“Coach they're really good, don't feel bad.” - Depaul Blue Demon Band Trombonist to Jerry Wainwright.

Coming off their upset win over the then 6th ranked Georgetown Hoyas, many expected a letdown coming into Tuesday night's game against a 10-13 DePaul team. Speaking on the idea after the game, coach Jerry Wainwright said “that would've been nice.”

The stories of the game for Louisville, who “can't play better than that” according to Rick Pitino, who was wearing a flashy red-pinstripe suit - only understated following his much publicized white suit - were David Padgett and their full-court press.

Following a game where he outplayed sure NBA lottery pick Roy Hibbert, Padgett dominated inside against the talented, but green and skinny Mac Koshwal. Padgett scored seven quick points against the freshman, utilizing a hook shot that would've made Kareem Abdul-Jabar proud. Padgett slowed down once the “big-boned” Wesley Green was inserted in the game, but by that point Louisville had already taken command.

Despite their talented squad and impressive record, Louisville did not seem a flashy team by any means. They reminded me a character sage actor Val Kilmer played in the mid-80's, Iceman. Goose's description of “Ice” could just as well be describing Pitino's squad,

“it's the way he flies, ice cold, no mistakes. He wears you down, you get bored--frustrated--do something stupid and he's got ya.” [1]

They were ruthlessly efficient, wearing down the Blue Demons, forcing them into one silly turnover after another. Once you get the steal; however, as Pitino said post-game, “it's what you do after the press that's important.”

Coach Wainwright seemed to think they understood that concept pretty well, commenting “they're the most efficient team at converting turnovers into points.”

DePaul never could figure out a way to thwart the Cardinals' full-court pressure. They turned the ball over their first two trips down the court, and it was a trend that continued for the duration of the evening. Even if they somehow struggled the ball past half-court, it was a draining experience and cost them nearly ten seconds every time down.

Louisville went up 19-5 to start the game, and it seemed almost as if they would go up by fifty, but a pair of threes from the most unlikeliest of sources, Willy “Hollywood” Green, kept the game from getting completely out of hand.

To their credit, the DePaul Blue Demons kept battling and made a good run with two and a half minutes left in the first. Draelon Burns made a pair of free throws, then following consecutive defensive stops, Dar Tucker pumped in a three and followed by a layup “and one.”

The next Cardinals trip down the court, Mac Koshwal blocked a Derrick Caracter layup, only to have it rebounded by Louisville, but then he made another impressive defensive play, stealing the ball back and igniting a Blue Demon fast break.

They weaved the ball down the court with excellent spacing topped off with a smooth pass from backup guard Jabari Currie to Dar Tucker for a thunderous dunk. Dar's eight points in less than two minutes brought the team within ten to close out the half.

DePaul gave the Cardinals their knockout punch, but Louisville took it in stride, only slighlty pausing before delivering the inevitable onslaught to put the game out of reach for good.

The second half started out just as the first, with some quick hook shots by David Padgett over Mac, and then that was the game. Five minutes into the half, DePaul was down by twenty-six points and that was that.

As the blowout continued the game got a little boring to watch, save for the impressive all-around game displayed by Louisville sophomore Earl Clark. Being 6-9 and his team's leading rebounder, one might think Clark to be a plodding power-forward, judging from a box-score.

Watching him play you can see the kid who, according to coach Wainwright, was “a guard in high school.” He did everything for his squad: brought up the ball, passed intelligently and had a smooth stroke, even from behind the arc.

Padgett, Terrence Williams and Jerry Smith may get more accolades today, but Clark clearly has the best future in basketball. Don't be surprised to see his NBA career long outlast those of his teammates.

While the loss was tough for DePaul, it wasn't unexpected coming up against one of the best defensive teams in the country on a crazy hot streak. The season is far from lost, though, at 5-7 in the Big East the team still has a strong shot to appear in the Big East tournament.

Senior leader Draelon Burns, who Wainwright said “tries to do everything [for the team] more than” the other seniors drew on experience afterwards and said the team needs to keep their confidence up. He called all 16 teams in the Big East beatable, and seeing what Louisville did against a heavily favored Georgetown team that is certainly true. If DePaul can bring this kind of effort every night down the stretch, they should have no problem making it to New York.

DePaul loses this one 88-68.

More articles by CS Sports Columnist Charlie Danoff

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