I know that many of us have given up on this team and this coach, but I think its worth pointing out that THEY have not given up, and I think that's pretty amazing. To continue to work hard and improve in the face of so much adversity is impressive, especially considering that these are young men. And I think we have to give the coach some of the credit for the team's perseverance and commitment. The season has been brutal and there's not much to be happy about, but I think we should acknowledge the character these men are displaying by continuing to fight right to the end.
I'm impressed
- Thread starter CardFanDad
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I agree. I’m not buying into the idea that the system is working and that train is fully back on track, but I think you have to commend the preparation, effort and play over the last several games. The coaches and players look more engaged and confident during games… they appear to be having fun playing basketball. This last stretch has not been perfect and no one expects it to be but it’s been nice to see them actually compete.
It’s a little hard explaining how we can compete with Virginia and Clemson with the same team of players and coaches who have looked so inept for most of the season.
That speaks to effort, and it speaks to coaching ability. Not sure how you write that off otherwise.
I doubt it has much to do with “culture” or the quality and character of kids already in the program, as we’ve been told…
That speaks to effort, and it speaks to coaching ability. Not sure how you write that off otherwise.
I doubt it has much to do with “culture” or the quality and character of kids already in the program, as we’ve been told…
If the Cards win tonight at Duke, I am completely fine with El Ellis again dunking as time expires.
I believe it all started so bad it soured everyone from staff to players to fans. It just went a lot worse than even the most skeptical fans would have expected.
But yes to their credit late in the year there has been something happening, not sure how to describe it. You do see JJ becoming a player, there is effort on display that did not exist in the beginning.
It's all so unprecedented. I hope they can find something to take away here to carry over to the summer for those that return. We'll find out who stays, goes, and joins and then try to do better next year. I really don't know what's going to happen.
Fans react to this in an expected way, frustration to anger. It is rare to find a fan with empathy, especially after years of frustration since Andre. I can't expect everyone to react the same and I try not to criticize anyone's opinion. For me there is a human element to all this and as a lifelong UofL fan I hate seeing these kids and the staff have such little success.
It's a wonder the program's fanbase has lasted as long as it has after the stripper scandal became known. Before Andre McGee destroyed the program, UofL basketball was rarely in trouble with the NCAA. Cards fans were not used to major investigations during Crum and Pitino. Neither coach bought HS stars as the one and dones went elsewhere.
So when the stripper scandal came out, it was hard to believe, but it wasn't buying recruits or cheating academically, so the worst case surely wouldn't be program crashing?
But the NCAA put the hammer down and treated Louisville like they had been buying cars for the players or giving the family thousands of dollars. Impermissible benefits is the charge that had two final 4's and a national championship vacated. That's just ridiculous.
Nothing that happened with those strippers gave the players a athletic or academic advantage over its opponents. The vacated wins were as overkill as it gets, but the sordid nature of those stripper parties was all that mattered.
But it didn't end with those sanctions when the FBI and sports media put Louisville and Pitino out as the face of the FBI sting. Here again was a program breaking rules right after being slammed for other rules violations. This sealed the programs fate.
Pitino and Jurich were fired only to be exonerated five years later, but during those years the program was not the same because everyone was waiting for that NCAA hammer to come down again, and it would have had they gotten their way.
Now Louisville basketball is nothing like the elite top 10 overall program and is close to a being in a decade of insignificance. HS kids will not remember Louisville as a elite program. They will see a program that has lost 39 out of their last 46 games.
That's why most fans believe a top level coach is needed to rescue the program. KP may one day be a good coach, but Louisville needs a dynamic coach to match what was once a dynamic program.
So when the stripper scandal came out, it was hard to believe, but it wasn't buying recruits or cheating academically, so the worst case surely wouldn't be program crashing?
But the NCAA put the hammer down and treated Louisville like they had been buying cars for the players or giving the family thousands of dollars. Impermissible benefits is the charge that had two final 4's and a national championship vacated. That's just ridiculous.
Nothing that happened with those strippers gave the players a athletic or academic advantage over its opponents. The vacated wins were as overkill as it gets, but the sordid nature of those stripper parties was all that mattered.
But it didn't end with those sanctions when the FBI and sports media put Louisville and Pitino out as the face of the FBI sting. Here again was a program breaking rules right after being slammed for other rules violations. This sealed the programs fate.
Pitino and Jurich were fired only to be exonerated five years later, but during those years the program was not the same because everyone was waiting for that NCAA hammer to come down again, and it would have had they gotten their way.
Now Louisville basketball is nothing like the elite top 10 overall program and is close to a being in a decade of insignificance. HS kids will not remember Louisville as a elite program. They will see a program that has lost 39 out of their last 46 games.
That's why most fans believe a top level coach is needed to rescue the program. KP may one day be a good coach, but Louisville needs a dynamic coach to match what was once a dynamic program.
IIRC there are/were a lot of big time programs charged with much more by the NCAA than U of L was charged with. And all of them are clocking along.
We’re the only program continuing to struggle after mostly dismembering ourselves. Whose fault is that?…
We’re the only program continuing to struggle after mostly dismembering ourselves. Whose fault is that?…
I agree a lot of our problems are self inflicted, but there's a practical case that can be made that the University thought they were doing the right thing in the face of multiple and separate violations.
It all goes back to the stripper scandal. These other programs may have been charged with worse violations stemming from the FBI sting, but they have not been sensationalized like UofL's sex scandal. Now this may have ran its natural course and both Pitino and Jurich could still be here if the FBI sting didn't include Louisville.
Unfortunately it did, and the University panicked or like some believe, were forced to fire Pitino and Jurich, pushing the program towards the abyss we see today. In retrospect, at least Jurich's job should have been maintained. There was going to be a rebuilding job and he more than likely would have avoided what we see today.
Instead, a clean house approach for the basketball program was thought to avoid more serious sanctions and that obviously wasn't a wise decision. The NCAA charges against Pitino were eventually thrown out making the Chris Mack years unnecessary.
In any debate about Louisville and the other programs like Kansas, LSU and the others, has to include the Andre McGee fiasco. Those other programs don't have that on their record and they haven't been shamed by the media. The decisions by those Universities are much easier.
A lot of things could have been done differently after that book was released, but hindsight never shows itself before the damage commences.
It all goes back to the stripper scandal. These other programs may have been charged with worse violations stemming from the FBI sting, but they have not been sensationalized like UofL's sex scandal. Now this may have ran its natural course and both Pitino and Jurich could still be here if the FBI sting didn't include Louisville.
Unfortunately it did, and the University panicked or like some believe, were forced to fire Pitino and Jurich, pushing the program towards the abyss we see today. In retrospect, at least Jurich's job should have been maintained. There was going to be a rebuilding job and he more than likely would have avoided what we see today.
Instead, a clean house approach for the basketball program was thought to avoid more serious sanctions and that obviously wasn't a wise decision. The NCAA charges against Pitino were eventually thrown out making the Chris Mack years unnecessary.
In any debate about Louisville and the other programs like Kansas, LSU and the others, has to include the Andre McGee fiasco. Those other programs don't have that on their record and they haven't been shamed by the media. The decisions by those Universities are much easier.
A lot of things could have been done differently after that book was released, but hindsight never shows itself before the damage commences.
I don’t disagree with most of your historical account. That stuff happened pretty much like you describe.
To me, it comes down to accountability for people in their jobs. “I inherited a mess” even if true, only gets you a pass for so long when you’re supposed to fix things. And I’m referring to people in six- or seven-figure jobs.
It’s really not unlike a coach who underachieves and the bar gets lowered. Fans don’t wanna accept that. So why would we put up with a department that is perpetuating bad basketball and poor financial results that eventually permeate to all sports if sustained?
THINKING you’re doing the right thing and TRYING is not acceptable after 5+ years of results to prove yourself. I recognize that Josh Heird hasn’t had that long, nor has a new President. What about University and athletics boards?
We’re suffering from corporate amnesia where everyone seems to have a good excuse. In this situation, the only meaningful step is for the organization to admit the path we’re on is unacceptable even if the people in their jobs can’t personally be held accountable. The organization IS accountable…
That’s not true, it’s a narrative.
And how Jurich would have handled Pitino’s situation would have been centered on damage control. The clowns didn’t care about damage or were completely oblivious to it…
I salute any fan that can make a positive post these days. My hat's off to you sir.
The thing with Pitino and Jurich was both were polarizing figures. The reality was people wanted them to fail inside and outside the organization. That is hard to navigate when both gave those people ammunition.
The core issue is no one thought this last NCAA deal would last 5-6 years. It was unprecedented. It cratered the program that is fact.
The college game in the meantime has shifted dramatically in the last year. This whole thing goes much deeper than X and O. Players are different, social media, mental health, players leverage, transfers, and NIL it is a complex team environment.
We all need to be prepared winning at the rate people are accustomed to is going to be tough to achieve. Teams are going to be rebuilt every year. While teams can be turn around quickly the program may need more time.
The core issue is no one thought this last NCAA deal would last 5-6 years. It was unprecedented. It cratered the program that is fact.
The college game in the meantime has shifted dramatically in the last year. This whole thing goes much deeper than X and O. Players are different, social media, mental health, players leverage, transfers, and NIL it is a complex team environment.
We all need to be prepared winning at the rate people are accustomed to is going to be tough to achieve. Teams are going to be rebuilt every year. While teams can be turn around quickly the program may need more time.
The good news is now that we have NIL, we can get better lookin ho's.
Always remember that these are kids. My life as a fan got a lot better when I finally realized that. It only took about 50 years...