A blind hog feels good when he finds a truffle.
“I watched their huddle as they huddled up after that play, [a dustup between a player from each side] and I saw what I want my guys to be,” [head coach Kenny] Payne said. “I want my guys to be tough like that, to fight like that, to be one like that.”
On Tuesday, they were far from it.
…
The Cardinals’ effort regressed. Their defense collapsed. The offense looked disjointed…
[So they are not a team (“one like that”) and they are not trying real hard. Playground basketball is what it is.]
…
The turnovers have been worse — U of L finished with 13 — but the Cards shot 27.6% from the floor, in part the product of stagnation and poor shot selection.
…
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, spread the court with shooters, moved the ball and found open looks. …
Pitt was exceptionally hot, but its shooting got a boost from the Cards’ lack of communication. Too many of its long-distance shots were unguarded. On one telling first-half sequence, Panthers guard Nike Sibande missed a windmill dunk in transition, but — with only Cards guard El Ellis back on defense — corralled his own miss, stepped outside the arc in the left corner and buried a 3-pointer.
Payne repeatedly has praised Pitt this season, has made no secret of his admiration for Jeff Capel’s team.
He was at it again after Pitt’s second blowout win this season against the Cards.
Payne called the Panthers “the most complete, the toughest team we’ve faced in this conference.”
“Can score a multitude of ways,” Payne said. “They share the ball. They talk on defense. When one guy is down, I hear four others talking to that one that's down.”
…
“I blame myself,” Payne said after the game, but it came with a side of disappointment in his players. He tried “really hard,” he said, to explain to Louisville what it was up against in Pitt.
…
Somehow the message didn’t stick. And it showed, almost from the start.
“I can just tell you, we didn't come to a fight,” Payne said. “It was a fight. We didn't show up.”
This is about as bleak as it gets and to see it in college kids is just painful.
