Let’s start with that drawer.

The one in the kitchen that might contain what you need in the moment.

Flash light. Screwdriver. Grandpa’s rusty pliers. Tape. Scotch. Duct. Maybe some packing. A stray bobby pin. Rubber bands. Gorilla Glue. Some usable. Some already opened which won’t reopen. Box of matches. Tape measure. The Buc-ees fridge magnet your kid may you buy which you and her forgot about. A couple of screws from something or another. Church key. 18 tool Swiss Army knife. Wooden shim. Those spongy plastic things you put under an appliance so it won’t slip on the counter. A BandAid too grungy to use. A AA battery, and three AAA batteries. A spare handle to the outside water spigot.

THAT drawer.

I think I read somewhere that it was a Southern thing, those drawers. But we had one when I was growing up, and we moved here from Detroit.

Of course, I’ve got one now. To which I visit once a day at least.

The place you go to get the thingamajig to fix the issue at hand.

With Kasean Pryor and Koron Johnson out for the year, and Kader Traore out for at least another month, Pat Kelsey has needed to rifle through the equivalent.

 * * * *  *

Sometimes what you need for the task at hand is not in the drawer.

Or the utility shed.

Or, at Oscar’s, the big box hardware place, or even online.

Sometimes you’ve got to rework the whole situation, and adapt to the issue.

That U of L needs to rethink all became apparent after intermission.

The missed FTs indicated fatigue. So too the continual defensive miscues. And missed shots.

Essentially Chucky Hepburn, J’Vonne Hadley and Reyne Smith need to be on the court about every minute. Smith’s a mature presence, even if, yes, his threes aren’t falling. Which they obviously were not Tuesday. Along with everybody else’s.

No doubt about it. U of L played horribly in this one. They didn’t stop trying, if in a futile manner.

It should not be all that surprising. Given the bad news of the last couple days, a severe case of PTSD shouldn’t shock.

Louisville played hard, but with guys out of place, suddenly changing roles, mismatched parts, this season’s hope has been seriously dashed if not extinguished.

Naismithius has dealt U of L a cruel blow.

My legit fear is that Ole Miss 86  , Louisville 63 is just the beginning.

 * * * * *

What seemed apparent in the opening half is that the system Kelsey has been working toward since his hire won’t work with the personnel available.

The Cards looked out of sorts from tipoff.

Credit to Ole Miss. Now that D guru Mark Adams is back on staff, expect the Rebels to look like that Texas Tech team that defended its way to the title game against UVa.

The Cards shooting was woeful. Part systemic, part discombobulation, part bad decision making.

Despite an abysmal 1/13 on too many attempted treys, the Cards guile kept them within shouting distance at 31-40.

10/13 at the line certainly contributed.

Chucky Hepburn’s chuckyhepburness was also a factor. Terrence Edwards appeared ready to kick his game up a notch. J’Vonne Hadley remains a rock.

After that, only time will tell. It was wasn’t chatting during the opening half against Mississippi.

 * * * * *

Next: Duke.

— c d kaplan