, Utah 59
  • Pitino beat up on UK’s poor nemesis Rick Majerus, as the Cats whipped the Utes in the West Regional final at San Jose. Pitino said yesterday that the team he was most proud of was this ‘97 team because of everything it went through to reach the Final Four, and ultimately the title game, where UK lost in overtime to Arizona.

• 2005 - Louisville 93, West Virginia 85 in overtime
  • Cards trailed by as many as 20 points, including 13 at the half, then rallied to force overtime in Albuquerque. This was Pitino’s return to the Elite 8, and his fifth regional title. The coach became the first to lead three different teams to the Final Four.

Top 10 highlights from today’s press conferences previewing tomorrow’s Louisville-North Carolina East Region final:

• Rick Pitino on having to play top-seed North Carolina in Charlotte: "We understand that we have to play a road game to get there (to the Final Four). We had to play a road game at Georgetown to win the Big East championship and came up short." Told that Roy Williams doesn’t consider the game a home game, Pitino joked, "Roy should get on a plane for once and play the game at Freedom Hall."

• Carolina writers were hitting hard on the David Padgett angle. Padgett signed with Kansas to play for Roy Williams. But Williams departed for North Carolina before Padgett arrived on campus. After playing one year for the Jayhawks, he transferred to Louisville.

• Pitino on UK equipment manager Bill Keightley sitting in the U of L section for Thursday night’s win over Tennessee: "The You learn about the game of life when you do come back, because you learn guys like Bill Keightley, he’s never going to like Louisville, it’s just not in his makeup. But he understands what friendships and people are all about. And I really appreciate that, because guys like Billy Keightley, they’re your friends for life, and a lot of guys I thought were my friends back in those days haven’t been my friends. So I really appreciate his friendship."

• Pitino: "The team I’m most proud of is ‘97, because we lost guys and came back and made it to the finals."

• Both Pitino and Williams said they were well beyond their tiff in 1989-90 when Williams’ Kansas team obliterated Pitino’s Kentucky team 150-95 and the two exchanged heated words on the sideline. In fact, Williams said that in ‘92 or ‘93, Pitino got him on the famed Shadow Creek Golf Course in Las Vegas.

• Williams on Louisville’s defense: "I wish I was good enough to play a full-court pressing game and then drop into a zone defense."

• Williams on Pitino: "I think Rick is one of the great, great coaches in the game, not just the college game."

• Williams discounted the crowd advantage by saying that North Carolina lost two home games in the Dean Dome this year when it had 21,000-plus rooting for the Heels.

• Williams praised sixth-man Danny Green, who has had to deal with his father being arrested and charged with being a participant in a drug ring. The elder Green plead to a lesser charge and is now out on parole.

• Juan Palacios on Pitino: "Every time I ask Coach P how long he’s been coaching, he tells me something different."