Pitino Apologizes for Cards' Performance Sunday

I will give my thought on the bad loss to Western later tonight. Coach Pitino wrote an apology on his website today explaining why the squad looked so bad in defeat. It comes from his official website, RickPitino.com :

Before victory is achieved, you earn it through practice. We had five practices to get ready for WKU. WKU, a dedicated group of young men who play with great purpose. Although we had only five practices, only one deserved victory. That’s a shame. Was it the arrogance of mild success? Or the ugly side of ego coming into play? In the twelve step alcohol and drug program ego is described as edging God out. In sports, ego is edging greatness out.

Our offense was to create ball movement and attack inside. Keep our challenged shots under five. We were 0-12 on challenged shots and our assist total was 8. I’ve had disappointing losses but none more disappointing than this one. Lets not take a single thing away from a better team that night. Western played with great purpose. There 1,2, and 3 men totaled 27 rebounds. Four of our guards Andre, Will, Edgar and Jerry totaled 61 minutes and grabbed 0 rebounds.

Defensively, our press could not be much of a factor due to our absurd 26.8% shooting percentage. Our 24 deflections total did not help either. Our bigs did a poor job of blitzing the pick and role allowing WKU to shoot 50.0% in the second half.

We also knew that the two Kentucky players would bring a great deal of emotion and talent to the table. And they did in a big way.

They beat us 48-36 on the glass. Without question that is our most glaring weakness. The only real rebounder is T-Will. We must collectively do something about this weakness.

In other seasons we could point to injuries or suspensions early on which led to our demise. Now it is very simple. Practice habits create a winning formula. We did not earn the victory. WKU earned that one. They should be congratulated. Very few players can practice without purpose or intensity and suddenly bring it game night. Although Iverson maybe the exception from what is rumored. But then again his record since joining the Pistons is 6-6 and there are no Allen Iversons walking through the YUM! Center.

We will improve our practice habits immediately. We have not sustained our intensity on a consistent basis. That all changes today. We apologize to the fans who paid hard earned money and had to witness such poor execution.

We need you in Cincinnati. The SEC/BIG EAST Challenge is a big game for us. We have only sold 1,000 tickets. Your support is much needed and appreciated!