Breathe, Chuck, breathe.

Long. Calm. Deep. Breaths.

Yes, you’re still hearing fireworks from the 4th. Literally, thanks to the yahoos in your neighborhood, setting off bottle rockets here after midnight a couple of days later.

But those other fireworks; they’re in your head.

I’ll let you be in my dream, if I can be in yours.

A packed to the gills Yum! exploding in mid February during a visit from the Evil Empire Blue Devils.

Cards with the ball, down 2 with seconds on the clock. Mikel Brown Jr. with preternatural calm brings the rock past midcourt. Finds Aly Khalifa in the post, who immediately kicks it to the corner.

Isaac McNeely drains a triple. (Will we be calling him Isaac McThreely by then? Don’t bet against it.)

Clock strikes 00:00.

Cards win.

Top 5 U of L sits alone atop the league.

Dude, it’s July. Remember your TM mantra. Use it, for heaven’s sake.

Stay away from your inner 8 year old Chuck, the one who worried all the way home from school, longing to go that night’s game, but not knowing whether youd dad’s bosses had given him the tickets.

But it’s difficult these days.

 * * * * *

That, months ahead of opening tip, is where my mind went the other day.

Khalifa wins his appeal against the NCAA.

Mouhamad Camara, free from visa issues or whatever was keeping out of town, arrives.

Brown tearing it up for the U19 national team.

Schedule announcements indicating Pat Kelsey is ready for his prime time moment, and not just in Norma Desmond mode.

Games scheduled against Tennessee, Memphis State, IU, Baylor in February. Kansas in October.*

*Yeah, it’s an exhibition, but, you tell me, are we going to treat it like that? Eh, no. 

That buffet of big time battles is a Denny Crum preparation platter.

Sure, with that sort of slate, the Cardinals are going to hit some bumps along the way. But when it comes time for the Dance, they’ll be jitterbuggin’.*

*When interviewed after the ’86 title, and asked about the squad’s relatively slow start, he credited eventual success to the learning experience of early Ls in NYC to #5 Kansas and #18 St. Johns, to #13 UK, #6 Memphis State and Kansas a second time.

Kids, I just got a feelin’.

 * * * * *

Another thing I love love love about this squad.

A kid from Egypt, one from Senegal, another from Greece. And a German. A Hoosier. One from the capitol of Crimson Tide territory. One from Disney World. A returnee from our nation’s capital, the District of Cockamamie. With a Cardinal tattooed on his leg.

The redshirt we never mention from Cincy.

A couple of local walk ons.

J’Vonne back to glue ’em all together.

Heralded most all, will they meld into a TEAM?

Who knows?

But a good sign was how to the one they reacted when PK confirmed Khalifa’s eligibility at a team meeting.

Let’s tip.

— c d kaplan