Tag Archives: Trey Lewis

Louisville CardFile: Georgia Tech

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joaniecardSo unnerving and, frankly, odd, was Louisville’s 56-53 escape over Georgia Tech on Senior Night, I kept expecting to see beleaguered school prexy James Ramsey walking into the arena with Donald Trump and the GOP candidate’s new bestest chum Chris Christie in tow.

So mediocre was the Cardinals play, the Greek God of College Hoops Naismithius surely must have turned to his Acolytes, and declared, “I realize Louisville deserves a setback here, but those seniors Lee and Lewis are such stand up guys, I’m going to allow the Cardinals to prevail. But, not without a scare. Tech is also worthy.”

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How odd was it?

Very. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Georgia Tech →

Louisville CardFile: Duke

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joaniecardLet’s tell it like it is.

Playing Duke is always big.

Beating Duke is always huge.

Beating Duke when it really matters confirms that life is good, and the basketball gods are shining their countenance down on the Cardinals.

Just as those ’86 national champs honored yesterday conquered the Blue Devils for the title, and the ’13 national champions throttled the Blue Devils in the regional final on the way to that title, the ’15-’16 Cardinals persevered yesterday at the Yum! in what was essentially a tournament game.

Louisville 71, Duke 64.

Sweet.

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Oh, and shame on me perhaps for admitting it in print, but we all know what our favorite moment is from yesterday’s come from 13 behind W.

With 12:58 to play, Jaylen Johnson did what every one of his Cardinal teammates loved, what every member of the L1C4 Nation loved, frankly, what college hoops fans across the land loved: He rocked a jackhammer elbow into the kisser of Grayson Allen.

As Christian Laettner was to the Land o’ College Hoops and most especially to the Big Blue Nation, Grayson Allen is to U of L. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Duke →

Louisville CardFile: Syracuse

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joaniecardFirst, my mea culpa maxima.

I have been adamant, and have opined in this space as well as to any and all with whom I might have shared a conversation about the tallest Cardinal, that Matz Stockman “would never be a significant presence” while at U of L.

He seemed too slow, too clumsy footed, too mechanical, too reticent, to ever be a factor.

For that opinionation, I have been chastised, sometime with a knowing smile, more often with the virulence of a Republican presidential candidate going big game sport hunting against a fellow elephant, who is also in the running.

Those who criticized my criticism of the Louisville’s resident Norwegian were right.

I was wrong. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Syracuse →

Louisville CardFile: Notre Dame

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joaniecardIn the wake of U of L’s loss, 66-71, to the Fighting Irish in South Bend, it becomes even more fascinating that the ’86 national champions shall be feted next Saturday, when villainous Grayson Allen and his fellow Blue Lucifers come to the Yum!.

There is way more than a peripheral symmetry to the whole situation.

That title was won against the azure Princes of Darkness from Durham. This year’s squad, as we all too well know, won’t be competing for a crown at all.

Louisville’s second title winners started that quest with a 20 point W over Drexel. That Philly school whose mascot is Mario the Magnificent was famously referred to as “one of them academic schools” by star guard Milt Wagner. Who should know, since he was from Camden, just 11 miles across the state line in Jersey.

And, the Cards’ leading scorer this season is Damion Lee, a done&one from, yes, that “academic school,” which apparently doesn’t have a graduate program in Lee’s specific discipline, requiring him to transfer to U of L for his post-grad work.

Plus, as trivia-obsessed hoopaholics should recall, that ’86 tourney featured one of the great upsets in the history of the Dance. In the opening round, Bobby Knight’s IU Hoosiers were upended 83-79 by unheralded Cleveland State, which was coached by a fellow named Kevin Mackey, later busted while exiting a crack house with his mistress.

The coach-designated “leader” of this year’s Cardinal squad from his first day on campus,  Trey Lewis, is another done&one from — all together now — Cleveland State. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Notre Dame →

Louisville CardFile: Duke

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joaniecardWinning at Cameron Indoor is not an easy task for the occasional visitor.

Nor, for that matter, for most of the regulars who stop by annually by league mandate, facing their usually lethal dose of the Blue Devildom and the privileged, raucus Crazies.

Unlike the 91-76 W there in ’83 by U of L’s national semi-finalists, who may have actually been the best Cardinal contingent ever, this year’s still raw squad gave its gutty all, but fell, 65-72.

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The Cardinals were led by The Future.

After a lackluster opening half, sophomore Quentin Snider led the charge, during the Cards’ comeback after the break, when they steamrolled from a 15 point deficit to take the lead. Q netted a trey from the corner to cut Duke’s advantage to four. Then converted a +1 to narrow it to a single digit.

Then another +1 at 6:12 for the lead, 58-57. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Duke →

Considering U of L’s Self Punishment

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joaniecardBack in the halcyon days of the late 70s and 80s, some fellow Cardinal fans and I had this little shtick, the kind of silliness adoring fans embrace everywhere.

We talked about Season Ticket Insurance. If the Cards lost, or somebody got hurt or something bad would happen, we’d try to lessen the anguish by invoking that we needed to “make a season ticket insurance claim.”

It helped. We’d laugh. It would ease the grief.

This afternoon, before actually hearing that U of L, after its in house investigation in the wake of the Herricane Katina scandal, had decided to self impose a post-season ban this year, I got a text from one of those guys.

“Perfect year for season ticket insurance,” it read.

As if that would somehow dissipate this monumental disappointment. Continue reading Considering U of L’s Self Punishment →

Louisville CardFile: North Carolina

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joaniecardThe University of Louisville Cardinals woke up on Groundhog Day, the morning after a season redefining 71-65 W over North Carolina, not having to worry whether some previously anonymous groundhog (a/k/a whistlepig, a/k/a woodchuck, a/k/a Marmota monax) in Puxnawhatever, Pa. sees his/her shadow.

After a weekend of soul searching, during which the Cardinals tempered their steel, while their fan base was wondering whether they might have to find some non basketball endeavors to occupy their time in late March, a major question was answered.

This U of L team may go down, but it will not be for lack of effort, or the lack of will to fight back.

Here’s what Louisville did to the Tar Heels, in front of 22,781 Yum! fans who turned raucous once they found their seats. They limited the visitors with the nation’s second best assist/ turnover ratio to 11 assists, while forcing 16 turnovers. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: North Carolina →

Louisville CardFile: Virginia

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joaniecardThere was, at least for me personally, an exclamation point to U of L’s  disappointing performance against Virginia, a display by the home team which was even more dispiriting than the fact of the 47-63 loss.

That !!!?

I had a parking ticket nestled between the wiper blade and windshield of my car after the game. You’d think those meter watchers would have had something better to do on such a lovely day, that they might have been a bit more understanding to disheartened Cardinal fans.

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Louisville was never in this game. It was an L from the opening tip. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Virginia →

Louisville CardFile: Virginia Tech

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joaniecardThe first name my fingers seem compelled to type in the wake of  Louisville’s latest ACC road W, 91-83 over Virginia Tech, is neither Damion Lee nor Trey Lewis, the Cardinal done&ones who led the way.

The name is Ken Pomeroy. (Not to worry, I’ll get to the Cardinal stars in a bit.)

Pomeroy is the hoops computer geek whom I and other scribes locally and nationally are referencing this season with increasing frequency. He’s risen to guru status.

We adore him around here, because he’s valued the Cardinals higher all season than the humans who actually watch games and vote in polls. Pomeroy considers many variables, way too many for me to understand them all.

What I do know is they add up to #3 national ranking for U of L, behind Oklahoma and Iowa. Though the Cards’s defensive efficiency ranking has slipped from #1 to #5, its offensive ranking has been steadily improving in league play, and is now 21st best in the land.

Anyway, my point. Yesterday I dug deep into Pomeroy’s subscriber site for explanations of his many stats. Most, I frankly didn’t understand.

What struck me though was this admission. He acknowledges that his system is slightly biased in favor of teams with weaker schedules. U of L’s overall schedule is the 144th toughest in the country, but its non-conference slate was ranked #301. Which is perhaps a reason why his computers so admire Louisville. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Virginia Tech →

Louisville CardFile: Georgia Tech

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joaniecardWelcome to the Spin Zone.

Where there shall be no joking about a certain emerging U of L Cardinal’s ethnicity. No reference to last year’s Triple Crown winner. No analogy to Pyramids in the Paint. No hoops hieroglyphics.

No joking here, unlike The Rick, who, during his post game radio show after the Cardinals gutty 75-71 W over the Ramblin’ Wreck of Georgia Tech, proved he knows more about the Play Book than the Good Book.

Yo, Coach, it wasn’t the Egyptians forced to wander the desert, but, uh, vice versa. Anyway, that’s another discussion for another time.

Like I said, welcome to the Spin Zone.

Anas Mahmoud, spinning from the right block across the lane for a nifty floating hook shot, southpaw from the Brooklyn side.

Anas Mahmoud, spinning from the left block across the lane for a nifty floating hook with his stronger hand.

Anas Mahmoud, spinning from the right block, feigning a full traverse of the paint, stopping, switching the ball back from his left hand to his right, for a deft little five foot push floater.

Anas Mahmoud, grabbing the eminently loseable tilt by the short and curlies, thus spinning into the hearts of U of L Cardinal fans hither and yon. Continue reading Louisville CardFile: Georgia Tech →