Cal Ends Cards Season 77-62

The Cards saw their season come to an end at the hands of a team with no inside game, but experienced guards who played like experienced guards. Cal rode a combination of good shooting and poor Louisville defense to advance to the second round of the Big Dance. Cal’s Jerome Randle and Theo Robertson each scored 21 points to led the Golden Bears to their win and chance at top seeded Duke on Sunday.

The lone, and I mean, lone bright spot for the Cards was the play of freshman Rakeem Buckles. The man we call ‘the Dream’ played a spectacular game and was the one Louisville player who without question left everything he had on the floor. Rakeem finished with 20 points, on 10-11 shooting, and 9 rebounds. He attacked the glass, rather than wait for the ball to bounce his way, which resulted in 4 offensive rebounds.  Once this kid develops a mid-range game, he could really become a special player.

For me, the story of this night, once again highlighted an ongoing problem this Louisville team has had all year: senior guards playing like freshmen. Jerry Smith and Edgar Sosa too often make plays that cause a person to want to bang their head against a brick wall. Jerry has apparently not only lost his shooting stroke, but the ability to dribble as well. His attempted drive late in the game with the Cards down by ten was a prime example.

Jerry got around a defender on the perimeter, then bounced the ball off his leg, then swiped it out of bounds. While the sequence was atrocious, it could ultimately be forgiven if it were just an isolated incident. However, Jerry has been doing that all season and in crunch time, those types of things cannot occur.

Edgar Sosa had a good senior season. The stats bear it out and watching the games intently bear it out as well. Unfortunately, Edgar does not consistently make good decisions or free throws. A senior point guard who shoots only 66% from the foul line is absolutely unacceptable and in my opinion, enough of a reason to be taken off the floor late in close games.

Edgar also is not adept at making correct decisions on a regular basis. Against Cal, the Cards had the deficit down to a manageable seven points. After the ball was inbounded, Edgar brought the ball up the floor and launched a three from three feet behind the line. This was an especially poor decision because the Cards had momentum in their favor and were getting good shots off some good ball movement. Instead, the Cards’ senior point guard did not recognize the situation and put up a shot.

Keep in mind, I do not think Edgar is a selfish player. I believe his mindset is, “we could use a three here and cut this lead to four, I can make this shot.” I don’t think there’s the thought of padding stats, I think it’s simply a matter of making an incorrect decision and failure of recognition.

That’s it for now, it’s 1:30 am and I’m beat. I’ll have a season recap and off-season preview in the coming days, but for now, the Cards end their season at 20-13 and a 1st round exit.

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