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.