By Michelle Lewis
The University of Louisville Men’s Basketball Team played their third and final public
Red-White scrimmage on November 19. The afternoon started with Pitino joking that there is
some animosity in the locker room because Luke Hancock beat Russ Smith out for homecoming
king on Friday night but that Smith can be “King of the Yum!.” Pitino also joked that Hancock is
excused from practice through the end of October since he is the homecoming king.
Not long after Pitino named Smith king of the arena Smith showed the fans in attendance
why. He led the White squad to a 71-52 victory over the Red behind a 21-point and five assist
performance. White squad teammates Montrezl Harrell and Mangok Mathiang added a combined
28 points and 18 rebounds while eliciting huge reactions from the crowd after spectacular dunks
from each.
The Red squad was lead by Tim Henderson’s 17 points including five made three point
shots. Terry Rozier added 13 points and nine rebounds while Wayne Blackshear added 10 points,
eight rebounds in the losing effort. Stephan Van Treese finished with a double-double scoring 10
points while dishing out 11 assists.
Henderson seemed to be the biggest surprise of the day to most fans with many
attributing his outstanding performance to increased confidence on the court. Henderson had
come up huge for the Cardinals in last season’s Final Four game against Wichita State when he
nailed back to back three point shots to cut the Shocker’s lead to six, shifting the momentum
in the Cards’ direction and sparking a comeback that sent Louisville to the championship game
where they beat Michigan to win the school’s first national title since 1986.
The Cards will be back in action October 29 when they host Kentucky Wesleyan in an
exhibition game at the KFC Yum! Center before playing their final exhibition against Pikeville
on November 6.
