By Whitney Spencer
After being present to watch the Derby Festival Basketball Classic on Saturday, April 10, I firmly believe head coach Rick Pitino did his team much justice with the recruiting class that will help open the new downtown arena. Many had speculated that Pitino was so focused on his 2011 freshman class that there would be no substance for 2010. Boy, were they wrong.
University of Louisville signee, 6-foot-5 Justin Coleman from Huntington Prep in West Virginia, won the dunk contest and the partisan Cardinal crowd in Freedom Hall on Saturday night. His electrifying speed to the basket and range from behind the arc was reminiscent of former U of L standout Terrence Williams. Coleman’s prep school teammate Gorgui Dieng, a 6-foot-10 Senegal native, was named MVP of the game, with 15 points and 8 blocks. He is a U of L target and Coleman is doing his best to convince Dieng to join him. Dieng could be real competition to sophomores Terrence Jennings and Jared Swopshire at the power forward position, as his blocking skills make him dangerous at the rim.
When he was introduced to the crowd, walk-on Elisha Justice made it clear to the fans that he would be wearing red next season. He tore off his Adidas warm up to reveal a U of L shirt and formed an L with his hand. He gave the fans a taste of why he was named Mr. Basketball for the state of Kentucky. After a slow start, he lit up the scoreboard along with another U of L signee, Russell Smith. The two scored 12 points each, assisting each other on two of three 3-pointers.
With all this potential, I see nothing but good things coming from this class of players, especially if Dieng decides to sign with the Cards. But, as in years past, I can only wonder how much of this talent will actually translate to the court for U of L. Many fans will think back to freshman guard Peyton Siva and all the potential he brought into the Derby Festival Classic last year. After the first few exhibitions, very little of that potential translated into the games.
Rick Pitino has a knack for developing players over the span of their careers, but he has also been known for losing a lot of what made a player special in their transition from high school to his program. Coleman is potentially the next T-Will, so I doubt that he’ll lose any of that, as we all know Pitino was fond of that style of play. If Dieng signs with U of L, I wonder if his current skills will develop. Sophomore forward Samardo Samuels is still not where most thought he would be at this point. Swopshire is the only big man that has made great strides in progressing over his time here.
What about Justice and Smith? Both have very raw talent at the guard position and look like they could be tough floor leaders in the rugged Big East conference. But, like Siva, what dazzles the crowd and makes them as good as they are may be lost in Pitino’s strict rules for his point guards. The one thing that drove fans crazy, but still made them smile, about senior guard Edgar Sosa was his willingness to not always follow the game plan. So will we have dynamic guards or just a few guys who can handle the ball? I guess we’ll see. Pitino did prove one thing though – he still has an eye for good talent.
