By Eric Groves
A pair of University of Louisville basketball recruits got their first taste of playing on their new home floor Saturday night in the 30th annual Derby Festival Basketball Classic in Freedom Hall: Taquan Dean, a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Neptune, NJ and Francisco Garcia, a 6-foot-7 wing forward from Winchendon, Mass. The pair, who will play for Rick Pitino’s Cards next season, represented the U of L on the Purple Team in the annual game that featured several of the top high school players in America. The White Team, which featured University of Kentucky signees Kelenna Azubuike (26 points), Bernard Cote (6 points), and Brandon Stockton (17 points), won the tilt 149-120.
Dean, who finished with 21 points – including 17 in the second half on 9-20 shooting – seemed to settle down after a shaky first half. “It was nerve-wracking at first,” he said of playing in front of nearly 11,000 in Freedom Hall, “but I got comfortable in the second half and just played relaxed basketball.” Late in the third quarter, he had a hand in 11 straight Purple points, including a three, a pull up jumper in transition and a gorgeous feed to Arizona State-bound Ike Diogu for a dunk. Even though his team had just lost, Dean – who along with Garcia were welcomed with a thunderous ovation during their introduction – still seemed extremely happy about his decision to become a Cardinal. “I believe [U of L fans] the best fans in the country,” said Dean.
Garcia, who tallied only six points on 2-7 (2-5 from three point range), was also nervous from the onset. “Even though I played bad [the fans] still clapped for me,” Garcia said of his first game experience in Freedom Hall. “It feels great to be here.” Even though he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, Garcia finished with three assists and made several nice passes that should have been assists but weren’t due to dropped passes or missed layups. “I just try to do all the little things,” said Garcia.
Dean also won the three point contest, beating Garcia 12-11, and was the runner up in the slam dunk contest. Cardinal fans will probably unwillingly see much more of the dunk contest winner, Cincinnati recruit Eric Hicks. Nicknamed “The Helicopter,” the 6-7 Hicks wowed the crowd with his three spectacular, soaring jams and received a perfect score of 120. Clark Francis, a recruiting guru who runs the Louisville-based HoopScoop was impressed. “I never give [perfect scores of] 10,” he said. “I gave Hicks three tonight.” But Hicks was aware his cheers for winning the dunk contest were likely his last in Freedom Hall. “[Next time I come] I know I’m going to get booed,” he said. “The fans have been booing me since I been down here. The fans ain’t showing me any love!”
