All Entries Tagged With: "Derrick Caracter"

How Now, Louisville 61, Syracuse 50

How does Louisville beat a good Syracuse team 61-50 when David Padgett plays only 17 minutes and scores only one point? Wouldn’t pretend to know the answer to that one but do have some impressions.

Andre McGee, a career game. The guy we often unforgivably forget to mention hits four three-point shots, his biggest coming with 53 seconds remaining to give U of L a seven-point lead, 57-50.  Had he not made an assist to Terrence Williams on the play before, giving U of L a 54-50 lead, Syracuse might have resurged, possibly erupted. Andre was the man, denying them the opportunity.

Terrence Williams, tight, uncoordinated during the first 20 minutes, just would not be denied the second half. At one point, chasing a defender the length of the court, making him swallow the loudest dunk of the season, the roof straining and twisting against the Freedom Hall support structure.[Thanks, Jerb, for the gif.]

Padgett pulling down seven of his 10 rebounds in the second half when the Cards had to have them. Unless our eyes deceived, Padgett was actually getting up in the air for a change. Keeps getting better, even on a bad night for him.

Derrick Caracter filling in well during Padgett’s absences. The good thing about Caracter is that nobody is ever going to push him around. The bad thing is that the same officials calling almost every game, expecting him to foul, anticipating, anticipating.

A defensive tone, motivated, underscored and rejuvenated by the persistence of Preston Knowles, a guy who personifies Rick Pitino’s defensive philosophy.

Syracuse is a good team now, destined to be an even more ferocious opponent in the future

Earl Clark Day: Louisville 80, Providence 72

An Earl Clark day, the big guy leading all scorers with 20 points — including a triple-edged dagger with 2:30 on the clock to give U of L a seven-point lead — nine rebounds and four assists.

Does Earl Clark ever change expressions? Looks cool whether he’s having a bad game or a good one. Just another day at work for him, he’ll be out of the on-the-job training mode any day now. Maybe starting today, break out.

David Padgett, meanwhile, continues to define the term “quarterback on the floor,” knowing where everybody is, giving them the best opportunity to succeed. Fans saw just how important DP is to the Cards when he goes to the bench early with two fouls in the first half. Dogfight, for sure, when he has to sit.

Now that everybody knows what Jerry Smith can do, he doesn’t get much breathing space. So he makes his own, moving without the ball, catching a David Padgett bullet for an easy lay up at a critical point, swiping the ball and increasing U of L’s lead to six, giving fans a chance to exhale.

Terrence Williams, welcome to the 1,000-point club. Running out of superlatives for a super player.

Juan Palacios brings enthusiasm and plays good defense, but every basket is a nice surprise.

Speaking of surprises, always amazed how Edgar Sosa can sometimes slices through slow-collapsing zones with ease. Make it a habit Edgar.

Preston Knowles is earning more playing time, making the most of every second.

Derrick Caracter looks intense during games. Time is passing Derrick, clock running down. Work, man, work to get better, the time is now.

Derrick In The Present

Now that’ s more like it, Derrick Caracter getting emotional. Clapping his hands. Waving a fist. Clapping his hands. Going strong to the basket, making the difficult shots.

Scoring 17 points, grabbing four rebounds and being called for only two fouls [one of them a phantom foul], helping U of L score an important win over St. John’s. Being named player of the game by both the TV and radio broadcasting crews.

Representing the university well in his radio interview following the game, saying all the right things, knowing he has to continue working hard to get better. Acknowledging that he has not been contributing much lately, pledging to bring it in future games.

Coach Rick Pitino said he told Caracter a couple of days ago that players who play exceptionally hard always look good, that you can’t dwell on what’s happened in the past, have to work hard and get it done in the present.

What that means is enjoy the moment, Derrick. But the St. John’s game is history. Gotta prove yourself all over again Monday night in a challenging road game at UConn. Play exceptionally hard.

Work In Progress

A lot of good things happened in U of L’s 80-60 win over South Florida, pushing the Cards’ record to 14-5 overall and 4-2 in Big East conference play.  Among them:

– Terrence Williams handing out 10 assists in the first half. Has U of L ever had a more unselfish player as physically talented as Williams?

– Earl Clark hitting eight of 12 shots for 18 and eight rebounds. Probably more motivated as a reserve than as a starter.

– Defense holding the Bulls to 40 percent shooting, 22 of 55 shots from the field, 5 of 16 from three-point range. The carnival shooters from Seton Hall relegated to ugly memories.

– Jerry Smith, consistently good, never shot happy even though he’s the team’s best shooter, serious about defense.

But there continue to be some troubling issues:

– Team relaxing, letting up when it gets a good lead, lacking a killer instinct, allowing South Florida to get back to within 14 points in the second half.

– Edgar Sosa forgetting his role as play maker, getting lost in traffic, killing momentum. Everybody loves the guy but if this continues, Edgar is going to keep losing playing time. Rick Pitino may even forget to put Sosa in for a couple of games.

– David Padgett missing layup after layup. Obviously, still recovering.

– Derrick Caracter going backwards these days, rarely contributing in the last two games.

Rutgers Relief

Good to get that one out of the system. Looked like two teams of players roused from their beds on a Sunday for a noon time television game.

– Rutgers has plenty of talent. Will surprise teams at home if they can get their act together.

– Had to be embarrassed for Derrick Caracter who kept getting shot after shot of his blocked in the first half. Ten miles from home, he had to feel humiliated.

– David Padgett is making it tough on opponents on the defensive end but he still lacks the ability to get off the floor. That will hurt against mobile big men.

– Will Scott was a magnet for the ball during his few minutes, attracting stray rebounds and bad passes. Hey, whatever works.

– Edgar Sosa should not feel bad for attempting to block a three-point shot, barely touching the shooter after the shot, not when officials ignore so many shooters getting hammered on layups.

* * *

Good vibes coming from Inside the Ville and Rivals on the football recruiting weekend. Apparently several key recruits were on hand for the U of L-UConn women’s basketball game at a sold-out Freedom Hall. How could one not be impressed?