Huge game tonight between Louisville and Cincinnati. When there are games this big, you look to the big guns for perspective. I called in the man behind Card Chronicle and the college basketball editor for SB Nation, Mike Rutherford. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you all to follow him on twitter or check out the site. I really don’t need to tell the story for the 7,000th time of how I wouldn’t have started a blog if it weren’t for CC and wanting there to be a Cincinnati site like that site. It’s great and you should read it no matter what.
Mike and I talk about many things, like how strong the rivalry between the teams is, Peyton Siva, (fat) Wayne Blackshear, Russ Smith and some national things like how good Kentucky is. Mike is the best. Can’t thank him enough for answering my questions. This is a crazy time of the year for him and yet he still brought the goods. I did hear the part of his radio show with Mark Ennis where he said he didn’t like me and I take that very personally to the grave. Let’s say he wasn’t joking and this is the spark of a blood rivlary. Montagues and Capulets. Cashmere Wright is Romeo, Gorgui Dieng is Juliet. How this got off the rails so quickly I don’t know. Take it away, Scott. Questions in bold.
Despite a very close last 5 meetings, Louisville-Cincinnati doesn’t have the same rivalry feel as it once did. Is it just me or has this progressed into more of a football rivalry? I blame the Big East by only scheduling them once a year.
MR: There’s still something there, but I don’t think there’s any question the rivalry is nowhere near it was in basketball. I mean there was an extended period where Louisville/Cincinnati pretty much WAS C-USA basketball.
Part of the reason is the scheduling, but I think the bigger factor is Cincinnati really not being all that good since the pair made the move to the Big East. The rivalry could have survived the move had UC kept maintained the national profile it had before the move, but that didn’t happen. Even though the Bearcats have had success against the Cardinals recently, the games haven’t had nearly the build-up they used to because no one is really paying attention. Add in the fact that the Big East usually provides at least five or six other opponents that are going to be ranked, and it’s not surprising that the rivalry isn’t what it was.
One of the biggest keys of the game last season was Cashmere Wright taking Peyton Siva off the dribble and getting Siva in foul trouble, which allowed UC to press the other ball handlers into 13 turnovers. Do you think that type of strategy would work against the Cardinals this year?
Peyton Siva could get into foul trouble if he was guarding me, and my first step isn’t what it used to be (it was never much…I’m not good at basketball). He’s developed this propensity for unnecessarily running into players at midcourt and wildly slapping at opposing guards when they penetrate, and the result is him being in serious foul trouble in more than half of Louisville’s league games. Obviously, the team needs him on the floor and he’s a junior captain who knows that, which makes the habit that much more difficult to understand
I won’t be surprised if Siva gets into foul trouble yet again, but I’m not sure how much praise should be heaped upon Mick Cronin for drawing that up as a gamelan or Wright for executing it. More times than not, the guy is his own worst enemy when it comes to his fouling issues.
On Peyton Siva, why do you think his production has declined from last year? His Big East points, rebounds and steals are all down, while his fouls and assists are the only things that have risen.
To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. It has consistently been the biggest mystery for this team all season.
A lot of people expected Siva to make a monster leap from last season to this one, and maybe expectations were a touch too high. That said, I think even the most even-keeled of Cardinal fans expected his production to be more than what it’s been so far this year.
For long stretches of time this season, Siva has looked unhappy and unconfident. Now that’s improved significantly in recent weeks, but it still doesn’t make the struggles or what sparked the negative demeanor any easier to understand. Rick Pitino made a vague reference to Peyton being focused on things “other than basketball” early in the season, but nothing more than that has ever been discussed. It’s been bizarre, but Cardinal fans are still hopeful that he’ll have the proverbial “turning the corner” moment at some point in the (very) near future.
The final question about Siva is almost unanswerable. What happened to his 3 point shooting? His freshman year, he was pretty much a 3 point gunner in conference play. Hell, even in non-conference play half of his shots were 3s. Now he’s a 21% 3 shooter with 17 Big East attempts. Explanations?
Again, absolutely no idea. Siva spent some time with Jason Terry last summer working on his jump shot, and like you said his numbers have ony worsened.
I guess there’s only one logical conclusion: Jason Terry is the worst basketball coach ever.
Wayne Blackshear has gotten healthy and played his way into the rotation the past couple games. What presence does he lend to the Cardinals? What kind of impact do you think he will have against Cincinnati?
I think the jury’s still out on what kind of impact Blackshear is going to have on the rest of the season. He’s already shown that he’s capable of putting the ball in the basket, which is an area where Louisville has been in need of a boost all season. But he’s also way behind the rest of the team in terms of understanding the system on both offense and defense, and that’s something that will almost certainly keep him from being a guy who plays 20-25 minutes every night from here on out.
I’m strangely optimistic about Wayne’s performance against UC. Just a gut feeling. Probably a completely off-base gut feeling, but whatever. Hit me up with your hate mail tomorrow, BB Nation.
What can you tell the readers about Louisville scoring and stealing dynamo Russ Smith?
He’s the most dually awesome and awful player in the history of basketball. He’s capable of making a move and hitting a shot that would make that And-1 guy go into convulsions on one possession and then just as likely to do something to make me think he should have been cut from his high school team on the next.
Enjoy the show.
Photo via Fake Russ Smith
Wrapping up on the game, is there any match up or player that I glossed over that you want to talk about who could be big? How do you see this one playing out?
Louisville’s defensive numbers have been pretty stellar this season, but they have been prone to letting opponents get clear looks from the outside at times. If Kilpatrick or Wright, or even someone random like Jeremiah Davis starts hitting from the outside, the Cards could definitely be up against it.
I think Cincinnati’s actually a really bad matchup for Louisville, and there’s a reason U of L hasn’t had the same type of success against UC in recent years as they have against the rest of the conference. It would definitely be a solid accomplishment for them to come back home with a win.
Looking nationally real quick, do you think Kentucky is clearly the best team in the nation, or are they just looking great at the expense of an average league?
I think Kentucky is clearly the best team in the country. Also clearly the most evil team in the country. That’s a bonus answer that I won’t charge extra for.
The Big 12 seems to be a hot topic league. Kansas and Missouri appear to be 2 of the better teams in the nation. Baylor has seemed to regressed back to the fold. How far do you think those teams could go in March?
I think Kansas is the member of the trip best-suited to make a deep run. They have the best combination of inside/outside skill, they have the likely player of the year in Thomas Robinson, and they have a coach who isn’t Scott Drew.
Missouri can score with anyone, but I don’t think there’s any question that Kansas State has shown there’s a fairly straightforward gameplan when it comes to beating them. Eventually they’re going to run into a team like the Wildcats in the tournament that can bully them around in the paint, and that’s where the dream of their first Final Four will really be tested.
Baylor is loaded with next-level talent, but they’re still Baylor. That’s not a compliment.
What smaller conference tournaments are you looking forward to in a couple of weeks?
I think the Valley and the CAA, and the NEC and MAAC tournaments should also be extremely competitive from start to finish. It’s interesting this year in that there aren’t a lot of leagues with a ton of parity, but there are a ton of top-heavy conferences that have the potential for really great showdowns in the semifinal and championship rounds. It’s good for college basketball fans, I suppose, since those are the only games that are nationally televised anyway.
Who is the best small conference player in the nation?
I’m assuming the Valley isn’t small conference and so Doug McDermott isn’t eligible. I think it’s between Isaiah Canaan at Murray State and Damian Lillard at Weber State. Admittedly, I’ve only seen Lillard play live once (against Eastern Washington), but he was pretty tremendous. He gets my nod based on that performance and what I’ve seen written about him by other folks. I really hope Weber wins the Big Sky so he gets his moment in the (dimmed) national spotlight.
A thousand thanks to Mike. He said he buzzed through the answers. This post is over 1,700 worlds long. He types really fast. Interesting to note that both Mike and Raphielle Johnson picked Lillard for the best small conference player honor. It’s also interesting to note that both Mike and Raphielle have AOL email addresses. Don’t hold it over their head. Once again, check out Card Chronicle, check out SB Nation. Thanks to Mike and thanks to you for reading.
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