Cup O' Jones : The Other Side of Ass Kicking

I wish there was somewhere I could look up if there ever was a time where a team lost by 30 then the following game won by 40. If it has happened, it is only a couple of times over the course of history. The embarrassing part about watching the Cards dismantle DePaul was that the Cards more or less looked the same as the Blue Demons against Notre Dame. The Cards completely destroyed the Demons in all facets of the game besides windmill-alley-oop dunks which was 1-0 DePaul. Cards 99 Demons 54

- Preston Knowles had his best scoring game as a Cardinal as he was oozing confidence while making 5 of 7 3-point attempts. Even one that he missed, he followed his shot and layed the ball in."When I'm in a zone like I don't think I can miss, all I need is a little space to get open, and my teammates got me the ball," PK said after the game. He still might not be the best long-range shooter on the team, but he sure has been the most consistent. Unlike Jerry who likes to weigh his options and make the best decision with the ball, Preston relies on his instincts. He has no remorse when it comes to taking shots, which is a characteristic all guards should have. It also further proves the point that the Cards have 9-10 guys who are capable of putting up 20 in a game - more than any other team in the country. 19 points and 2 steals for George Rogers Clark county's finest.

-This win was also without Terrence Williams even taking a shot. It was mainly due to prevent further injury to his fragile wrist, but I have always been a believer that the less Williams shoots and the more he creates for his teammates the better the team is. Not to say he shouldn't get his fair share of shots, but especially with the wrist injury, he needs to be the facilitator and not the scorer. I didn't think he was going to or should have played because of the deep bruise in the shooting wrist, but he logged a season low 15 minutes and was basically out there playing around with DePaul. Pitino said he played him so the wrist would stiffen up and become arthritic. Let's just hope this doesn't become an issue down the stretch.

- Will Earl please play with his back to the basket? Please. There was a stretch where Clark would post his man up and demand the ball - drawing a couple of and-one buckets in the process. Then all of the sudden he decided to start gunning up bombs, finishing the game 1-5 from downtown. Pitino even says openly that Earl needs to quit straying to the perimeter and yet every game Clark reverts back to shooting 3's. I know he has to keep the defense honest, but it's almost like he and Pitino made a deal that if Earl came back he would be allowed to showcase his outside game for pro scouts. In all actuality, Earl is going to pay the bills on the inside by rebounding and showing an assortment of post moves. Scouts aren't going to be impressed with his 27% 3pt FG%, but they will with his tenacity around the basket.


- I love the Cards depth at the 5-spot this year now that George Goode is back to 100% healthy. Samardo is playing a lot better after being overwhelmed for a few games. Jennings has shown he is one of the best offensive rebounders and shot-blockers in the conference and is gaining confidence in his knowledge of the system every game. George Goode is extremely underrated and will come up big for us in at least one game down the stretch. Both he and Mardo showed today that they can step back and hit a 15-footer to keep the defense honest. Next to Jennings, George is the best interior defender on the team. All three have their strengths, all three are interchangeable and neither disappoints. Like The Girls Next Door, Hefner's former girlfriends only a lot uglier.

-Very upset with Pitino that he didn't let Lee Steiden get some clock in such a blow-out. The crowd was chanting "WE WANT STEIDEN!....WE WANT STEIDEN!..", the players on the bench, most notably T-Will, Smith and Sosa, were getting into it as well. Pitino and Steiden have a weird relationship. Pitino was once heard saying that out of all his years coaching basketball, he has never coached a player that didn't enjoy the game as much as Lee Steiden. Ouch. Lee might still be in the doghouse for almost getting a tech called on him after Sosa's UK shot for running on the court. ATTN PITINO: Give the man a break. PUT HIM IN THE GAME FOR 30 FRIGGING SECONDS AT LEAST!

- DePaul, quite frankly, is the worst team in the league and maybe all of the 6 major conferences. I would love to see them go up against Indiana just to see what happens. The Cards should not take anything out of a win against an 0-13 team. This doesn't prove that we are back-on-track, however it is a step in the right direction. The lone bright spot for DePaul was SG Dar Tucker, who allegedly was very close to signing with the Cards a few years back. He had two monstrous dunks. One was right in Swopshire's mug for an and-one. The second was the best dunk I have ever seen in person - an alley-oop full-windmill dunk with authority. It officially dethroned former Louisville Ballard star Adam Chiles dunking on St. X's Peter Walker our junior year in high school as the "best dunk in a game I attended".

Starting 5

1. If you haven't seen this yet, you missed out....


2. Jerry Crasnick - ESPN - Sources: Braves in mix for Griffey (It was alomst a foregone conclusion that the best-player-not-to-have-ever-been-caught-using PEDs would spend the rest of his years where he started in Seattle. Now, the Braves are making a push to get him back in the NL. Unfortunately, I think Griffey would benefit being a DH, so this may not happen)
3. Matt Watson - Fanhouse -LeBron James 'Preliminarily' Commits to the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest (My 4 man dream dunk contest: LeBron James, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and - of course - T-Will)
4. Jason Whitlock - FoxSports - Go straight to the top with steroid outrage (I rarely agree with Whitlock who seems to think everything is racist in one way or another, but on this issue we see eye-to-eye. Bud Selig, Don Fehr and team owners shouldn't be able to sit back and let all their cash-cows fall under the bus on this steroid thing)
5. Brian Bennett - ESPN Blogger Nation - Louisville's Mount Rushmore (Bennett went along with the ESPN gimmick of the moment and picked a Louisville football Mt. Rushmore. He is right on everybody but Jurich. He doesn't hold a nickel to what Bobby Petrino or John L did for this program. You also have to think about Chris Redman or even Amobi Okoye. Tom Jurich on the football Rushmore? I completely disagree)