Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 28, 1994 TAG: 9401280210
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"It's not near as good as our Final Four teams yet," said Crum, who's had six of those clubs. "We make too many mistakes."
Who hasn't in this wild college basketball season, when the weekly rankings have been as slippery as the roads outside Cassell Coliseum were Thursday night?
No one should be surprised if the Cardinals (15-2) show up for the NCAA semifinals two months from now in the Charlotte Coliseum. Bill Foster won't be.
"Louisville is as good as anybody in the country," said Foster, after the 12th-ranked Cardinals held off his improved Virginia Tech club 74-63. "There may be deeper teams, but who needs play more than eight guys anyway? And their first five are so interchangeable."
Two of the things traditional about this Louisville team are its success and its more-than-respectable schedule. The Cardinals have won most years by simply pounding people with patience and power play both inside and outside the Metro Conference.
This team plays just as well on the perimeter - the evidence is 53 3-point goals in the past six games. That makes it so difficult for opponents to double down on center Clifford Rozier. And Foster couldn't think of anyone who could play behind Rozier and possibly control the 6-foot-9 transfer other than his 7-foot, 270-pound former North Carolina teammate, Eric Montross.
Louisville has its best outside-shooting club since the 1986 NCAA champions. The matchup problems they present are too numerous to count, because not only are four starters 6-6 or taller, they also shoot or pass like playmakers.
"They can beat you in a lot of ways," Foster said.
In winning for the ninth time in their past 10 visits to Cassell, the Cardinals pushed off Tech by doing something that's been difficult for them. They made free throws.
Crum's team ranks last in the Metro in free throwing. Besides 80-percent marksman DeJuan Wheat, the other four Louisville starters are real foul shooters - a combined 60 percent entering the game.
Then, after missing six of their first eight from the stripe, Louisville made 12 of 16 over the final 11 minutes - including seven of 10 after the Hokies had raised the most spectator ruckus in the arena in almost three years by cutting the Louisville lead to 57-55 with 7 minutes, 21 seconds left.
Although the Cards shot 54 percent from the floor - including 6-of-11 on 3s - and outrebounded the Hokies, they still needed the free throws.
"We stopped a lot of their plays," Foster said. "The problem is stopping their players."
That's precisely why Louisville is a legitimate national contender. The Cardinals may be one spare part short and they may struggle at the stripe - the win was the 11th time in 18 games they've shot less than 65 percent there.
Their first five - Rozier, seniors Greg Minor and Dwayne Morton and freshmen Wheat and Jason Osborne are as solid and versatile a starting lineup as any in the country.
"I think this team can shoot the ball as well as [Louisville's Final Four teams] did, but this team doesn't take care of the ball as well, and we don't have the depth," Crum said.
"That doesn't mean you can't get there without it, but we're going to have to get a whole lot better if we're going to have a chance to have that kind of finish."
Louisville, particularly when passing, sometimes plays with too much flair versus fundamentals. However, Crum won't rob his players of their individuality - because that's one of their strengths in playing so many spots on the floor.
"A player is what he is," Crum said. "You take that away from him, and you destroy whatever talent he has in that area."
There is no deficiency of individual talent among the Cardinals' first five.
"What I like about this team is that every game it's somebody different," Crum said. "It's not like it's just one guy.
"And that's the kind of team that has a chance to go a long way. We have balance. Five guys score in double figures.
"If our bench would play a little better and play a little more consistent, then I think we'd have a real good team come year's end."
by CNB