Good thing Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino never became a doctor; he’s not very good at analyzing injuries. He would have been better as a psychiatrist because he likes to mess with people’s heads. He is wrong so often on diagnosing injuries that he has to be doing it for motivational purposes.
Shortly after Palacios was injured, Pitino proclaimed that he was thinking seriously about red shirting the 6-foot-8, 250-pound senior. He reminded fans that Juan is a slow healer and has had almost every possible injury in his college career.
Surprise. The latest word is that Palacios showed up for practice Thursday, moving around for about 35 minutes. No heavy duty action. Primarily shooting around. Must be getting better. You think?
Fans were somewhat concerned when David Padgett collided with another player in the Jackson State game. Pitino first said it was a minor injury, and fans breathed a collective sigh of relief. Then less than 24 hours later, Pitino shocked the Cardinal world with the pronouncement that Padgett had busted his knee cap and that his career was most likely finished.
Now we hear from David that he has always healed quickly, and that he expects to be ready by January — despite Pitino’s public pronouncements to the contrary. Padgett is confident, Pitino is doubtful.
The only thing certain is that David Padgett intends to return. Fans can only hope that Dr. Pitino is wrong again.
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Pitino doesn’t want to get people’s hopes up and have them dashed. He wants the healthy players to focus on getting better.