Louisville took the floor for it’s first exhibition game having only completed eight team practices, and for about 25-30 minutes, they looked like it. The Slickster said prior to the contest he had about 20% of their offensive and defensive schemes installed and was mostly concerned about getting his players experience.

I usually don’t believe too much of what comes out of Rick Pitino’s mouth, except if it involves basketball. I believe him when he says this was way too early to play a game for them, especially when you consider how many young players will be relied upon this season. That being said, my overall opinion of last night’s game was they won, so mission accomplished.

The Cardinals will need several young, inexperienced players to make contributions for them and it was important, at least in my opinion, for them to win. If they had lost, maybe they get down on themselves and just start off the year on a bad note. I think confidence will be a big thing for Louisville this year and losing at home to a NAIA school would not have done the Cards any favors in the confidence department.

Therefore, to me, the primary mission was accomplished. Sure we all wanted to see a more crisp performance, particularly from the experienced players, but I take an ugly win with only eight team practices and look for them to be much sharper next week against the Bellarmine Knights. I watched the game in person and then again at home, here are my individual breakdowns:

Samardo Samuels – Sam Sam finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks in 26 minutes of play. I thought he played well. Sam Sam showed a bit more lift, particularly on the defensive end. He still plays a bit below the rim, but not as much as last season.

Kyle Kuric- I personally thought this kid stole the show. Kuric finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 assists in 29 minutes of action. This kid runs the floor very well and crashes the boards, particularly on the offensive end. I will probably love this kid by the end of the year.

Sophomore Kyle Kuric

Peyton Siva – We have been waiting for his first game at Louisville for some time, and he showed his immense promise. Siva finished with 6 points, 8 assists, and 6 steals. He did have 7 turnovers as well, but many of those were early when the entire team looked extremely nervous. This kid is a born leader and we will definitely see him on the floor a lot this year.

Edgar Sosa – Lil Eddie finished with a decent line of 12 points,4 assists, and 2 steals with only 2 turnovers. I’d take that line from him every game quite honestly. Sure, he’s going to do things that make you scratch your head, but a 2-1 assist to turnover ratio from him will be fine.

Jerry Smith – Jerry had a poor game. He looked lost and could not stop fouling. I don’t worry about him, he’s a senior and will get it together. He finished with an unimpressive line of 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 fouls.

Preston Knowles- PK-2 got a huge ovation as he entered the game and played with his usual energy. He also was overaggressive and fouled too much. However, when Louisville made their run in the 2nd half, he was involved with his defensive pressure. Preston’s line finished at 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 fouls.

Jared Swopshire- Swop has put on weight and looks to play a larger role this season. He still looks weak with the ball, but he already looks more comfortable in the system and did pull down 10 boards. Swop finished with 6 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks.

Reginald Delk – Reginald played only 12 minutes and quite frankly did not look too good. He appeared to be thinking too much and not playing. He is a good shooter, but did not look for shots. He finished with only 2 points and will need to step it up.

Rakeem Buckles- The man known around the Pinkie compound as ‘Bucktown’ is obviously still learning the system. There were times watching him that you could almost see him thinking about where he was supposed to be on the floor. The Slickster is very high on him and Bucktown did show flashes of his ability. He finished with 2 points and 5 rebounds.

Terrence Jennings – I was personally hoping to see more from TJ, but it’s early in the season and no need to panic. TJ still runs the floor well and caught the ball pretty well on some tough passes. Georgetown did not really challenge him defensively so we did not get to see any 4th row pitches from the big man. TJ finished with 6 points, but only 2 rebounds.

Mike Marra- The kid can shoot, and I don’t care that he was only 1-4 from deep. Just look at the mechanics of his shot. I’ve only watched him play once, but every time he takes a shot I think it’s going in the bucket. Marra does have hops as well, but he will struggle on the defensive end due to his lack of quickness. Marra had a line of 3 points and 3 boards.

George Great- The man formerly known as George Goode, wowed me, genuinely. The man gets into the game for the final few minutes and literally picks up 3 fouls in about a 27 second span. Simply incredible. I still love him though.