Much more than the usual game challenges to deal with on a Monday following an emotional weekend for the University of Louisville basketball team. The ghost of a former teammate, who may well have been the true leader, clearly haunting them during the early going.
Whether or not he was less than a popular player, Chris Jones was respected by his teammates as a take charge player, a driving force, confident of his abilities, unafraid of taking risks, fearless when it came to shooting, and he was relentless on defense. Jones’ departure from the team was a major loss, and his teammates knew it.
Over the past 48 hours, all they heard, talked or thought about was Chris Jones. Predictably all the doom and gloom would affect them, the Cardinals managing only 17 points in the first half. They went completely cold over the final 8 minutes of the first half, managing only three points on their last 13 possessions. Not that the low point total is anything unusual this season but this was against Georgia Tech, the 13th-ranked team in Atlantic Coast Conference.
Montrezl Harrell looked lost, Terry Rozier was having certain dunks blocked, Quentin Snider every bit a freshman pushed into a starting role. Chinanu Onuaku standing around, looking lost. Wayne Blackshear with that blank look again. Needing someone to lead them.
Later, rather than sooner, their focus would return to the game at hand, somewhere around the 8:45 mark in the second half, 41-28, with Georgia Tech on the verge of a blowout. The faces of Rick Pitino, his assistant coaches and players reflecting a team in dire distress.
Terry Rozier, fortunately, snapping out of his shooting slump, making a 3-pointer at that pont to cut the lead the 10 points. He would make two more 3-pointers and 11 of his game-leading 22 points during that stretch.
Blackshear would add another 3-pointer and connect on two free throws with four seconds go to seal the 52-51 win for UofL. Blackshear may be realizing he has no option but to become more aggressive if he wants to be remembered kindly for his years at Louisville.
UofL somehow managing to survive the trauma and the worst performance anyone can remember in at least a decade and a half. The win perhaps helping to erase the immediate sting of losing Chris Smith. The fate makers looking kindly on the Cardinals for one more night.