Going to be a long season for the University of Louisville basketball team if some of the big guys don’t start producing on the offensive end, as was obvious Monday in UofL’s 77-68 exhibition win over Kentucky Wesleyan.

More the same of what fans have come to expect from Mangok Mathiang, Anas Mahmoud, Chinanu Onuaku and Matz Stockman. Still hampered by their shortage of ball handling skills, lack of aggressiveness and their collective inability to shoot the basketball very well.

Anas Mahmoud
Anas Mahmoud

Mathiang will have an opening for a clear dunk, for example. Takes a split second to think about it, but loses his edge and gets his shot  blocked into the seats. That will continue to happen with this group. The dunks will be few and far between for  following Montrezl Harrell’s exit to the NBA. He spoiled UofL fans with 221 dunks over three seasons.

For now, their real value almost predominantly lies in their bulk, taking up space around the basket, being physical whether they are so inclined or not, creating a human obstacle course for the opposition.

Not a novel approach for a Rick Pitino-coached team, but some offensive contributions would be a welcome addition this time around.

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Sorry but it’s impossible not to comment on the University of Missouri situation.

The President and Chancellor of that school resigned Monday. This following a threat from some members of the Missouri football team not to play in Saturday’s game against Brigham Young. They apparently thought the administration could do more to combat alleged racism.

Actually there wasn’t much, if anything, the administrators could do. The actions of the protesters only made the situation worse. By scaring off the people in authority, the protesters now have no one to work with. There is effectively no administration.

By over-reacting, showing how they will allow a few incidents to get to them,  the protesters also ensured that race relations will continue to deteriorate.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.