Good morning. Yesterday sucked. No way around it. I got into Lexington around 8:30, made it to the Hilton, and was just blown away at how many of our fans made the trip. I'm not saying our fan base was in hibernation and would never wake up, I guess I just didn't think it would happen this soon. Card Nation is fully back and any worries of the last few years killing off the enthusiasm dissipated after what I saw yesterday. The team send off was truly something special. You could see it on the faces of the players and staff. They were in awe over the droves of red that were in their corner. Going into the game, the vibes couldn't have been better.
Inside Rupp Arena, red was everywhere. It was truly a de facto home court environment. But what I really want to say here is that I was reminded of how lucky we are to have the KFC Yum! Center. I hadn't been to Rupp in a long time, but for all intents and purposes, the place is a dump. Cinder block walls. Getting in is like weaving your way through a maze. Good luck trying to go to the bathroom, you'll miss 10 minutes of live action waiting in line. Alright, enough of that.
As for the game, there was maybe one moment where I truly felt like Louisville would win. It was after the Chucky step-back three to go up 5-2. There was really never a moment after that where I felt good about the outcome. As more sequences played out, it just felt like it wasn't Louisville's day. Louisville's players never looked comfortable on defense, nobody looked to be on the same page. Guys didn't know whether to fight through screens, switch. The communication just wasn't there. I think it's perfectly fine to say that Pat Kelsey was out coached for large portions of the game. That didn't happen often this season, but it did yesterday.
But beyond that, building off my initial point, it just wasn't Louisville's day. The whistle wasn't good. Chucky picking up a tick tack foul two minutes into the game was the worst possible thing that could have happened. Chucky couldn't guard Ashworth the way you need to guard him, and Edwards had to slide over on that assignment. Every time the crowd was trying to get into it, Creighton hit a three from the parking lot, or Neal would hit a tough two.
Reyne clearly wasn't 100 percent. He couldn't defend side to side. He couldn't run off screens the way it takes to get open. I thought when the initial injury happened, he would be good to go by the NCAAT, but that just wasn't the case. So, all credit in the world to that kid for putting his body on the line for this team. The phrase "left it all out there" gets thrown around a lot, but Reyne actually left it all out there. He gave it everything he had.
Diving into the game a little bit more: The supporting cast for Louisville didn't provide nearly enough. Chucky and Terrence were good enough, but there just wasn't enough around them. Hadley ended with 13 points if you just look at the box score, but 8 of the 13 came with less than 4 minutes to go in the game. Creighton's third guy (Neal) massively outplayed Louisville's third guy, That's the game in a nutshell. I know it's been said that Scott was sick, but he gave you nothing.
All that being said, I loved this team. If you want to know how special this group was and want to realize just how lucky we were to have a group of kids who truly get this city, get what it means to put on this uniform, go watch Chucky's interview from the locker room.
Kid is just the best.
I hope I'm wrong, but it's going to be hard to assemble a group with the same character and gratitude as this one.
What's next?
I tweeted this out, and most people seemed to agree with me. I didn't think there was anything wrong with what I said, I simply just stated what I believe to be true:
"This is probably too soon, but it was a major factor in today’s game. Love James, he was good enough for most of the season, but he needs to develop quite a bit more if he’s going to own the 5 spot."
Creighton was able to keep their 5 man under the basket to rim protect. They didn't even guard James.
I have similar thoughts on Hadley. He's a good player. Can shoot it. Can post up smaller defenders. But I don't think he can play 30-35 minutes per game on a legitmate top-15 level. I would love to have him back next year, but his role can't be what it was this year if you want to take the next step. If he doesn't want to do that, and wants to transfer, I wouldn't blame him.
It's been reported that Louisville has pulled together a budget of $8 Million - $10 Million to spend on next year's roster. So I can promise you this, next year's team may not play with the same energy, may not be as bought in as this year's team was, but they will be more talented.
The future is still bright. The fan suport is back. The passion is back.
Until next year.
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