As it has about every other day for the last several weeks, it happened again this Friday morning at my fitness joint.
A fellow asked, “Can the Cards beat Duke?”
I replied as bluntly as I have all the previous times.
“We don’t play Duke. We play Stanford.”
Don’t rush it, fans, those Blue Devils are in the on deck circle.
* * * * *
But the turn of the calendar is a legit time to assess the Cards and try to get a feel for what’s ahead.
For calendar year 2025, the Louisville Cardinals went 30-5. Winning percentage: 86%.
19-3 last campaign after the first of the year. 11-2 so far, this one.
A damn fine year if you ask me.
Wünderkind Pat Kelsey’s first season head coaching game in and game out at the highest level.
Louisville was aided more than a bit last season by how woeful the ACC was. The Cards took advantage.
There were some lessons that I hoped would be learned by the coaching staff. Exposed really by the couple of Ls that concluded the season. To Duke and Creighton.
The Cards faltered against bigger, more aggressive foes.
It happened again this year, against Tennessee and Arkansas.
The Achilles heel for this year’s squad is all too apparent. Lack of inside size and depth.
I have no knowledge if Kelsey and his staff went for more bigs and missed, or if they overestimated the value of Aly Khalifa and Kasean Pryor. Or both.
Or something else.
One can only hope that future editions of the Cardinals don’t discover themselves similarly situated.
What it means, let’s be honest, is a lower ceiling this year than U of L diehards were hoping for.
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As for that contemplation, I feel compelled to assess — oh so reluctantly — with a great standard.
Which was propagated by a loyal reader (and arch antagonist) JP a/k/a LOTR2013 a/k/a Frodope*.
*Which portmanteau I crafted, and I am proud of it. To pat myself on the back.
The Standard: Six Game Guys.
Is the squad filled with fellows who have what it takes to win the half dozen in a row necessary to cut the nets on the last Monday of the season?
U of L definitely has two.
One who stays on the bench: Assistant Peyton Siva.
One who comes off the bench: Kobe Rodgers. He won’t a DII natty at Nova Southeastern. 36-0.
On the flip side, Pat Kelsey has yet to coach a W in the NCAA.
And only Mikel Brown has proven himself to be of championship fiber at the highest level. Leading the young USA team to an international crown last summer.
I had an inkling to go through the squad player by player and give him a subjective rating of 0 to 6.
But am not going to do it.
The question, given the team’s lack of major inside presence, and nagging injuries, is what’s the reasonable sum of the parts?
I’m going with Round of 16.
As to whether that makes the Cardinals a two game team — for the Ws — or a three game team for making it to the second weekend, I simply don’t know.
What I do believe is that this team is better than last year’s. The caveat obviously is rookie PG as opposed floor kissing Chucky Hepburn with all his experience and acumen.
But Louisville will likely have a lesser record because of stiffer competition.
Beat Stanford.*
*Media Alert: That same announcing duo that did the Cal game is reported to be on tonight’s call.
* * * * *
I am really sick and tired of all the complaining about G League guys ending up in college — including one on U of L’s bench — and the Baylor situation.
21 year old James Nnaji was an NBA draftee. He played in the Summer League. He may play for the Bears, starting tomorrow. With four years eligibility.
So friggin’ what.
Why should he be treated any differently than, say, Sanny Fru, who actually played a few seasons professionally in Germany at the highest professional level?
Like it or not, it’s the deal now.
The NCAA played ostrich for years, and now they’re getting battered in the courthouse.
To Tom Izzo and Danny Hurley, who claim they didn’t know a Nnaji situation was possible, here’s an idea.
Learn. The. Rules.
I know a lot of people hate the situation. Including many of my readers.
Your choice.
It hasn’t affected my lifelong undying love of college hoops a bit.
I’m Seedy K, and I’m a Hoopaholic.
–c d kaplan
I am not a player hater, and never will be, but I don’t shy away from what in my opinion is legitimate criticism.
What good to us is a 6’10” player who spends the majority of their time operating outside of the arc, dribbling around and jacking up errant threes? Said 6’10” player has taken 60 FG attempts, 29 of those 60 from beyond the arc. Said player has hit 6 of those 29 for 20.7%. Said player is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game in 16 minutes played per game. Not terrible, but not great for a 6’10” player. Said player is averaging 0.3 blocks per game in those 16 minutes.
I’m sorry. He’s a likable enough guy, but Khani Rooths is a wasted scholarship and wasted payroll money. He brings absolutely nothing to the table that we need. He’s a bad 6’10” guard.
As for Pryor, I don’t know. He never plays. Khalifa is just awful. His nifty passes can be fun to watch now and then, but teams have figured him out and are playing him to cut off the pass because that is all he can do on offense.
We truly only have one serviceable big man, and unfortunately he isn’t dominant, which is what we would need him to be with the cast of tall misfits we have.
Rooths helps. Must disagree with you. It happens. Khalifa is the one of whom I jotted in my notes, “borderline useless?” Were he more judicious with his passes he’d be passably a help. He’s like a QB who doesn’t realize when there’s a safety lurking for a pick.
Helps how? I want specifics. He isn’t necessarily “bad” (except his 3 point shooting is awful and he takes nearly half hIs shots from there). I was specific in how he doesn’t help make us better. Tell me with examples what, as a 6’10” player, he brings to the table that makes the team better. Besides 5 more fouls and giving some players a rest by playing some minutes.
We’re weak inside and he’s 6’10” and has no inside presence. He can’t shoot from outside, but jacks it up anyway.
I’m a football guy. You’re the hoops guy. Tell me how a 6’10” player with no inside game who plays outside the arc all the time and shoots 20.7% on half his shots makes us better. I’m all ears. Give me the details.
Scorp, I’m not going to argue with you.
Okay. Not going to make this an angry disrespectful kind of thing. I love and appreciate you. But you mention two players, Pryor who isn’t even playing, and Khalifa who is terrible. You correctly surmise we are weak inside, so my point is there is another 6’10” player on the roster (who takes up a scholarship and money) who does absolutely nothing to contribute to our inside needs. I will accept your concession as acknowledgement my point is taken. The inside weakness problem is every tall guy on the roster except for Fru. Scholarship balance is about needs. Pryor and Khalifa are obvious because one doesn’t play and the other sucks. Rooths just just as much a part of the problem because if he played like a 6’10” player should play we would have much less or no inside problem. He’s a wasted scholarship.
My comments on the G league player situation.
1. The NCAA are a bunch of loser shit heads. (Right. Everyone already feels the same.)
2. Someone needs to get on it and file the lawsuit that will certainly put them in their place. Having a rule that excludes players who played pro ball in one country and allowing others who played pro ball in all other countries is the very definition of arbitrary and capricious rule making. Does the NBA have their dirty fingers on the scale? I don’t know, but why discriminate against red blooded patriotic Murican players?
I don’t believe the NBA has a thing to do with it.
They likely don’t have anything to do with it. It was a speculative question.
And I should clarify the ban is on G league players who signed NBA contracts only. Still, a pro is a pro. Whatever arbitrary ban the NCAA is trying to enforce should be easy to shoot down in court.