By Charlie Springer

Long overdue, a non-buzzer breather. Actually enjoying a game, laughing it up at times. No sweaty palms, no holding of the breath, no admonishing of anybody, no resorting to game time superstitions. How long has it been, a couple of decades?

Playing stingy defense, dominating the boards, getting the loose ball, making the extra pass, finding the open men, being patient.easy

Making it possible for Terrence Williams to do what comes naturally, one colossal dunk after another. Give T-Will an inch and you’ll regret it most of the time. Not always, but just often enough.

— Wondering if T-Will has passed Darrell Griffith yet as the all-time leading dunker at the University of Louisville, or whether UofL even keeps statistics on dunks. If Griffith was the doctor of dunk, T-Will has to be the Cleveland Clinic.

— Big East games aren’t supposed to be easy, especially in New Jersey where there are so many natural distractions for Louisville players from the area. You know, friends, family members, old girl friends. And you just know that Derek Caracter was somewhere in the vicinity of this game. Not even the great distracter could have tempted his old teammates on this trip.

— Speaking of focus, Samardo Samuels is going to keep perfecting his post moves until he gets them down. Keep watching, you’ll see. One gets the image of Samardo going up against Walter McCarty daily in practice, Samardo not allowed to go to the dorm until he has dunked on McCarty.

— Andre McGee, the defensive specialist, possibly more pesky than Roger Burkman of the 1980 champs, enjoys being the mosquito, nipping at the heels. A technical on Andre McGee? One of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet, a technical? He’s a man of few words, a lot of smiles, and non-stop feet. A technical for an incredulous look? Come on.

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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.

4 thoughts on “Easy Does It, Louisville 78, Rutgers 59”
  1. Charlie, you and Sonja are right in bringing up the Doctors of Dunk of yore, after that dunking performance.

    That one right into their gut , flying over guys, and dunking hard…was U of L !!

    That was awesome…and I don’t use that word often

  2. Cardiac Cards? Not this time.

    But with Syracuse, Connecticut and Notre Dame all in the next few weeks, I’m sure we’ll have some heart-stopping moments!

    Go Cards.

  3. Does it make up for the humiliating loss the Rutgers pigskin guys threw at us? Probably not. But it was a solid win in a very tough place to play against an opponent that doesn’t have the players with the lofty credentials of Earl, Samardo and T-Will, but still competed with the belief they could somehow win the game.

    Thanks to the marvel of Tivo, I was able to watch the Cardinal win when most of you were sleeping. I do believe that it will take a long time to forget the massive, coast to coast dunk by T-Will. Inbounds pass, he works quickly up the court, drives it into the lane and throws down a bomb that they probably felt in Manhattan. A tribute to the wham and slam guys of yesteryear. Somewhere, LaBradford, Everick Sullivan, Griff and Cisco were nodding in approval and rubber stamping the papers that certify T-Will as a full fledged with with all honors and privledges in the “in your face” club.

    Complete and absolute notice that skill and ability will trump desire and motivation 99% of the time. Cardinal hoops is going to be a very fun thing to observe in this powerhouse Big East. Sit down, buckle up and hold on…the Cardinal Cannonball is rolling down the tracks.

  4. Caracter would have had people sneaking out of the hotel the night before the game. What a relief he’s gone.

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