Louisville is 0-7 under its first-year coach Kenny Payne and he asks players, 'have you given up?'
ranked U of L the 185th-best team in Division I basketball. Only winless California, ranked 213th at KenPom.com, is keeping the Cardinals from the lowest ranking among power-conference teams. . Maryland, ranked No. 22 in this week’s Associated Press poll, is Louisville’s third ranked opponent to date, joining Arkansas and Texas Tech. Louisville has lost those games by an average of 27.6 points. Payne hardly is the only one to notice it.
If that didn’t spark the Cards, it seems reasonable that three blowout losses at the Maui Invitational would’ve. Maryland made its first five 3-pointers after halftime, effectively putting the game away before the first media timeout of the second half. On one first-half defensive sequence, Ellis sidestepped Terps guard Jahmir Young as Young sprinted to the basket, a breakdown in what ESPN2 analyst Robbie Hummel called on the broadcast “elementary transition defense.” On the ensuing inbound, Ellis traveled to avoid a Maryland defender.
But given the winless start, Louisville can’t afford to compound its roster shortcomings with lackadaisical defense and nonchalant offensive effort. The Cards don’t screen hard. They don’t move the ball efficiently on offense or stop it at the other end. And stops start with consistent effort. Defense is about more than trying hard, but that’s the minimum essential.
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