In this world of NBA Draft early entry and one-and-done freshman, it is difficult to become attached to a college star. They simply don't hang around long enough. But when they do, that player becomes the fan favorite. There is nothing like watching a kid develop from a overwhelmed freshman into star as a senior. Those are the players that the fans connect with.
We reached out to some of the blogosphere's best, and over the next couple of weeks we will be running a series of posts saying goodbye to some of the country's best seniors.
Today, Card Chronicle says goodbye to Preston Knowles.
In a day and age where everyone with an above average ability to put a ball inside a hoop is reminded of how special they are at least a hundred thousand times before they graduate high school, Rick Pitino is a harsh dose of reality.
As hard as it may be to believe, the man who redefined modern fullcourt pressure and who took advantage of the three-point shot like no one before him has become old school.
Previous accolades and potential future earnings have zero bearing on this matter; if you come to the University of Louisville to play basketball, Rick Pitino is going to break you down. You're going to work harder than you're used to, you're going to be criticized more than you're used to, and, perhaps most shockingly to the 18-year-old in Adidas garb, you're not going to play or score nearly as much as you're used to.
It's not a coincidence that the attrition rate during the Pitino era at U of L isn't exactly sparkling. Though he came to Louisville as a 2-star recruit with zero other major scholarship offers, Preston Knowles is not an exception to this rule.
While there have been notable instances of praise - "I wish I could coach 12 Preston Knowles'" - Pitino wasn't nearly as quick to applaud the Winchester native's effort or progress during his first three years at Louisville as the Cardinal fans were.
On multiple occasions, Knowles has been described as being in Pitino's "doghouse," the most recent occurrence coming last spring. At various times, Pitino has criticized Knowles' decision-making, effort on the defensive end, and shot selection. Though Knowles has been widely-regarded as a lock-down defender since the moment he set foot on campus, a year ago Pitino referred to then-senior Reginald Delk as "the only above-average defensive player on the team."
But as with any particularly vexing test or trial, those who persevere and survive are eventually richly rewarded.
No one plays up his seniors like Rick Pitino. Once practice started last October, Louisville fans were bombarded with quotes like "Preston is the unquestioned leader of this team, everyone looks up to him," and "Preston Knowles will never have senioritis, he truly plays for Louisville, he's not concerned about his future." It's not that these words of praise aren't genuine, it's that their less-flattering predecessors were likely a tad overblown.
It’s not a stretch to say that Knowles’ departure marks the end of an era for the Louisville program.
Rick Pitino will welcome one of the nation's top recruiting classes next fall, and there's another one prepared to enter the fold 12 months after that. U of L will also bring in controversial, but highly talented, Wake Forest transfer Tony Woods, who will be eligible to see the floor once the fall semester of 2011 ends.
There is nothing wrong with going after the best high school talent in the country and certainly nothing wrong with landing a handful of those guys, but let's be honest, there's a dramatic change in climate coming.
With assistant coach Tim Fuller and Pitino doing what they're doing in the recruiting world, I'm not sure it's going to be possible for a story like Knowles’ - a two-star in-state recruit with one other scholarship offer (VCU) who becomes a senior captain and leading scorer for a Louisville team that nearly won the Big East Tournament - to happen again anytime soon.
And that's why what he did, especially in his final season, is so important. Look at this quote from Knowles on the day before his Senior Night game against Providence:
"As long as we win, I couldn't care less; my average can go down to four points and zero rebounds. As long as we win, I don't care."
The man has established himself as a teaching tool for years to come.
Pitino will always be able to talk about the two-star recruit who encouraged teammates to put egos aside for the betterment of the team (one which featured zero NBA-ready talent), and the remarkable results that followed. Perhaps more importantly, the current underclassmen have a model by which to self-govern the blue chip talent and egos about to hit the program.
Preston Knowles made his mark on the Louisville basketball program. He will be missed.
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Friday, April 8, 2011
Saying Goodbye: Preston Knowles |
Saturday, March 5, 2011
VIDEO: Preston Knowles costs Louisville a win at West Virginia |
Preston Knowles did his best to give Louisville the three seed in the Big East Tournament.
Despite struggling with his shot throughout much of the game and while watching the Cardinals' front line get absolutely torched by the Mountaineers (WVU grabbed 61.5% of the available offensive rebounds), Knowles got hot late. He scored seven straight points to give Louisville a 67-61 lead with two minutes left, and it looked like Louisville was going to leave Morgantown with a win.
West Virginia was able to whittle the lead down to 70-67 with 14 seconds left, and that's when the "Knowles Knightmare" started:
First, Knowles -- who is usually a sensational defender -- lost West Virginia's best shooter trailing a screen. Casey Mitchell drilled the game-tying three. Louisville didn't have any timeouts, so Knowles dribbled the other way and forced a contested 23 footer with plenty of time left on the clock. As if that wasn't enough, in his effort to get the rebound, Knowles fouled Truck Bryant with 0.6 seconds left.
Bryant hit both free throws.
Game over.
The issue that will be debated after this game is whether or not a foul should have been called. On the one hand, Bryant was 80 feet from the rim. There was less than a second left. Even without the foul, Bryant wasn't going to win this game at the buzzer.
But Knowles fouled him. It was as obvious a foul as you will ever see. The fact that Knowles even put himself in a position where he could cost his team a game with a boneheaded play is what should be discussed, not whether or not a foul should have been called.
The foul call decided the game.
But it was Knowles who forced the referees to make the call.
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Thursday, February 3, 2011
Preston Knowles "probably" out Saturday |
Jared Swopshire is done for the year, and possibly his career, with a serious groin injury.
Raheem Buckles still has not returned from the fractured finger he suffered back in December. Gorgui Dieng missed the UConn game with a concussion. Terrence Jennings, Russ Smith, Mike Marra, Kyle Kuric, and Elisha Justice have all missed time this season as well.
And now?
Now leading scorer Preston Knowles will "probably" miss Saturday's game against DePaul. Knowles or not Knowles, Louisville should be able to handle the Blue Demons. The bigger question is whether this hamstring injury will have him hamstrung next Wednesday when the Cardinals take on Notre Dame.
Rick Pitino has done a terrific job coaching this team to 6-3 in the Big East and a top 25 ranking.
Now imagine if his team was healthy.
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Monday, January 17, 2011
1/10 - College Hoops Week in Review: Louisville makes a comeback, Khris Middleton is clutch |
Game of the Week: Louisville 71, Marquette 70
This game was over. Marquette was up 65-47 with jut 5:45 left on the clock. After beating Notre Dame by 22 at home, it looked like the Golden Eagles were finally putting together a string of impressive victories. And then Preston Knowles woke up.
Louisville's leading scorer had just two points in the first half. In the final 5:45, he had 12 points on four threes and added two assists as the Cardinals came storming back. After a Knowles three made the score 65-62, Jaw Crowder snapped the 15-0 run with a bucket at the other end. Knowles hit another three on the ensuing possession, but again Marquette had an answer, this time in the form of a Dwight Buycks bucket.
Louisville would get Marquette's lead down to 70-69 after four Terrence Jennings free throws surrounding one from Junior Cadougan, but 16 seconds left, Dwight Buycks challenged Jennings on a layup at the rim with the shot clock turned off. He was blocked, Louisville got the ball back, and it set up this ending:
Also deserving a mention:
Player of the Week: Draymond Green, Michigan State
For the first time seemingly all season long, Green played like we expected him too. Is it any surprise that the Spartans went 2-0 this week? Against Wisconsin, Green finished with 26 points, nine boards, and four assists, making seemingly every big play down the stretch. In a win over Northwestern, Grene had 16 points, eight boards, and two assists. He got an offensive rebound, drew a foul, and hit two free throws to force overtime. He jumped a passing lane and had a dunk in the extra frame with MSU down three. He found Keith Appling for the go-ahead three pointer. Green was attacking the basket, he was hitting the offensive glass, and he was making plays for his teammates. When he plays like this, he make the Spartans a much better team.
All they-were-good-too-team:
Team of the Week: Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies were an after thought in the preseason. They were losing so much senior leadership and scoring, few expected them to be in the thick of the Big XII race come mid-January, but that they are thanks to a 2-0 week. A&M beat Oklahoma State by 23 on Wednesday, and then on Saturday the Aggies knocked off Missouri in overtime to improve to 3-0 in Big XII play. We'll have a better feel for just how good A&M is after the next ten days -- when they play Texas twice and Kansas State once -- but it is time to start discussing this team as a legitimate conference title contender. After those three games, A&M only has one more game against a ranked opponent (Kansas in February) and they only play Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas State once each.
Deserving of a shoutout:
San Diego State: Can we finally call the Aztecs legit? They may not be as good as Ohio State, Kansas, Duke, or Syracuse, but this is a team that truly deserves to be in the conversation for best of the rest. This week, they went 2-0 against fellow MWC contenders, beating UNLV at home and then manhandling New Mexico on the road.
Florida State: The Seminoles have a legitimate chance to be the second place team in the ACC. After beating No. 1 Duke and NC State this week, FSU is tied for first in the conference at 3-1. The Noles are going to be an inconsistent team all year long -- when they are hitting offensively, you'll get performances like this week; when they aren't, they lose to Auburn.
West Virginia: The 'Eers had quite a good week this week. They smoked Providence at home on Thursday before No. 8 Purdue came to town. WVU got a number of late, clutch buckets from John Flowers and Kevin Jones as they were able to land a marquee win they really needed on their resume. WVU had now won four in a row and seems to finally have gotten their season on track.
Minnesota: The Golden Gophers had a terrific week, as they evened up their record in the Big Ten with wins over Purdue and Iowa. All three of Minnesota's losses have come on the road to top 25 opponents -- Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin. The top of the Big Ten is loaded, which means that Minnesota is going to need more wins like the one they got against Wisconsin if they are going to make a run at the top of the league.
Michigan State: Are the Spartans finally turning that corner? This week, they picked up a couple of nice wins in overtime, beating both Wisconsin and Northwestern at home in overtime. It was a turnaround the Spartans needed, as they were coming off of a loss to Penn State last Saturday.
Colorado: This Buffalo team is looking more and more like a team we are going to have to keep an eye on all season long. They are now 3-0 in the Big XII with wins against Kansas State and Oklahoma State this week.
Valpo: After a weekend that featured four games between the top four teams in the Horizon, Valpo came out 2-0 and in sole possession of first place in the conference after winning on the road at Wright State and Detroit. The Crusaders also own a win over Cleveland State this season. For the first time is seemingly forever, it looks like the Horizon has more contenders than just Butler.
Belmont: The Bruins are playing at historic levels right now. They are 7-0 in the Atlantic Sun, and they are currently beating their opponent's by an average of 28.8 ppg. By comparison, UNLV beat their opponents by an average of 29.6 ppg in 1990-1991. This week, they beat Lipscomb and Campell by a combined 71 points, holding Lipscomb's Adnan Hodzic seven points and five boards.
Duquesne: After sweeping St. Louis and Duquesne this week, the Dukes are currently sitting tied for first a top the A-10 with Xavier and George Washington. They've now won six games in a row.
Matchups of the Week
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