By Noah Allison

For the first time since 1987, the Louisville Cardinals Men’s basketball team enters

the regular season as defending National Champions. Rick Pitino’s number-three ranked

Cardinals will try to win the school’s first-ever consecutive titles without Peyton Siva and

Gorgui Dieng, who both play in the NBA now. Siva was drafted by the Detroit Pistons and

Dieng was selected in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

In college athletics, programs must move forward with the annual loss of impact players.

But along with the loss of two of the program’s greatest comes the reassurance that this

year’s team still has six players that have been a part of the Cardinals’ past two Final Four

runs, and nine players returning from last year’s championship squad.

The Cards are led by their three captains. Senior shooting guard Russ Smith, an AP

Preseason All-American, led the Cards in scoring last year averaging just over 18 points

a game. Senior small forward Luke Hancock was last year’s Final Four MVP and scored a

combined 42 points coming off the bench. Sophomore power forward Montrezl Harrell

honed his raw athleticism his freshman year and is ready to emphasize the power from that

position.

Last season point guard Peyton Siva set the Cards single-season steals record with 90. He

also orchestrated the offense and defense as one of the nation’s most unequivocal leaders.

In an attempt to fill the void of losing one of U of L’s greatest-ever athletes, Rick Pitino has

brought in point guards Chris Jones, Terry Rozier and Anton Gill.

Jones is a transfer from Northwest Florida State Junior College where he played for two

seasons. Last year he averaged 21.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 3.0 steals on his way

to being named the 2013 National Junior College Division I Player of the Year.

Backing up Jones will be freshmen Terry Rozier and Anton Gill, who played along side

each other at Hargrave Military Academy in North Carolina. Both Rozier and Gill averaged

at least 28 points in their time at Hargrave and were both top-100 rated recruits.

Center Gorgui Dieng’s presence was most felt in the paint where he blocked a total of 267

shots in his three years at U of L, including the single-season school record of 128, which he

set his sophomore year. Replacing Dieng will be a dual effort from red-shirt senior center

Stephan Van Treese and red-shirt freshman Mangok Mathiang.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Van Treese had pivotal playing time coming off the bench in

the Cardinals championship run last year. His 11.2 rebounds per 40 minutes average was

second best on the team to Dieng’s 12.1 and his experience and time spent in the system will

prove vital in tough times throughout the season.

The 6-foot-10, 200-pound Mathiang comes in after red-shirting his freshman year. He

practiced with and against Dieng and the National Championship squad. The combination

of Van Treese’s size and experience and Mathiang’s length and youthful energy will have to

make up for the loss of Dieng’s presence.

Junior small forward Wayne Blackshear will be given a greater role this year as the team’s

starting small forward while team captain and small forward back-up Hancock battles his

shoulder injury.

Not only will Blackshear play significant time at the three, but power forward Chane

Behanan’s indefinite suspension will have Blackshear playing at the four as well, giving him

a chance to display his versatility with a 6-foot-8 frame and an ability to hit a jump shot.

The Cards can also rely on the return of junior guard Kevin Ware. His infamous Final

Four broken leg was a rallying point for the Cardinals who, when facing double digit deficits

in both the Final Four and National Championship game, found a way to “Win for Kevin.”

Ware had his best game against Oregon before his injury and his leadership, length and

athleticism will make him more valuable as a player than a symbol.

The Cardinals will play this one season as a member of the AAC, a conference that may

not prove to be as tough as the Big East. The AAC still has talented teams though.

An early season non-conference matchup with number-one ranked University of Kentucky

will be the measuring stick for how this team will handle the success of being defending

National Champions.