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#7 Louisville
Cardinals
Big East
2004-05: 33-5,
14-2, 1st CUSA
2004-05 postseason:
NCAA
By
Joel Welser
On the heels of a
Final Four run, Louisville
has reloaded and looks to make it back to the promise land. It
will be a different looking team with five key players
departing, but the newcomers have more than enough talent to
contribute. And, of course, there is Coach Rick Pitino.
Who’s Out:
Francisco Garcia heads the list of departures in Louisville. As
a junior last year, Garcia led the team with 15.7 points and 3.9
assists per game. Wing Larry O’Bannon added 15.2 points, 3.5
boards and 2.0 assists. The frontcourt loses a pair of
talented forwards in Ellis Myles and Otis George. Myles nearly
averaged a double-double with 10.4 points and 9.2 rebounds.
Lorenzo Wade is transferring to Washington after 3.9 points per
game last season.
Who’s In: It is
a great group of newcomers, led by David Padgett. Padgett, a
transfer from Kansas, averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds for
the Jayhawks as a freshman. The 6-11 center might miss some
early season games with a broken foot, but he’ll be starting as
soon as he is healthy. The frontcourt has another potential
starter in redshirt freshman Brian Johnson. Health is an issue
with Johnson as well, but if he can put three knee surgeries
behind him, he’ll make a big impact. Incoming freshman Jonathan
Huffman is another big man who will make the frontcourt depth a
non-issue despite the loss of so many quality big men. Small
forward Terrence Williams will battle for a starting job, as
will point guard Andre McGee. The 5-10 Moreno Valley,
California native is a speedy point guard who can dish and
score. Returnee Brandon Jenkins has a leg up on the starting
spot, but don’t be surprised if the Cardinals move Jenkins to
the three and let McGee run the show. Shooting guards Bryan
Harvey and Chad Millard will battle for minutes in the suddenly
crowded backcourt.
Who to Watch:
Taquan Dean is the only senior on the roster and thus will need
to be the senior leader. The 6-3 guard averaged 14.4 points,
4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals last year. He is a
solid three point shooter, making 44.7% of his 7.4 attempts per
game. Dean will have plenty of help with Juan Diego Palacios
and David Padgett in the frontcourt, but Dean needs to have a
solid season for Louisville to make a deep run in March.
Projected
Conference Rank: A 3rd place finish is a nice
debut in the Big East. Injuries are a problem with Padgett,
Johnson and Palacios sporting off season foot injuries. All
could be back before the season begins, but with a soft non
conference schedule, it won’t change much of anything anyway.
Projected
Post-season Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting
Five:
Brandon Jenkins.,
Junior, Guard, 5.2 points per game
Taquan Dean, Senior,
Guard, 14.4 points per game
Terrence Williams ,
Freshman, Forward, DNP last season
Juan Diego Palacios,
Sophomore, Forward, 9.7 points per game
David Padgett,
Sophomore, Center, DNP last season
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