Crum is quickly becoming a major part of the college basketball landscape and he has developed the template for all coaches to follow to get your team on the national map quickly.   This first involved scheduling a tough out of conference schedule to get his team ready for the March games (which Crum has done exceedingly well) and playing other great teams gets the Cardinals on TV which is the greatest recruiting tool a team could have.  The best part is that the Cardinals were winning many of these games.  The second part of the plan is to get into a major conference such as the ACC or the Big East.  Of course, none of the big conferences wanted this fast rising team in their league.  No way were they getting near the SEC with Kentucky around as there were openings last year and they went to Arkansas and South Carolina. With that in mind, the Cardinals decided to make their own league.  With a few other teams in the same boat the Cardinals formed Conference USA and it quickly became one of the elite basketball conferences in the country.  But you can tell these guys are not done.  Crum’s plan is a work in progress and until Louisville are mentioned in the same breath as Kentucky and Indiana and UCLA his work will not be done!  They are dang close and after another solid season they are one step closer to their quest.  Will they get to that level this year?  Well, he has the horses in place to make that kind of run.  But boy is that schedule daunting?  It looks like Secretariat and Seattle Slew are in this race so these thoroughbreds better be off and running out of the gate. 

Leading the way for the Cardinals for his senior year will be center and team captain Wes Unseld.  Wesley was a carryover from the team before Crum but the new coach knew how important he would be to the success of the team.  This Louisville High School legend was perfect for what Crum was trying to do and was without question the leader on and off the court for this team.  Undersized for a center at six foot seven, Unseld more than makes up his height deficiency with the broadest shoulders this side of a brahma bull.  Unseld is as intimidating as any player in the game.  He probably is pound for pound (he is listed at 245) the strongest player in the country.  He sets lethal screens and can wall off an entire frontline on the boards.  Unseld is also one of the best defensive players in the country able to match up with much bigger players night in and night out with relative ease.  He knows how to get position and does not let his opponents get to the spot they want to go to.  The Cardinals rely on him more than any single player in the country even if he does not even average fifteen points a game.  The whole offense revolves around him on the high post and his great screens to free up shooters.  He is a solid passer and can score in the paint.  The fastbreak offense that makes this team go is centered around the best outlet passer in the world (not named Russell or Walton who Crum actually recruited btw).  Unseld can hit a teammate in full stride 75 feet away with a two-handed chest.  He is the phenomenal at screening people out and with the lack of size on this team they need him underneath.  Oh and by the way he can score a little bit too.  If there is such as such as Most Valuable Player, than Wes Unseld is it.  For these Cardinals and whatever team he ends up on at the next level but this bushy haired big man has one more goal to achieve in his hometown.  And this dude does not care about stats.  Like the aforementioned out letting duo, it’s all about winning for big Wes.  And I tell you what, even if you put a brick wall in front of this big man I would not bet on the brick wall against Unseld! 

The next best player on the Cardinals is junior shooting guard Darrell Griffith.  Griffith is a tremendous leaper who relies on his legs to be able to float in the air and hit jump shots from anywhere.  Griffith is another Louisiana native who loves to go to the hoop with authority and put it down.  His nickname of Dr. Dunkenstein fits him and his ability to throw them down with emphasis.  He is one of the great leapers in the game with a reported 48 inch vertical jump that allows him to do things that seem impossible for a six four guy.  Griffith led the Cardinals in scoring and his overall athleticism make him almost impossible to defend.  Griffith is the catalyst and the perfect player for Crum’s offense and the perfect complement to Unseld.   He feeds off screens and rises to the rafters with his incredible jumping ability and fires away from behind the arc.  Crum was not a big proponent of the three point shot as he recruited mid-range players for his system.  He had to change and he counted on Griffith, his best offensive player, to step up and become his long range bomber.  Griffith accepted the challenge but it took some time to adjust.  By the end of the year he was hitting 23 footers on a regular basis and he easily led the Cardinals in scoring.  Griffith is a good man to man defender as well but offense is his game as he loves to take one of Unseld’s full court bullets and ram it home over somebody.  Vying to back up the gifted Griffith are seniors Chuck Noble, junior Allen Murphy and sophomores Milt Wagner and Lancaster Gordon.  All have optimum size going 6’3 or above but they are nowhere near the athlete Griffith is.  Noble is a solid all-around player who used to start here and is slowly slipping down the totem pole.  Murphy is 6’5 and can shoot but needs to be more consistent and improve defensively.  Wagner and Gordon were primarily on the JV though Wagner had a good late season run and played well in the post season run. 

Coach Crum has assembled some very good players around his two superstars but the best of the supporting cast was here long before Denny got to Louisville.  Senior Charlie Tyra was actually born here and at one point was the superstar for the Cardinals.  When this team broke into the national spotlight in the NIT, after moving up from the NAIA, he led them to the title so benching him was not an option even for Cool Hand Luke.  Tyra, who is 6’8 230, and Unseld are very similar players relying on their strength in the paint and are terrific board men.  You only need one of those type and Unseld is the man.  Crum decided last year to rotate Tyra with sophomore big man ‘Never Nervous’ Pervis Ellison.  Ellison is from Georgia (Crum was starting to recruit nationally instead of just Louisville by now )and had a tremendous freshman year.  Ellison seems to have that big game knack of performing well under pressure.  Ellison is the shot blocker the Cards need and can score on the blocks.  Pervis is also a much more complete offensive player than Tyra with many moves around the basket and a nice touch up to about 15 feet.  By the end of the year Ellison was receiving the larger percentage of the rotation but Tyra was still starting.  Ellison is not much bigger than Tyra but he plays bigger especially on the defensive end and he is much more of a defensive presence.  Senior Jack Coleman was also in the mix with some quality minutes up front off the bench and is best on the boards.  Coleman is more of combo forward as he only goes 6’7 195 but this Texas kid can play the high post and can really pass.  He is also a tremendous defender who has a nice all-around set of skills like most of the Cardinals but is tenacious as they come.  He is not athletic enough to play the three on a regular basis but every team needs his type on their roster and by type we mean winner.  Fellow seniors Bud Olsen, John Turner and Don Goldstein are also in the running for minutes up front.  Olsen has some size at 6’8 220 but is not athletic enough to defend other bigs.  Turner is even smaller at 6’5 and was passed up last year on the forward hierarchy.  Goldstein is a confident jewish kid from New York who can flat can it.  He goes 6’6 and can play inside but also can hit a mid-ranger.  This trio are destined to be deep bench players in their final year unless there are some injuries.  Junior Ricky ‘Ten’ Gallon is also in this group but is only moving up to the varsity because he cannot play on the JV being a junior. I know seems contradictory but isn’t everything in college sports?  He is 7’0 220 from Tampa but has not shown much in his limited time on the JV but he has that one thing that you cannot teach.

Speaking of the small forward spot, Crum went with Sophomore Rodney McCray there mainly due to his tremendous defense.  McCray is a team player who does not score much but contributes nonetheless.  Rodney is from Mt. Vernon New York as he and his brother Scooter were recruited together by Crum (think Dottie and Kit with Rodney being Dottie but is the younger sibling).  Scooter had an injury and missed most of his freshman year but Rodney earned a starting role early on with his exceptional all-around play.  At 6’7 220 McCray may not be as valuable as Unseld but McCray’s ability to pass, rebound and defend other team’s best players make him a huge part of the Cardinals success.  McCray is the type of player every teams needs to be successful as he like glue.  Crum counts on others off the bench for offense especially on the wings.  Junior Junior (wow) Bridgeman is a sharpshooter and comes off the bench for both Griffith and McCray and is truly instant offense.  Bridgeman can do it all offensively.  He may be the best sixth man in Conference USA and when he heats up he is unguardable.  Crum somehow stole him from Indiana, right from under Bobby Knight.  Crum instantly made him into his instant offense off the bench guy.  He is perfect for that role.  That is unless he is running off to Wendy’s for a frosty as he is prone to do when he is not in the game. Bridgeman is one of the mid-range shooters in the country and can also finish on the break.  He is smart as they come and will be a success at whatever he does.  Sophomore Derek Smith gives the team another scorer off the bench from the wing.  He can get it going almost as much as Bridgeman but not quite as consistent.  Smith is more physical than Bridgeman and uses his size to post up smaller wings but is also great on the break and finishes almost as strongly as Griffith.  

The biggest problem for Crum was finding a permanent point guard.  Crum has the weird situation of having many good back court players but almost all of them were better suited for the two spot and with Griffith around that position was filled.  Crum had to try to transition one of these gifted athletes into a point guard and it was not easy squeezing square pegs into round holes.  Senior Phil Rollins got the first shot and was just not athletic enough and quickly gave way to some younger players.  Junior Jim Price got the majority of starts and was effective if mundane.  Price settles the team at the point with great defense and solid ball distribution.  Price may not have the stats of some other point guards but gets the job done and is a leader.  Stull, Crum was looking for someone a little more dynamic and continuously tried different players at the One.  Senior Butch Beard rotated in behind Price but is more of a combo guard though he will do whatever it takes to win.  Beard, like Price, is not going to light up the stat sheet or make incredible plays but both are very solid and consistent.  This Kentucky kid actually played against Unseld’s team in the state finals and the two have a solid bond.  Crum is notorious for recruiting winners as most of the players on his roster are state champions who know how to win.        

The Louisville Cardinals proved they are a program that can hang with anybody in the country.  The Cardinals have already conquered two of the three most prestigious tourneys in college basketball winning both an NAIA and NIT.  They are looking to make it three for three with a Big Dance title and have got close several times already.  Coach Peck Hickman got the ball rolling leading the Cardinals to both of these titles and their first final four.  Coach John Dromo had started well but a heart attack left the program needing a coach and fast.  They looked west and recruited one of the great recruiters in college basketball stealing the heir apparent to John Wooden from the UCLA Bruins.  Coach Denny Crum has recruited some wonderful athletes and has a machine running in Louisville challenging even that of the mighty Wildcats.  Of course we rarely get to find out with Adolph Rupp avoiding playing Louisville for obvious reasons.  The Cardinals, on the other hand, have taken on all comers in their bid to show the world they belong with the elite.  The Cardinals took a big step to proving they are going to be national contenders on a regular basis with a great Coach and a superb system and not to mention A-1 talent.  This train is moving forward on all cylinders and all it will take to be in the same breath as Coach Crum’s former school he learned at under a master (UCLA) or their arch rival from across state (Kentucky of course) is to win the big one.  That will happen soon enough. But will it be this year?