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Louisville a young team?

Jan 17, 2014
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They said that about 2 or 3 times last night. Seems like they have some pretty experienced players to me. They also said Montrez was an all-american the first time he got the ball last night, I didn't know he had been crowned an all-american yet lol.
 
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Terry Rozier is a sophomore, but he went to prep school after graduating high school so age-wise he is a junior. Mango Mathiang is a junior by age as well, he redshirted his freshman year.

Perhaps they mean all of their backups/reserves are young. That is true. But they aren't really relying on these players this year.
 
Honestly, Louisville had better hope that Rozier of Harrell return next season or they could be in some real trouble. I know many Louisville fans tout the foursome of Rozier, Harrell, Blackshear and Jones, which could all be gone. Then again, with the game being at Rupp next season, I am not sure it matters, especially if just a few experienced players return for UK.
 
Yeah, I'm not buying the young thing. Pitino probably told that to the play by play guy and he took it and ran with it. You could tell both guys did very little research into the teams involved.
 
Pomeroy has their experience listed as +1.51 years, which ranks 239th. The average is 1.67. And that number is weighted for playing time, so the freshmen that barely play barely factor in. That means the average Louisville player has played 1.51 years of college ball prior to this season. Or in other words, the average Louisville player would be either a junior or a sophomore.

Not exactly what I would call young for a major conference team. Don't think it's exactly fair to compare a major conference team to low and mid majors of the world that usually tend to lean senior and junior heavy all the time.
 
Harrell was named to several (if not most) pre-season All-American lists, and he certainly looked the part last night. I don't really dog Harrell, I think he's the type of guy you want on your team, but hate him if he isn't....like Cousin's was. Obviously the guy isn't as talented as Cousins, but he does have an unreal motor and is averaging a solid 16 & 9 this year. Not sure how many PF's could play well against our front court this year, so I don't really hold the UK game as a huge slight on him. UofL's problem is that outside of Rozier and Harrell, they have a whole lot of nothing.

As far as the youth, it's there, but no one knows how good it will be. Snider, Aaron, Mahmoud, Oniuku (sp) all have potential to be players, but also have potential to bust. I don't think any other their other young guys will amount to much, including Gill.
 
Their starting 5 last night was a 2.8 so hardly a young starting 5.

By contrast our starting 5 is a 1.8. With Poy we were still only a 2.2.

Louisville seems like they are always a year away from not looking so good but they have been bucking that trend the last several years. Got a big boost this year with MH coming back. Have to believe their losses this year might be too much for them to overcome for the next couple of years though. No clue if Rozier returns or not but they will still be paper thin on the inside when it comes to quality bigs. Mahmoud has shown potential to blossom into a nice player but still a ways to go before you would want him anchoring down the middle for you and as of now he is their best option and did not even see the floor against us.
 
Just for fun, i ran some numbers. I looked at the age of every player that got at least 10 mins in the game on Dec 27th.

UofL's players have a average age of 21.1
UK's players have a average age of 19.6

That's a difference of 1.5 years

Chris Jones is 23.5 years old. Chris, if you haven't figured this basketball thing out by now, it ain't happining.

The six oldest players on the court on the 27th are as follows:
1) Chris Jones - 23.5
2) Wayne Blackshear - 22.9
3) Mangok Mathiang - 22.2
4) Willie Cauley-Stein - 21.4
5) Montrezl Harrell - 20.9
6) Terry Rozier - 20.8

Conclusion: UofL is NOT a young team
 
Originally posted by bigbluebeast35:

Harrell was named to several (if not most) pre-season All-American lists, and he certainly looked the part last night. I don't really dog Harrell, I think he's the type of guy you want on your team, but hate him if he isn't....like Cousin's was. Obviously the guy isn't as talented as Cousins, but he does have an unreal motor and is averaging a solid 16 & 9 this year. Not sure how many PF's could play well against our front court this year, so I don't really hold the UK game as a huge slight on him. UofL's problem is that outside of Rozier and Harrell, they have a whole lot of nothing.

As far as the youth, it's there, but no one knows how good it will be. Snider, Aaron, Mahmoud, Oniuku (sp) all have potential to be players, but also have potential to bust. I don't think any other their other young guys will amount to much, including Gill.
I know Harrell was a preseason all-american and will probably be postseason as well. The announcers just stated it as a fact lol. I would not even call Okafor an all american yet. It was just funny when they said it.
 
Harrell has the dunk shot and some defense, outside of those few talents he can also scream well. All American honors seems to come very easy these days without much merit.

Has no ball handling skills, very little shooting skills, some defensive skills on help defense..if this makes an all American, I'm one as well.
 
Originally posted by sonnyg333:

Harrell has the dunk shot and some defense, outside of those few talents he can also scream well. All American honors seems to come very easy these days without much merit.

Has no ball handling skills, very little shooting skills, some defensive skills on help defense..if this makes an all American, I'm one as well.
Don't forget that he can fly like Superman. Well, for a second or two anyways. LOL!
 
Young ... old ... who cares? We're talking about Louisville, which means we can all agree that they suck.
 
Originally posted by sonnyg333:

Harrell has the dunk shot and some defense, outside of those few talents he can also scream well. All American honors seems to come very easy these days without much merit.

Has no ball handling skills, very little shooting skills, some defensive skills on help defense..if this makes an all American, I'm one as well.
This is the truth about Harrell.
He can dunk when he catches the ball 5 feet from the goal.
He can rebound when he's the tallest guy on the floor.
He can block shots of short guards if they're close by.
He can foul strategically.
He can scream at decibel levels that cause ears to bleed.
He can chew up a mouthpiece with skill.
He can hang on a rim like a boss.
He can flex and pose like a body builder.

If that is first team AA then I think they need to come watch me play a bit. Seriously though, Harrell was voted to that preseason team based on hype, not skill. He's not a skilled player. He's a brawler and runs through and over people. He just physically dominates smaller and weaker guys and those highlights make Sportscenter accompanied by words like "beast!" He's Rick's best player. That's it. He won't make the team at the end.
 
Originally posted by IL Wildcat:


Originally posted by sonnyg333:

Harrell has the dunk shot and some defense, outside of those few talents he can also scream well. All American honors seems to come very easy these days without much merit.

Has no ball handling skills, very little shooting skills, some defensive skills on help defense..if this makes an all American, I'm one as well.
This is the truth about Harrell.
He can dunk when he catches the ball 5 feet from the goal.
He can rebound when he's the tallest guy on the floor.
He can block shots of short guards if they're close by.
He can foul strategically.
He can scream at decibel levels that cause ears to bleed.
He can chew up a mouthpiece with skill.
He can hang on a rim like a boss.
He can flex and pose like a body builder.

If that is first team AA then I think they need to come watch me play a bit. Seriously though, Harrell was voted to that preseason team based on hype, not skill. He's not a skilled player. He's a brawler and runs through and over people. He just physically dominates smaller and weaker guys and those highlights make Sportscenter accompanied by words like "beast!" He's Rick's best player. That's it. He won't make the team at the end.
I agree, I really think a guy like Lyles has a much brighter future in the NBA because of his skill level. That being said Harrell is probably better than him this year. If you consider Willie a PF and of all people Wiltjer, they are strong canidates for all american at PF. I think we all know Okafor has center locked up whether he will deserve it at the end or not.
 
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