UofL v. Georgetown College

Finally we have something to take our minds off of football, ladies and gentlemen, basketball season for the University of Louisville Fightin' Cardinals is upon us. That trademark smell of Freedom Hall is still there, and the fans that packed it for the final season opener in it's history were lively as usual. Coach Pitino said before the game that this would be a learning experience for the team, and it most certainly was. Nothing that we saw was necessarily unexpected, and Georgetown College came in with a team ready to play.

Notes

• Happy Osborne always brings in a team that is tough, a perfect exhibition opponent, this team was no different. Georgetown College is a great basketball school, and Osborne is a hell of a coach. Playing them every year makes us a much better team, no doubt.
• Samardo is going to have a great year, he is playing hard already, this is great news for the team and the fans.
• Obviously the weakness on the team is at the 3 & 4 positions. Delk is really going to have to step up and so is Swop. We have talent at these positions, it's just going to have to come together on the court.
• Preston Knowles does more and more each time he steps on the court to validate our man-crush (ed. note - I will type a variation of this sentence after every game, this is the lock of the year).
• Siva, you are winning us over one hustle play at a time, keep it up and we'll be taking you out to dinner very soon. On a serious note, have we had a quicker more athletic pure point guard in recent memory?
• Sosa still has the itch to pull the trigger, and surprisingly I don't have as big of a problem with this as I have in previous years. Obviously the main goal for Edgar is to pass first, shoot second, but he isn't afraid to take a shot when called upon.
• Jerry Smith = Red Flags...Come on, Jerry, you are better than what we've seen in the scrimmage and exhibition last night.
• Mike Marra will find his shot and be a crucial member of this team, last night was rough, but not a sign of things to come. Tattooed  Talented young kid.
• No Stephan Van Treese, why?
• Rock Buckles is going to make an impact, as is Kyle Kuric...write this down, you saw it here first.

Stats

• Samardo Samuels led all scorers with 20 points
• Samardo also led all rebounders with 11 boards
• Kyle Kuric was the second leading scorer with 15 points and played the most minutes (29)

In the end we learned a lot about the Cards last night, we have a lot of improving to do, but we have a ton of talent on this squad that are sure to improve quickly. Shooting and defense are primary concerns, but our second half offense showed drastic improvements. Defense on the other hand, that may take some time. The Cards take the court against Bellarmine next week, another exhibition that should be a good test.