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Louisville Cardinals (Last Year: 20-13, 11-7 in Big East)
2010-11 Projected Depth Chart:
C: Terrence Jennings (Jr)/George Goode (Jr)/Gorgui Dieng (Fr)
PF: Jared Swopshire (Jr)/Rakeem Buckles (So)/Stephan Van Treese (So)
G: Kyle Kuric (Jr)/Mike Marra (So)
G: Preston Knowles (Sr)/Chris Smith (Jr)
PG: Peyton Siva (So)/Russell Smith (Fr)/Elisha Justice (Fr)
Gone: C-Samardo Samuels, G-Jerry Smith, G-Edgar Sosa, G/F-Reginald Delk
2010-11 Outlook:
When Samardo Samuels surprisingly chose to forgo his final two years of eligibility and enter the NBA Draft, it added to what was already going to be a significant offseason of losses for Louisville. The senior backcourt of Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith graduated as did wing Reginald Delk, meaning the Cardinals were losing more than half of their scoring output from last season.
The Cardinals suffered another hit late in the summer when highly touted freshman swingman Justin Coleman failed to qualify academically instead ending up at Marshall. Long-range bomber Roburt Sallie was supposed to become immediately eligible at Louisville as he graduated from Memphis this Spring, but the NCAA vetoed that possibility due to a deadline issue.
That leaves Pitino with a talented, but inexperienced roster. Preston Knowles is the only senior and has been a role player the past couple years. He will likely be joined in the backcourt by playmaking point guard Peyton Siva. Sharpshooting Kyle Kuric, who blew up with 22 points in an upset win against Syracuse, figures to see more minutes as will sophomore Mike Marra.
Samuels’ exit leaves plenty of question marks up front. Terrence Jennings came to Louisville with a lot of hype but has failed to make the impact most expected. Will that change now with Samuels out of the picture? Cardinal fans better hope so. Jared Swopshire is the only returning starter and brings some athleticism and versatility to the forward position as does sophomore Rakeem Buckles who could be poised for a breakout season.
Louisville will continue to implore their full-court press which has caused problems for opponents in the past. Until the young talent proves they can make the transition from role players to impact starters, I think the Cardinals will struggle a bit this season and find themselves on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Player to Watch: Peyton Siva, PG
The former McDonald’s All-American was fourth on the pecking order of guards a year ago but now becomes the full-time floor leader. A great play-maker, he’s lightning quick with the basketball and knows how to score the basketball in a variety of ways. With Knowles suspended for the first two games of the season, possibly more, the training wheels will be stripped off Siva right off the back.
Key Non-Conference Games:
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