Not So Manic Monday
Hard to quantify just how much better Monday A.M. felt this week than last. No, it wasn't the hum of holiday cheer, nor the fact that I could actually get to work (the New York MTA is threatening to strike any day now). It was quite simply the fact that for another year -- NCAAs, conference season, etc. be damned -- the Cats own the Cardinals.
The local and national media have had time to chime in and move on, laying smackdowns on Rick Pitino's scheduling, talking about the crowd, Rajon Rondo's relationship with his coach and a big man sighting, among other things.
What I saw as a biased observer was more personal, of course. The Cats simply wanted the game more. Yes, the second largest crowd in Rupp history didn't hurt, but instead of finals week off contributing to team rustiness, it seemed to galvanize the Big Blue, as an early 8-0 lead got Kentucky off to the kind of crowd-enthused start they needed.
The clear player of the game was Rondo, whose career-high 25 points and strong 7 assists showed exactly the sort of all-around floor game he needs to have for UK to go deep into March. Lukasz Orbzut was outstanding (yeah, you read that right) with a career-high 9 boards and a load of heart. Sheray Thomas got into the action, too, tallying 11 points and 6 boards in his best game of the year.
But at the risk of sounding like a know-it-all, the difference in this game was Joe Crawford. The scintillating sophomore didn't blow up the scoring column, with just 9 points on 3-of-10 shooting, but he was aggressive, confident and powerful; three things that UK's squad of nice guys need more of.
Beyond Crawford's dunk in the second half that helped turn a slightly tense game into a rout, as the crowd got even louder, the scorer is starting to look like a player, not a piece of the puzzle. As I have noted before, a consistent scoring threat not named Rondo is key. And with Patrick Sparks still looking like he's been drinking his J.P. Blevins juice this year, Crawford becomes even more important.
Louisville was clearly unprepared for (a) the hostile crowd and (b) a team with any good players, and with Juan Palacious and David Padgett still returning from injury, this was a great time for the Cats to get UL. But that doesn't matter in the end, as for one more year, the Big Blue Nation can puff out its chest.
Eat it, Cardinals.
The local and national media have had time to chime in and move on, laying smackdowns on Rick Pitino's scheduling, talking about the crowd, Rajon Rondo's relationship with his coach and a big man sighting, among other things.
What I saw as a biased observer was more personal, of course. The Cats simply wanted the game more. Yes, the second largest crowd in Rupp history didn't hurt, but instead of finals week off contributing to team rustiness, it seemed to galvanize the Big Blue, as an early 8-0 lead got Kentucky off to the kind of crowd-enthused start they needed.
The clear player of the game was Rondo, whose career-high 25 points and strong 7 assists showed exactly the sort of all-around floor game he needs to have for UK to go deep into March. Lukasz Orbzut was outstanding (yeah, you read that right) with a career-high 9 boards and a load of heart. Sheray Thomas got into the action, too, tallying 11 points and 6 boards in his best game of the year.
But at the risk of sounding like a know-it-all, the difference in this game was Joe Crawford. The scintillating sophomore didn't blow up the scoring column, with just 9 points on 3-of-10 shooting, but he was aggressive, confident and powerful; three things that UK's squad of nice guys need more of.
Beyond Crawford's dunk in the second half that helped turn a slightly tense game into a rout, as the crowd got even louder, the scorer is starting to look like a player, not a piece of the puzzle. As I have noted before, a consistent scoring threat not named Rondo is key. And with Patrick Sparks still looking like he's been drinking his J.P. Blevins juice this year, Crawford becomes even more important.
Louisville was clearly unprepared for (a) the hostile crowd and (b) a team with any good players, and with Juan Palacious and David Padgett still returning from injury, this was a great time for the Cats to get UL. But that doesn't matter in the end, as for one more year, the Big Blue Nation can puff out its chest.
Eat it, Cardinals.
4 Comments:
At 11:33 PM, Anonymous said…
I just found your blog recently and I just wanted to say that I love reading your articles. You seem to be a very talented writer, so I appreciate the time that it must take.
At 9:43 AM, Anonymous said…
Great post! Thanks for the link to the Crawford dunk.
At 12:01 PM, Anonymous said…
The MTA strike is terrible. It is freezing up here...but nothing warms me up like the thought of roasted Cardinal.
At 4:31 PM, Truzenzuzex said…
Nice blog. Great post on the Louisville-Kentucky game.
I had serious doubts about the 'Cats, but one thing we didn't have for a change - a serious match-up problem. Killingsworth is the kind of player we simply cannot defend without (and maybe even with) Morris. But Louisville has no such player.
Kentucky may have just turned their season around. We'll see.
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