2008 Louisville Cardinals Hoops Preview

Rick Pitino won a national championship during the seventh season of his eight-year run at the University of Kentucky. Believe it or not, Pitino will coach his eighth team at the University of Louisville this season. And Pitino says that this group has the ability to be as good as any team he’s coached at Louisville.

“I love this team,” he says. “We’ve got very good veteran players who learned what it takes to get to the Final Four last year even though we fell just short of that. Now we’ve got another year of experience and good young players coming in to join them.”

Indeed. Pitino did two solid segments of recruiting, bringing in a top-10 class that will help replace the losses the Cardinals will feel without David Padgett and Juan Palacios. But Pitino also convinced senior wing Terrence Williams and junior forward Earl Clark to put the NBA on hold for another year and return to lead this team.

Frontcourt

Clark could have been a first-round draft pick in the June draft. NBA scouts love the way he can slide his 6'9" body around the perimeter and also be productive around the basket, especially as a rebounder. But Pitino believes Clark still needs to improve his low-post game and learn to play with intensity on a consistent basis. He should be a double-double guy nearly every night.

Williams considers himself a point forward, and it’s foolish to argue, considering he averaged 4.5 assists, more than double anybody on the team. Shot selection and turnovers are the two things Williams must improve to reach his goal of being drafted in the first round. He’s already the team’s defensive stopper.

George Goode missed last season because of academics. Pitino recruited Goode because he believed he could make the 15-foot jumper. He’ll get his chance to prove he can deliver.

Clark will need help around the basket, and he figures to get it from a pair of newcomers, Samardo Samuels and Terrence Jennings. Samuels is a bruising low-post presence who was named the National Player of the Year by USA Today. Jennings isn’t as strong, but he’s got a better floor game and can jump with anybody.

Backcourt

Pitino’s best teams have always been strong at guard, and they’ve always been able to shoot the ball effectively, especially from behind the 3-point line. This group has the skills to make this one of Pitino’s best teams. Jerry Smith remains the best long-range marksman, a gritty 38.4 percent 3-point shooter who has never flinched from taking the shot in the final seconds of any possession. Smith is also a strong rebounder whose effectiveness in the full-court press is shown by his ability to lead the team in steals.

Point guard remains a two-headed monster as Andre McGee and Edgar Sosa split time. Sosa was a full-time starter as a freshman, but McGee moved him out last season and started 27 of 36 games. Pitino likes the way that McGee runs the team, gets everybody involved in the offense and makes certain that guys take shots within their range. He also defends. Sosa has the ability to be a better all-around player, but he sometimes forgets that his job is to run the team and not score. He needs to improve his 1-to-1.2 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Nobody showed more improvement than Preston Knowles, a tireless defender who excelled in the full-court press.

There’s more help in the backcourt. Reginald Delk averaged nearly 10 points per game at Mississippi State two years ago. He is the nephew of Tony Delk, who played for Pitino’s 1996 NCAA champs at Kentucky. He’ll give the Cards another 3-pointer shooter.

Final Analysis

The Big East is loaded, but Pitino has a healthy mix of veterans and young talent. Clark seems committed to becoming one of the best frontcourt players in the nation, somebody who can score inside or outside. Williams is a ferocious defender who can really pass. Smith remains the team’s most consistent player at both ends of the floor. But for Louisville to become an elite team, Sosa needs to blossom into a dependable point guard and Samuels must replace the strength around the basket that Louisville lost with the departures of Padgett and Derrick Caracter.