By Andrew Hornback
After their season-opening win over the University of Arkansas, University of Louisville men’s head coach Rick Pitino reiterated his preseason thoughts regarding his team’s shooting abilities.
“We’re a great shooting team,” said Pitino. “Last year, we were a great defensive team; this year we’re a great shooting team.”
The Cardinals wasted no time showing why their coach has been praising their shooting abilities since the preseason, hitting 15-of-38 3-point shots in their opening win over Arkansas.
“I think everyone is getting really comfortable with the offense,” said sophomore forward Jared Swopshire. “We’ve been getting a lot better since our first practice, and we’re still looking to get better. But we’ve definitely made a lot of progress.”
Swopshire, who played limited minutes as a reserve last season, recorded the Cardinals’ first double-double of the season, with 10 points and 11 rebounds against the Razorbacks, while going 2-of-3 from the 3-point range.
“The thing about this year is that my approach is different,” said Pitino. “I’ve always had a pro-style approach throughout my career, where I would give my team a lot of sets to run and let them develop throughout the season. This year, I’ve changed things up, and we’re only running about one-third of our sets. But we’re executing them very well.”
Senior guard Reggie Delk only played 5.5 minutes per game last year, in his first year of eligibility for the Cardinals, after averaging 9.5 points per game as a sophomore at Mississippi State University. He shot 8-of-9 in his second career start at Louisville, against Arkansas.
“Ralph [Willard] pointed out something about Reggie to me,” said Pitino. “He told me I needed to get his confidence back, so he would quit struggling. With the way Kyle Kuric was playing so far, Reggie was kind of losing confidence about playing. But I think he gained it back.”
While the veteran Cardinals have started the season shooting well from the field, the freshmen have struggled at times, shooting a combined 1-of-11 against Arkansas.
“I feel like we are all doing fine with the offense,” said freshman forward Rakeem Buckles. “We are still learning some things, but Coach Pitino makes you learn it, and learn it the right way, no excuses. So we will continue to get better and better.”
Another factor in the Cardinals’ success from the field has been junior guard Preston Knowles. Knowles was second on the team in 3-point field goal percentage last season, at 43.2 percent, and is shooting 50 percent this season. The other veteran guards, senior Edgar Sosa and senior Jerry Smith, are shooting 37.5 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively.
“This is Edgar and Jerry’s year,” said Pitino. “I’ve told them to have fun no matter what, and to enjoy it, because they are great young men and basketball players.”
While the Cardinals shot only 6-of-30 from 3-point territory against East Tennessee State University, they converted 5-of-12 in their next game, against Morgan State University. Sosa led the Cards with 4 3-pointers against East Tennessee, while Knowles led with 2 against Morgan State.
Following their game against Morgan State, the Cardinals rank 13th in 3-point field goal percentage, and fifth in scoring offense, in the Big East. Next up will be the Rebels of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, whodefeated the Cardinals 56-55 in Freedom Hall last season.
