By Eddie Bobbitt
Tomorrow marks a very important night for University of Louisville Athletics. On Wednesday, Feb. 7, the University of Louisville Athletic Department will honor Denny Crum when the basketball court at Freedom Hall is officially named “Denny Crum Court.” After winning two National Championships and leading the Cards to 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, U of L Athletic Director Tom Jurich is honoring the former coach.
“For three decades, U of L basketball was Denny Crum,” said Jurich. “It’s a fitting tribute to honor him with this unique distinction for his success and years of hard work in guiding our men’s basketball program consistently on a national level. We had envisioned honoring him within the new arena, but Rick Pitino and I were talking and thought ‘Why wait?’ Let’s not wait any longer in getting his name on the court in Freedom Hall, where he coached for 30 years.”
The Louisville Cardinals, now 16-7 overall and 6-3 in the Big East, will take on the Georgetown Hoyas, who are 16-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big East at Freedom Hall tonight on ESPN. The Cardinals are looking to rebound from their defeat that they suffered on Saturday at Villanova 57 – 53.
Despite Saturday’s the loss, Louisville has won four of their last five games and eight of the last nine games at Freedom Hall. The Cardinals have been led by sophomore sensation Terrance Williams. Williams is leading the team in scoring with 13.1 points per game, rebounds at 7.8 and assists at 3.6. Freshman Edgar Sosa and juniors David Padgett and Juan Palacios are also contributing heavily with double digit scoring averages.
Georgetown comes into Freedom Hall looking for their seventh win in Big East Conference play. After winning five straight, including three wins on the road, the Hoyas are certainly prepared to win another big game as the visitor.
The Hoyas are led by center Roy Hibbert. The 7-foot-2 junior from Adelphi, Md. has the led the way with solid play on both sides of the ball. Hibbert averages over 12 points per game and marks two blocks a game with a field goal percentage of .71 this season. Playing along side Hibbert is fellow junior Jeff Green who scored 24 points against St. Johns on Thursday night, after the Hoyas battled back from a ten-point deficit in the first half to hand St. Johns their sixth loss in conference play.
The combination of Hibbert and Green should create an intriguing match-up against forward Palacios and center Padgett for the Cardinals. Georgetown is currently sitting ahead of the Cardinals in the conference standings; a win for Louisville would not only to improve this season’s record, but also add to the possibility of a NCAA tournament bid. It would cap off the unveiling of Denny Crum Court, and would make the moment that much more memorable for Cards fans everywhere. Georgetown is 1-0 all-time versus Louisville at Freedom Hall. The last time they played at Freedom Hall was in 2000.
