By Charlie Springer

As sweet a moment as any in recent seasons  for University of Louisville basketball fans, the climactic swish of Edgar Sosa’s 30-footer. That shot will linger in the minds of Card fans for years, rivaled only by the CBS montage of swish, swish, swish, swish. Play it again, guys.

None of that dribbling wildly down the lane tripping over all the obstacles. They’re giving you the shot out there.

Take it.

Hit it.

Erupt, Freedom Hall, explode.

Redemption for a player everybody but Rick Pitino had all but relegated to the dump heap. Strange thing, though. Sosa seemed content, even smiling, much of the game. A couple of errant passes not going to affect him today. The coach believes, why shouldn’t Sosa?

Next time you watch the video of the game winner, watch Sosa look quickly to the left, across the court to where his hero Francisco Garcia is seated.

— A great time for Jerry Smith’s shooting eye to return — three three-point attempts, all of them good.

— Despite two pitiful inbounds passes, something good may have happened for Earl Clark in today’s game: the cool, above-it-all look was actually replaced by humiliation and disappointment. Does anybody else cringe when he starts acting like a guard? Take it personal, Earl, get emotional, get better.

— Terrence Williams lives for those rim-rattling dunks but those 19 points, eight rebounds, and five steals were the dosage. Three of five three-point attempts, keeping the elbow tucked. Getting the ball stuck on the rim, not  funny.

— George Goode, subbing for Samardo Samuels, made up some lost ground, earning respect for key stops on Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson. Playing with stress fracture that had kept him out of practice. And did you see him going bananas after Sosa hit that winning shot?  This guy is on board.

— A rough patch for Samuels but the same coach who kept telling us that Sosa was the missing piece of the puzzle says Samardo will come around.

Play that game winner again. Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish.

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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.

3 thoughts on “Threeeeeee Sosaaaaaaaaa!”
  1. Despite the giddy feeling I’ve still got this morning about yesterday’s game, I do feel sorry for one particular person. At the game watch party I attended yesterday, the featured guest had to be 89 yr. old Connie, who also happened to be celebrating that 89th milestone yesterday, too.

    Still able to get around with the use of a walker, Connie arrived with her son yesterday in her blue sweatshirt and twinkle in her eye. Accepting non-stop hugs for the first several minutes of her arrival, she finally guided herself to a seat, plopped down and looked at her son and said:
    “I think a need a drink!”
    She still follows the action pretty well and her emotions rose and fell with the rest of the crowd during the contest. Two things are certain in Ms. Connie opinion…Rick Pitino is still her favorite coach, despite the Louisville residence now…and there will never be a better Wildcat player than Dan Issel.

    As the game roared to its final minutes, you could see the disappointment on her face. Although she cheers for the Cards when they aren’t facing the Cats, she was shaking her head in agony when the Cards went up by seven. Then, the rally.

    As Cards fans sat there in disbelief and frustration, Earl Clark went into meltdown mode. The CATS cheer shook the walls of the room after the Meeks free throws. Connie was beaming from ear to ear, and I commented to my friend Susan, sitting next to me that Sosa out front with the ball wasn’t exactly the way I wanted to see this game end or go to overtime. 20 seconds later…he changed my opinion.
    Cards fans roared, UK fans stared in shock and disbelief. A few minutes later, I caught a glimpse of Connie, sitting in her chair…holding the traditional glass of post game champagne and gazing at the Cardinal fans toasting and celebrating. I walked over to her, gave her a hug and a peck on the cheek. She looked at me, smiled and pointed to the happy group, and said:
    “That’s the way I wish I felt right now.”

    And, across the commonwealth…I’m sure that’s a sentiment a lot of people are pining for today. We’ll celebrate extra hard today for you.

  2. I have a suspicion Earl could be back next year, at least if any pro scouts show him this box score. And it is a cinch Samuels will be back as he proved he clearly is not ready for the NBA. And given the score you could call this a Win-Win-maybe Win day.

  3. What a game; what a spectacular win. I was surprised that we had a fairly easy time staying ahead the ENTIRE game (with the exception of about 10 seconds when Gillespie got his T) I acknowledge that yUK made a great run at the end; what were we up….7? with 50 seconds to go??? Poor E5. I know he could have cost us the game but I hate to see a big guy like that cry….I felt sorry for him. We played GREAT and again, I was shocked we had no real trouble holding the lead the entire game. It was a great win and one that should get us ready for BE play. If you take away Meeks and Patterson’s points, the rest of their team in NO way compares to our team. Higgins is a lousey ref (what the devil was he doing in yUK’s huddle during one time out?????) Go CARDS!!! Congratulations on a great LOUISVILLE win.

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