UofL Basketball showing early Final Four DNA

By: Raashaan Myers

     The University of Louisville Men's basketball team is off to a very impressive start to begin the 2015-16 seasons. And while it is still way too early to begin booking tickets to NRG Stadium in Houston, TX the site of the 2016 Final Four there is certainly a lot to like about what we have seen so far from this season's edition of the Cardinals.

     Head Coach Rick Pitino is one of the most accomplished leading men in the history of the game. He has overseen 2 National Champions and coached several to the Final Four and Elite Eight so suffice to say he knows good basketball when he sees it. On several occasions Coach P has given his thoughts on what it takes for a team to make a run at the Final Four so I wanted to use that as a basis of discussion for what we have seen so far from UofL early this year.

     First and foremost is playing championship level defense. This is something Coach P has built his whole program around since coming to UofL. The ability to lock down your opponent can take you a long way in March and this UofL team so far has been extremely efficient on that end of the court. Through 7 games UofL ranks impressively high in several key defensive categories including scoring defense (1), FG percentage defense (4), blocks per game (28), steals per game (49), 32% opponents 3 pt FG percentage.

     The next thing that Coach Pitino always mentions is having guys who can play at the next level. And while the Rivals, Scout, and 247 sports people may not have been sold on all these guys coming out of high school this UofL team has several guys who both in the near future as well as down the line get an opportunity to make an NBA roster. First and foremost is Damion Lee who has been as good as any scoring guard in the country to begin the year. The 6-6 transfer from Drexel has been even better than could have been imagined averaging 19 ppg 1.7 stls while shooting a super-efficient 55% from the field. While also showing great hustle defensively as well as great leadership this young man has top 20 pick written all over him. We have seen Chinanu Onuaku begin to pop up on some draft boards after having an outstanding summer and (when he doesn't go foul crazy) he has carried that play into the regular season. Onuaku has tremendous measurables to go along with great quickness and athleticism in the post. He is another guy that with continued development this season will have some decisions to make after the season. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo mentioned when playing UofL in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge how the size, length, and athleticism of the big men was "like playing an NBA team" and there are several long lively bodies that while not this year down the road could find themselves on a roster as well. Coach Pitino also welcomed in what he considers to be his best freshman class since he got to UofL and the talent of Deng Adel, Donovan Mitchell, and Ray Spalding has been on display impacting games already this year. All and all with one of the tallest and most athletic lineups in school history the Cards have shown the size, depth, and talent to make a deep tournament run.

     It been said that shooting can cover a multitude of sins and while UofL ranks only 104th at 36% 3pt FG percentage as a team if it holds up will be only the 4th time since the 04-05 Final Four team that the Cards would have a team reach the 36% 3pt plateau. That is astonishing considering the accomplishments of the last decade but normally considered a Pitino staple the 3 ball has been more of a happy change of pace. But this ability to stretch the defense combined with the ability to crash the offensive boards at a very high level (5th in the nation), and the stingy defense has lead the Cards so far to the #1 margin of victory of over 30 ppg.

      Lastly is leadership as well as great point guard play and UofL has shown that as well. The leadership of Lee and fellow transfer Trey Lewis has been much ballyhooed since their trip up to ACC basketball media days where they were a resounding hit because of both their maturity and very likeable demeanors. Add to that the great leadership and intensity of team captain Mango Mathiang and we have a seen a team this year that has been very close, excited for one another, and one of the most unselfish on the floor that we have ever seen. And at the point for this group is sophomore Quentin Snider who has been none short of outstanding running the team almost mistake free playing a total of 199 minutes with only 7 turnovers. That is very strong and after a great close to last season which saw Snider take over the end of the year and lead UofL to the Elite Eight we are seeing a much more confident and aggressive Snider this year and that is a GREAT thing for the Cards.

      I can continue to hear detractors and concerned Card Nation fans alike continue to scoff at any of multiple impressive outings to start the year including at now #1 Michigan State saying "They haven't played anyone". And while that's true UofL has not had the most difficult schedule to begin the year it's not nearly as bad as some think according to realtimerpi.com the current UofL strength of schedule ranks 33rd toughest overall which is more than respectable and means the Cards opponents have held up pretty well to start the season (and is much better than the 120th ranked schedule that UK has played so far according to the site).

      Coach Pitino has sung the praises of this team since July first with reports from friend and assistant Ralph Willard, then on his own once he finally got back to his regular duties. He has not been shy about speaking his belief that not only can this team be good this year, but that they can be GREAT which is a moniker that he reserves for the best of the best teams that he has coached. And I would think that if you are an avid basketball fan regardless of your allegiance that you would see some of the things coach is so excited about. BUT it is still early and there are a lot of games to play to back up this hot start so for now all I will say is "Stay Tuned".

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