BASKETBALL WITHOUT GORGUI

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– The Cards basketball team will have to prepare for the road ahead without Gorgui Dieng

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We learned yesterday that Gorgui Dieng did, in fact, suffer a fracture to the scaphoid bone in his left wrist, which will require surgery today and keep him on the bench for 4-6 weeks. The carpal fracture is a problematic injury, and the healing process is an unpredictable one because it’s at such an underserved point in the circulatory system. I have experienced this injury first hand. And even when the cast comes off and the bone is mended it still requires several weeks of rehab for the wrist to become fully stable. So a realistic return date would be somewhere around the week of January 1st.

So what does this mean for the basketball team? As much as Siva and Smith are critical to this teams ultimate success, Dieng is just as important for his ability to make a difference in the paint at both ends. He scores with consistency on one end, then protects the other with fierceness. Gorgui who is considered to be one of the best shot blockers in the nation has 194 career rejections. Our Cards allowed their conference opponents to make just 42.7 percent of their 2’s last season and Gorgui was a huge part of that swatting away about 10 percent of the 2’s that opponents attempted during his minutes. And he played more than 80 percent of the available minutes at his position in 2011-12, meaning opponents faced a formidable obstacle to their offense more than 80 percent of the time.
Now the Cards will face the challenge of filling this spot and the responsibility will be given to Stephan Van Treese (2 PPG, 2.5 RPG) and Zach Price (1 PPG, 1.6 RPG), although Pitino may at times elect to go small with Montrezl Harrell (6.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG) and Chane Behanan (8.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG). This will also change the defensive habits of Russ Smith And Peyton Siva. They will no longer be able to take the chances they did in the back-court while knowing they had Gorgui behind them to bail them out when needed. I fully expect the defensive game planning to change as well. Expect to see more zone and less man-to-man. I do think the guys filling in are more than capable. But you don’t replace one of your best players and a back-up plan is never as solid as the original one. The one thing looming in the back of the minds of most Cards fans including myself is that Dec 29th match-up against UK. With Gorgui in the line-up it gave us an advantage but facing it without him looks to become more of a toss up game. But hey they all seem to end up that way so really nothing new. And with Gorgui expected back when Big East play starts I still think we end up Big East Champions and with a 1 or 2 seed to start the Madness.

Coach Pitino: “I don’t want to overhype my players,” “But he’s one of the best big men in the country.”

It really sucks to lose a player to injury and especially one as special as Gorgui. He is more than just a basketball player. He means so much more to this team and to this program. There isn’t a college basketball fan among us that won’t miss his cheerfulness and his genuine love for the game. The young man is having surgery today and I know from experience that its not a fun one. Lets all keep Gorgui in our prayers and hope for a speedy recovery. Get will soon Gorgui!

CARDS AND KNIGHTS FOR ALL THE MARBLES

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– Jersday Night showdown for the Big East Crown and BCS birth

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Cards were out “Huskied” on Saturday but still remain in the hunt for the Big East championship and a trip to a BCS bowl game. Cards come in this game after a triple overtime loss to Uconn 23-20. They will face Rutgers who also had a let down on Saturday falling to Pitt 27-6.

Coach Charlie Strong: “We have a large task ahead of us,” “After dropping the last two games, we have to regain our focus and regain our confidence. The thing we have to realize is we’ve won nine games, and dropped the last two, but this team is still a really good football team. Now, we have to go on the road. We have to go on the road to win a championship. What’s at stake for us and what we really have to understand is we have a chance to win a conference championship. We have a chance to go play in a BCS bowl game. We also have a chance for a 10-win season.”
(Courtesy UofLsports.com)

If the Cards are to go to New Jersey and pull off the upset on Thursday night they will have to come out and have a better effort than they did on Saturday. They were not able to get anything going their way as the UConn Defense held them in check for most of the way. Teddy QB was 30-53 for 331 yards and 2 TD’s with one interception. DeVante Parker was the lone bright spot hauling in 8 passes for 91 yards and 2 TD’s. The Cards running game was completely held in check as Teddy QB was sacked numerous times resulting in -29 yards and Jeremy Wright was held to just 43 yards.
Rutgers also came out flat on Saturday in their battle with Pittsburgh. Much like UConn did with Louisville Pitt was able to control the line of scrimmage the whole day. Rutgers could only manage 207 total yards. Gary Nova was picked off once and managed a 3rd quarter touchdown. Savon Huggins and Jawan Jamison combined for just 32 yards. By laying an egg Rutgers failed to claim the Big East Title and now will face our Cards for all the marbles in a Thursday night showdown.

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Coach Kyle Flood was promoted to interim coach once Greg Schiano decided to leave the program to take over the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And after FIU’s Mario Cristobal turned down the job he was made the head man of the Scarlet Knights. They have most of their top players back from a 9-4 team that won the Pinstripe Bowl including players at the skill positions. They will try to keep it on the ground with the rushing attack of Jawan Jamison who has 1004 yards with 4 TD’s on the season. And Savon Huggins who has 362 yards and 2 TD’s. Quarterback Gary Nova is the man under center for the Knights. He is a very capable QB with 2282 yards and 20 TD’s on the season but is prone to the interception with 13 on the year. The biggest story of this Rutgers team is on the defensive side of the ball where 2 time Big East defensive player of the week Linebacker Khaseem Greene has lead his team to be the 4th ranked among FBS schools allowing just 13.7 points a game and only Alabama, Notre Dame and Florida are better. Greene’s intangibles, production and playmaking ability could lead him to be a top 50 pick in the NFL draft. Another thing that will play a huge role in this game is the fact that Rutgers hasn’t won a conference championship since Big East football began in 1991. They have a chance to do this for the first time and possibly the last as they will be joining the Big Ten in 2014.

Coach Kyle Flood: “I think when you have the opportunity as a football program, as a coach, as a player, to do something that’s never been done in the history of your program … we are a very focused group.”

Our Cards will be limping into this Big East showdown on Thursday night. Teddy QB broke his wrist on Saturday and will be in a cast. He will only be able to take snaps in the shotgun formation while Senior QB Will Stein will take direct snaps on the plays under center. I think the biggest loss for this Cardinals football team was when Senorise Perry got hurt. I think he was more important to this team than most thought. He was critical in our rushing attack and his hard nosed play allowed things to open up for Teddy QB and the receiving core to do their thing. And I do think Wright and Lamb are very capable of giving us valuable time but you just don’t replace a player like Perry. I do think our defensive unit will hold their own and will have another solid outing.

Folks I would love to play the optimistic homer this week but the realist in me just won’t allow for it. I would love nothing more than for our young and battered team to go into Piscataway and pay them back for keeping us out of the championship game a few years ago. It would be great to ruin their chances for their first Big East title. But I just don’t think our guys have it in them. The real talk is that we are without our leading rusher in Perry, our QB is not at a 100%, and we are facing one of the top defenses in the country on their home field. I will be cheering hard for our guys to prove me wrong this week but it is what it is.

The Beak Prediction:
Louisville 10 Rutgers 17