There is of course a scintilla of hope, the aspiration that this put upon band of Cardinals can muster a rally in the next two weeks and salvage a season rapidly unraveling.
Yet, for some eery reason, it seems that midway through the opening half last night at Cameron Indoor, the winters of discontent facing U of L basketball descended earlier than expected.
U of L was hanging with an obviously superior Blue Devil squad. The Cards were patient on offense, getting the ball into the middle of the zone, sticking to a game plan that was based on going high/low.
They had overcome early jitters — turnovers on two of their first three possessions — and were hanging tough at both ends, behind only 15-16.
Grayson Allen — a consummate college basketball player whatever you might think of him — netted one of his six treys.
Then Deng Adel, as he’s wont to do, drove into No Man’s Land in the paint, where he remained in stasis after attempting to get the ball to a teammate. Three second call.
David Padgett rotated in Jordan Nwora and Malik Williams during a timeout. The rookies, lynchpins of the Cardinals’ increasingly bleak near future, appeared bewildered by the environment. In a blink, U of L lost contact, was down eleven before the interim coach could reinsert some experience.
From then on, Duke scored essentially at will. From beyond the arc, from which distance they drained nine. From point blank range, where they flushed, what, 13, 14, 15 dunks.
Ray Spalding alone played with the fire and fury that the Red & Black Faithful have come to expect from their three-time national champion University of Louisville Cardinals.
It was a sad, perhaps inevitable underscore to as dark a 36 hours as the program has ever suffered.
More lamentable is the bleak reality that this is just the beginning of the disaffection that is destined to be, for the rest of this campaign and those in the immediate future.
The weary truth is that U of L is more likely to lose out than it is to make the NCAA tournament.
Any gumption this group might have had to overcome the impediments for success appears to have withered away.
I pray I’m wrong, that Good Lord willing, a rejuvenation shall be mustered.
It’s simply on this dank, gray winter’s morn most difficult to conjure such a vision.
— Seedy K
I do hope that our seniors will gained enough from their courses so that their degrees will have prepared them for good jobs and successful careers, and that our players who have yet to earn degrees will understand what it will actually take to give them the best chance to have productive futures. For some of them it will take much more work than for others, but the making the right decision on how best to optimize their potential and whether they really understand what is really possible for each of them is the challenge.
If basketball as a profession is what they expect is their reality, how much time do they have to make themselves into the player that could actually have a career rather than a dream? How much of that time would they commit ? Would sitting out a transfer year and working on their bodies or their skills be of value, or would they only find themselves practicing against players who provide no challenge and make no progress ?
Will a new year with a “real” 5 who has had to sit out his transfer year, give Ray the opportunity to be “just” a forward and with a summer of working on his strength and confidence in a jumper move him closer to the top of a draft? Would it make it easier for a perimeter player to have a big on the floor who can actually post-up and hold a spot rather than being pushed 15 ft from the rim, or under the basket ?
So many questions
No mas.
does that imply a fan’s heart of stone, rather than hands of stone ? Gots to go all 12 rounds and await the decision even if the final judgement is known; Come on Smart Guy and answer the bell !
TKO