LOUISVILLE VS DUKE GAME THREAD- 6PM ACCN
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This is what happens when you have only 7 players that play. Cards just ran out of gas. If Kelsey wants to continue playing fast, this is what we're going to see a lot of times.
Cards played hard and determined from the get go, and that is going to take a lot of energy. Hepburn is starting to turn it over because he's played hard and is drained.
Again, this early brutal schedule has been a killer for Louisville, especially with the injuries. I think we may have beaten Duke if Pryor was playing.
Cards played hard and determined from the get go, and that is going to take a lot of energy. Hepburn is starting to turn it over because he's played hard and is drained.
Again, this early brutal schedule has been a killer for Louisville, especially with the injuries. I think we may have beaten Duke if Pryor was playing.
And that surprises you? Duke is like Alabama in football. They're always going to have homers.
It forced them to play Waterman way too much. He plays hard but isn’t any good.
I agree. He's a Mountain West/Sun Belt type of player. He tries but he's just not good enough. He has a flat shot.
But I don't want to be labeled an "attacker" so I better not say anymore.
This is going to be a rough year. They are going to really struggle to avoid devastating runs. To defend and play offense at this pace is hard. Hepburn can’t be super effective all game he just wears down. Edwards can’t play the point effectively.
Effort was great but it takes it toll and they end up giving in defensively at the same time shots stop falling.
Effort was great but it takes it toll and they end up giving in defensively at the same time shots stop falling.
I guess I've just gotten used to it. I agree they were homers for Duke, but they said a lot of good things about this Louisville team and Coach Kelsey.
Louisville hoops has a long haul ahead to get back to the pre KP years. We weren't just bad the last two years, we were the worst of the major conference teams.
Plus, the scandal ridden years before KP opened the door to the abyss the program found itself in. Much of media don't remember Louisville as a basketball staple. I mean we haven't had a NCAA win in what six or seven years?
The last time Louisville was its elite self was the Covid season in 2019/20. It was like Covid swooped in and destroyed the Cards program like a tsunami. We have been cleaning up and rebuilding the damage since.
So the announcers are going to be homers when teams like Duke are playing Louisville. It's natural to them.
Punish them now, play them hard, toughen them up so they'll be better at the end. push push push. but remember, most are also auditioning and i think pushing themselves a little too hard. i'd rather lose these tough games early, except uk of course, and see if they get through it. losing pryor really hurts though. he reminds me of joakim noah when at fla.
If you have only 7 players then it is up to the coach to run an offense and defense that won't quickly fatigue his players. The same legs you play defense with is the same ones used for offense. There are coaches that win with only a 7-8 man rotation but they have a system for it. Crum comes to mind as one such coach.
Crum didn't do that winning with 7–8-man rotation after losing 3 of his top players. No HC is going to do winning you're outlining here after losing 3 of their top players, especially in this era.
How many coaches would continue to play a style that requires a 10 man rotation when they only have 7 healthy players? The onus is on Kelsey to now give his players a way to be competitive being down players. Continuing to play at the pace he likes to play will result in fatigue and since he likes to shoot so many threes, poor shooting.
Of course I was not saying he could win without his best players. The comment was more about his system and his doing the things that will help his team. The same legs you shoot with or the same ones you play defense with. A tired player will not be productive.
You said Crum was winning with 7-8 players. What you left out is Crum was winning with 7-8 players without losing 3 of his best players.
When Crum lost Milt in 85 he went to the NIT. When he lost Pervis in 87 he went to the NIT. This is a HOF coach in a completely different era, and he had no answer for losing 1 player both years.
There is no style adjustment or coaching strategy to make you more competitive after losing 3 key players including your 2nd best one. If you slow it down you have to have a post player and he doesn't have that. You're just limiting possessions and taking your players out of what they do well and trying to get them to do something they can't do. You're just taking the air out of the ball and trying to hit tougher more contested shots with a shot clock running down.
No team can overcome these injuries. There is no current or historical reference.
There is no onus to put on the coach.
It's the injuries.
You want to conflate the loss of your best players with style of play to avoid fatiguing your players. The Duke game was an example of what I'm talking about. Down the stretch the team fatigued, made turnovers and shot poorly. What is it you think this team does well that would be taken away? They have no post game, no mid range game and the majority of their shots are the lowest percentage shot in basketball. If the coach and the players are not adaptable then is is going to be a disappointing season. Every game will be a Duke game. Lead/competive, then fatigue and fade down the stretch.
You can't adapt with 3 of your top 7 gone. You probably can't adapt with them either.
There isn't a roster in the country that was built to play one way and then go play an entirely different way if 3 of the top 7 got hurt.
It's one thing to adjust with one down, or maybe even two if they aren't your top dogs. But you've lost 3 of the top 7 and your #2 unique skillset guy. I keep repeating it because it doesn't seem to be registering what that means.
Think about what you're requesting here. You think you might be more competitive if you play defense using less energy on it. It's just illogical. You can't go play some soft zone and expect better results, the results would be worse. You'd just give up more points, more offensive rebounds, and you'd probably end up fouling more being out of position when there's a scramble for rebound.
At least by playing man you force the other team to make plays under duress.
And again, it's better to be taking shots in a your natural flow, than to try taking an air out of a ball when you don't have anyone to throw the ball to within 15 feet of the basket. Shooters can't just stand around and shoot better. The game has to be flowing, need player and ball movement and shots taken when ready.
You don't have a roster to get any better than what you're getting. The injuries ruined the season. There is no onus on coach. I don't know why fans need to have a warm body to blame.
All that said, if you think your strategy is a better answer ok.
I do concur that the injuries have ruined the season in the sense there will be no real chance to make the NCAA tournament. However, I do agree that Kelsey needs to adapt to this reality. If that means not playing as fast at certain times, that would make sense.
He needs to evaluate each opponent on just how fast he needs to play to win. He needs to take into consideration the fatigue that will accompany running and gunning. I think he will.
We have been playing such good teams, it's difficult to know if we can win with a slower pace against average to below average teams. It's definitely a balancing act that Kelsey needs to figure out to avoid a losing record.
Also, we didn't lose 3 out of the top 7 best players. We lost 3 out of the top 10.
1. Hepburn
2. Pryor
3. Edwards
4. Smith
5. Hadley
6. Rooths
7. Johnson
8. Abocour
9. Scott
10. Waterman
He needs to evaluate each opponent on just how fast he needs to play to win. He needs to take into consideration the fatigue that will accompany running and gunning. I think he will.
We have been playing such good teams, it's difficult to know if we can win with a slower pace against average to below average teams. It's definitely a balancing act that Kelsey needs to figure out to avoid a losing record.
Also, we didn't lose 3 out of the top 7 best players. We lost 3 out of the top 10.
1. Hepburn
2. Pryor
3. Edwards
4. Smith
5. Hadley
6. Rooths
7. Johnson
8. Abocour
9. Scott
10. Waterman
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I agree with this wholeheartedly. PK will have to sense it and be able to change up defenses on the fly,try to get his guys a breather. It was obvious the fresher legs were running unchecked for about 5 minutes in the 2nd half.
This team needs to play at a pace that a 7 man rotation can handle without fatiguing.
Hopefully they can figure out an adjustment. Or get Traore back that couldn't hurt.
Good luck Cards we are rooting for you!
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