– The Beak basketball preview for 2012-13

With the basketball season looming here are a few things Louisville fans should look forward to this season.

-Depth: Our Cards have one of the deepest frontcourts in the country with Gorgui Dieng, Chane Behanan, and Wayne Blackshear starting up front, along with rotation players such as Zach Price, Angel Nunez and Stephan Van Treese. The Cardinals added even more size with freshmen Montrezl Harrell and Mangok Mathiang. The backcourt is also loaded with returning players Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, Kevin Ware, and transfer Luke Hancock. Look for Tim Henderson and Michael Baffour to provide a few quality minutes as well.

-Recruits: Montrezl Harrell and Mangok Mathiang. Harrell is a 6-foot-8 forward who is naturally athletic and strong. He approaches the game with a high motor. This combined with his long arms and fast feet will come in handy in the Cardinals pressure defense.
Mathiang has been described by many as a promising recruit. The potential is there but he still needs to add strength to compete in the Big East. He is more comfortable blocking shots, going after missed shots and securing rebounds with his length more than his strength. I don’t think we’ll see a lot of “The Mango” this season but look for him to get a few minutes here and there.

-The Transfer: Luke Hancock has been recovering from a shoulder injury but once healthy I look for this guy to pick up where he left off at George Mason. He is a scoring point guard in a shooting guards body. He will help with the Cardinals offensive production this season. He will likely compete with Kevin Ware and Wayne Blackshear for minutes at the 2 and wing position.

-The Defense: Louisville had one of the best defenses in the country last year and according to Synergy Sports Technology, Louisville held opponents to just 0.764 points per play. And Per Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency metrics, the 2011–12 Cardinals’ 84.0 defensive efficiency rating was the lowest in the country. The Cards Defense also limited the opposition to 38.4 percent shooting and a mere 61.0 points per game. The Louisville D simply refused to allow opponents to make shots inside the arc allowing their conference opponents to make just 42.7 percent of their 2s. With the added depth and most of the starting line-up returning the defense should be as good if not better this season. Our players know Rick Pitino’s complicated system and with the NCAA rule allowing extra time with the team in the off season I’m sure the defense will be ahead of the curve.

-The Offense: We did lose the number 1 and number 3 scorers from last years team in Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith. Together they average almost 24 points a game for the Cards last season. With the loss of those two guys, that leaves Russ Smith as the top returning scorer. And even though Russdiculous is fearless he does lack the consistency to be the go to guy. Chane Behanan proved last year that he was great in the clutch and will be relied on this season for a bigger chunk of the point production. Wayne Blackshear will be back and 100% healthy for the first time since he stepped foot on the Louisville campus. He will also be a guy that could get us 10 or 15 a night. Kevin Ware has been the surprise of the summer according to those close to the program. His offensive production will be a big part of the success of this team early. Peyton Siva posted an offensive rating in the low 90’s last season and Gorgui Dieng is still barely scratching the surface of what he can do on both ends of the floor, but especially on offense. Both could become much more efficient scorers this season. Don’t forget about the above-mentioned Luke Hancock. The guy can be a scoring machine. And once he settles into the fast pace of the Big East he will also help an offense that struggled to score points last season. It is important to note that the Cards averaged 14 turnovers a game last season. A way to guarantee better offensive production is to give yourself more opportunities to score. So this team must protect the ball this season.

-The Coach: Coach Pitino has kept Cardinal Nation very informed during this off-season. His blogs have been a great treat to the folks like myself who thirst for basketball in the summer time. Coach also made some changes to his early season preparations this summer. He first made headlines when he outlawed his team from playing any pick up games while they were off. Coach Pitino: “I said I don’t want you playing pickup basketball, because that’s how you regress.”
Then instead of putting a major emphasis on his offensive and defensive sets he has increased emphasis on early season match ups, and changed his workouts so that his players get sharper faster. Coach Pitino: “We’d put the whole in first then work on the parts, but the parts weren’t really good. They’d grade out at a C or a B, and they’d start to become an A sometime in January or early February,” “Today, you may not be able to get where you want to go, because of the way you’re judged, if you don’t get there quicker.”
With the new rules allowing the coaching staff more time with their players in the off season and with the change in early season preparation I look for this team to start out of the gate fast. And they will need to as expectations are at an all time high.

-Great expectations: Depending on what source you check the Cards are ranked #1 or #2 by most basketball publications or analyst.

Lindy’s – #1 Louisville
Athlon – #2 Louisville
The Sporting News – #2 Louisville
Jay Bilas, ESPN – #1 Louisville
Bleacher Report – #2 Louisville
Sports Illustrated – #2 Louisville
Dick Vitale – #1 Louisville
College BB NBC – #2 Louisville
The Big Lead – #2 Louisville
SB Nation – #2 Louisville
Round Ball Direct – #1 Louisville

(courtesy UofLsports.com)