The other evening in a conversation, I used the word “ameliorate.”
What we used to call a “College Board Word.”
Not sure exactly where that resided in the recesses, but there it was. I forget the context. But a listener advised he’d never heard the word, asked what it meant?
Had to backtrack, fumbled about for a bit, and guessed, “It means something like making something less bad, something like that. Hope I’m right.”
Ameliorate: “Make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better.”
Lucked out there.
Thought of the word while watching Louisville storm to another insurmountable halftime advantage, this time against visiting Wake Forest.
The game was a slow starter. Tally stayed static at 6-5 for what seemed an interminable stretch. Then U of L started doing what they’ve done time and again recently.
The margin was 24 at halftime.
45-21.
So, ever needing to find a new way to describe what Pat Kelsey is doing at the University of Louisville, I got this.
Pat Kelsey the Ameliorator.
* * * * *
The Cards game deteriorated precipitously late.
It. Is. Bound. To. Happen.
Once up 29, they missed their last six attempts, 11 of their last 12.
Wake, down their two best ballers (ejection, illness), played loose. Scored the game’s last 11 points.
Thus, the final was a deceptive 72-59. Favor the guys who for some reason were wearing gray uniforms.
Such is the amelioration, Cards fans were less than enthralled with a double digit W.
It has not taken long to get spoiled.
Happy days appear to be here again.
* * * * *
Here is a prime example of Kelsey’s acumen, another example that Josh Heird got this hire oh so right.
The Cardinals were up 70-46 with under 6:00 to play. They gave up an offensive rebound on a missed Deacs’ FT, for a deuce.
That. Will. Not. Stand.
PK called a huddle.
The bleeding didn’t stop. But the message was clear. Every gaffe shall be addressed.
U of L has won ten in a row.
All but two (Eastern Ky, Pitt) by double digits. Several by 20+.
With two players of consequence out for the season. Another, Noah Waterman, missing several in a row with screws in his thumb.
Pat Kelsey the Ameliorator.
Asked before the season what would satisfy me in this get back year under a new regime, my pat response was “a .500 record.”
At 16-5 with ten tilts left, Louisville is assured a winning regular season mark.
It shall be significantly glossier than that for the Cardinals, who stand Top 25 by every metric, human and digital. Pomeroy. Torvik. AP. Coaches. Most important, NCAA official NET rankings.
Let’s hope that Tuesday’s second half mediocrity is but a blip on the radar.
* * * * *
I’m not going to go through the stat lines.
The usual guys did the usual things.
Most significant and least discussed: Louisville’s voracious defense.
Wake, which won six in a row before taking Duke to the wire but falling on Saturday, was thwarted from the start.
Throughout the opening stanza, the vanquished had more turnovers than FGs. The Cards points off giveaways/takeaways before halftime: 15-0.
* * * * *
Hunter Sallis is Wake Forest’s stud.
The former Golden Arches A-A was a HS rival of Chucky Hepburn in Nebraska.
He had the ball stolen by Terrence Edwards on the first possession of the game.
Discomforted from the get go, he remained out of sorts, and was eventually ejected after his second T.
His rival ruled.
So it goes.
Operation Amelioration rolls on.
Next: Georgia Tech in Hot ‘Lanta Saturday afternoon.
— c d kaplan
The word for the night….Beatdown!
My favorite play…Ty-Lar driving for an uncontested dunk and the ball ends up in the third row of the end zone.
Yes, loved that play. Thought about mentioning it in post, but opted not to.
That was not my favorite play. He was driving for an uncontested dunk because he picked a pocket to set it up. He learned his lesson because he was more careful with his next dunk. He’s a good kid, have mercy. It must have seemed very different to him playing in the Yum with all these fans.
The Cards in gray uniforms was a sweet ode to The Dirt Bowl ‼️‼️‼️
To quote from CL Brown’s excellent CJ column tonight :
“Maybe Louisville basketball is just that good.
Maybe there’s no letdown or lapses in play looming on the horizon.
Maybe the past two seasons dulled everyone’s senses of what could be achieved or simply left Cardinals fans too deflated to fully buy into
what’s been happening at the KFC Yum! Center.
Only four major college teams — Duke (14), Houston (12), Michigan State (12), Auburn (11) — have longer streaks going. And like those teams, there’s no reason to believe Louisville can’t make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament,
The basketball analytics site EvanMiya.com has U of L ranked as the most improved team in the nation over the past 30 days. The Demon Deacons would certainly agree”
.
Ameliorate, as in “”Hey Jude.”
Beat GA Tech
I am going to tell you, as if you can’t tell yourself, Wake is one very good team. We beat one very good team. Get them again on a neutral court and there shouldn’t be a beat down. What they don’t have is the Cardinal “mo jo” and a PK vacination. Nor did they have a sixth man-the W starved Card fan base.