Louisville will stay busy in Puerto Rico

[Cardiotonic]

Jody Demling


The University of Louisville is taking a trip to Puerto Rico next month and there won't be much down time. The Cardinals will play nine games in six days - in five different arenas - and began practice on Monday for the foreign trip. Cardinal Authority will keep you posted on the latest with the Puerto Rico trip for the Cardinals.

University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino will keep his Cardinals' busy on a week-long trip to Puerto Rico next month.

The Cardinals began practicing for their trip to Puerto Rico on Monday and will leave on Aug. 10. U of L will play nine games in six days, starting with a doubleheader on Aug. 12.

"We'll get a lot out of this trip," Pitino told Cardinal Authority in a recent interview. "It will be good for not only the new guys but for also the guys coming back. We're going to play doubleheaders and will get to see a lot of combinations."

Pitino will coach the Puerto Rican National Team and Junior National Team along with assistant coach Mike Balado. Assistants Kenny Johnson and Ralph Willard and basketball operations director David Padgett will coach the U of L team. Pitino is coaching the Puerto Rican national team in an Olympic Qualifier in late August.

The doubleheaders are expected to be played on Aug. 11 and 12 and 15, while the single-games will be played two nights against the national team and the third against the junior national team.

Tickets are on sale in Puerto Rico for the first two nights in games played at Jose Miguel Agrelot Coliseum.

It will be the first time for U of L fans to see fifth-year transfers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis with the team, while four freshmen - Deng Adel, Ryan McMahon, Ray Spalding and Donovan Mitchell - will also make their debuts for the Cardinals.

Pitino said last week he expects every member of the team to play "a lot of minutes" on the trip.

 

[rentalman]

I was wondering how RP was going to handle the minutes. Like the fact that he is going to give everyone a shot at minutes. There are so many unproven guys on this team he needs to see how these guys handle game situations. I remember Denny Crum talking once about how some guys are great in practice but can't play at that level in a game. And some guys are not that good in practice but elevate their play in games.

 

[Cue Card]

My biggest concern is getting everyone back home healthy. Nine games in six days in five different arenas is just begging for a major injury to occur. I'm a worry wart at heart though, so hopefully nothing bad happens.

 

[rentalman]

My biggest concern is getting everyone back home healthy. Nine games in six days in five different arenas is just begging for a major injury to occur. I'm a worry wart at heart though, so hopefully nothing bad happens.

Especially at Guard where we are very thin. But this trip is exactly what this group needs. The extra practice and the game situations
for an inexperienced squad is priceless.

 

[Cardiotonic]

Barring injuries, I see this trip as a great thing for our team....giving the guys a chance to bond.

 

[shadow force]

Agreed. As long as everyone comes back healthy then this trip couldn't come at a better time for this team. There are just so many unknowns, new players, and new parts that this trip could help a ton. Everyone will get some PT on the trip and Pitino will get to see how this team plays together, who has good on court chemistry with who, and just get a much better feel for this squad. And of course the valuable playing time against opposition in a structured game environment will help the players as well.

 

[Cardiotonic]

Agreed. As long as everyone comes back healthy then this trip couldn't come at a better time for this team. There are just so many unknowns, new players, and new parts that this trip could help a ton. Everyone will get some PT on the trip and Pitino will get to see how this team plays together, who has good on court chemistry with who, and just get a much better feel for this squad. And of course the valuable playing time against opposition in a structured game environment will help the players as well.

Yep