Louisville Cardinals: Rick Pitino’s Issues Provide Perfect Cover for Cardinals Success
It has to be beautiful playing basketball for the No. 16 Louisville Cardinals right now.
Rick Pitino’s crew is currently 2-1 in ACC play and 13-3 overall. They also yield an ACC best and the third lowest point total in the nation at 58.3 to opponents while dropping 83.2 points per game.
The 58.3 points per game that the Cardinals are giving up is less than the Virginia Cavaliers 60.4 points per game to opponents which is sixth best in the country and second best in the ACC.
The casual observer would not know these things because they have been distracted by the the extra-curricular stories that are coming out of Louisville, Ky.
With Rick Pitino being the center of attention because of the sex scandal that is surrounding his team, and finding time to flip off Kentucky Wildcats fans, alledgedly, his issues have become the perfect cover to keep the Cardinals under the radar.
The more that Rick Pitino vents his frustration about the scandal surrounding his program to the New York Daily News, or decides to allegedly go off the handle and flips off rival fans, the easier life really is for his band of transfers and freshman, and the freer the team appears to play on the basketball court.
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There is no denying that this team has found an identity and gelled rather quickly.
Damion Lee and Trey Lewis have gotten acclimated rather quickly to Rick Pitino’s style of play since transferring to play for him
Lee is leading the Cardinals in scoring putting up 17.3 points and per game and hitting 49.4% of his shots from the field and 39.5% from three-point land.
Trey Lewis has been solid as the second leading scorer putting 13.6 points and 2.4 assists.
Sophomore Quentin Snider has played strong putting up 10.0 points and 3.9 assist as well as big man Chinanu Onuaku who has improved to 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds this season.
Onuaku has even started shooting free throws underhanded this season which has not been as big a deal as it would have been if it were not for the cover that Rick Pitino’s issues are providing.
Fans might be making a big deal about seeing Onuaku using the Rick Barry style free throw release, but it is not the big deal it could have been.
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Rick Pitino’s shenanigans could be used strategically by the coach all season long.
Let’s be honest, no one really expected for Louisville to be in contention for an ACC title outside of Louisville Cardinals fandom, and there were even some people who felt that with the scandal hanging over the basketball team that it could become a distraction.
But with Rick Pitino being the “Teflon Don” that he is, he is able to absorb all the media bullets that could have come along with the territory and his team simply needs to play basketball.
Louisville could become a dark horse to make it to the Final Four the way they are performing this season.
Rick Pitino is strategic in all things, and he is deflecting any and all attacks that are hurled at his program while in the process providing a calm environment for his team to grow together in.
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His players are playing great basketball to this point in the season and are going to have a say in the ACC as well as in the National Title picture by the time things are all said and done.
Pitino is providing some nice cover, and his team is getting some nice results.