Just musing about my beloved Louisville Cardinal hoopsters on a hot summer’s day.

What if Peck Hickman decided to stay at Valley High School?

What if UCLA had hired the coach who won that ’48 NAIB title, instead of the one who lost?

What if Hickman hadn’t been savvy enough to invite NIT decision maker Ned Irish to be the speaker at the annual banquet?

What if U of L didn’t conquer Evanston in ’59?

What if the Cards had beaten West Virginia and Cincy or Cal in the ’59 Final Four?

What if John Turner had netted that jumper against Ohio State in ’61?

What if Wes Unseld had gone to UK? Continue reading Cardinal Hoops Queries: The What Ifs? →

Watching an ACC Network replay of  Louisville’s January ’09 come from behind W over then #1 Pitt in Freedom Hall, my mind meandered back to the day that roller coaster season drew its last breath at new Lucas Oil Stadium.

Indy’s been the situs of many Cardinal hoops moments, some to cherish, some not so much.

That day, despite it ending for me with a second delicioso meal at Shaprio’s, not so much.

But, looking back, it was fitting.

It had been the most cockamamie Cardinal campaign of the millennium. Ending with a whimper not a bang, given all we know now, was an appropriate denouement.

The end-of-regular-season AP #1 and top seeded U of L had battered Russ Pennell-coached Arizona two nights before like the Wildcats were Pikeville College in a November exhi. 103-64 was the final tally of the Cardinals’ 13th consecutive win.

As that emasculation unfolded, I recall thinking, “Save some for Sunday.” Continue reading U of L Hoops ’09 Rewind: Season for a Shrink →

If my abacus is working properly, we’re talking about the fall of ’68.

Which would have been my second year of law school on the Belknap Campus.

One evening after dinner, I was shooting hoops with a classmate, on an outdoor court near the dorms. Milller Hall, maybe.

Walking toward us came heralded frosh, recruited from Male High, Henry Bacon, and another fellow, whom I assumed was a member of the Cards noteworthy freshman class, Jim Price.*

*The others in the class were Mike Lawhon, Larry Carter and Al Vilchek. Ron Thomas later transferred in, if memory serves, and became a key figure on the ’72 Final Four squad in Denny Crum’s first year. 

It was indeed Price from Indy, about whom I knew little.

They asked if they could shoot along? Duh. We didn’t play hard to get.

Then one of the Cards said, let’s play two on two. Continue reading Remembering Jim Price →

As the kinda sorta somewhat hopeful somewhat sad connection between the Cards and the Cowboys dawned on me, my mind wandered back to the one game in the series with Oklahoma State I do recall.

And it’s not the one that showed recently on ESPN, of which I hadn’t the slightest memory.

It’s the ’93 tussle in the tourney in Indy.

And what poured forth immediately were gleeful memories of those great trips up the I65 to watch the Cards. Going husko gordo on pastrami and latkes at Shapiro’s, savoring the Cards in action, and returning to the deli for another cholesterol-loading repast post-game.

My immediate thought of that Okie State encounter was that it might have been the day the Professor and I dined at our favorite deli thrice. For breakfast. Then searching for tickets. Then, ducats secured, lunch. Then the games. Then dinner.

But realized that was another NCAA at the RCA Dome in ’89, when U of L beat a couple of Arkansas schools in the opening rounds to advance to the Regional.

Loved those games in Indy, the scene of several fond Cardinal moments. Those Big Four doubleheaders. ’80. The Regional in ’83. Feeding my need for real hard-crusted rye bread, Nova mit schmear, and a salami omelette.*

* If you’re wondering why I’m meandering through the past here, it’s a reasonable question. Who knows when those happy days will come again? Be grateful I didn’t muse on about why they tore down RCA Dome and built Lucas Oil, which might have led to a rant about the Pontiac Dome, perhaps the ugliest edifice ever constructed by man. 

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Which brings me to offer how ironic it is that Oklahoma State, just sent to time out by the NC2A, and the University of Louisville, also facing serious sanctions, are scheduled to meet in November in one of those made for TV early season matchups. Continue reading That Darn Cardinal/ Cowboy Connection →