Tonight will be the very first appearance on a Big Monday ESPN telecast for the Cardinals. And this will also be a big night for this Cardinals team to move forward. I’m glad they are out of town and hopefully have been able to escape all of the negative vibes floating around the Cardinal universe. Tonight it’s time to circle the wagons as a team and a fan-base and move forward as this season approaches its finale.

I expect with the loss of point guard Chris Jones that Coach Pitino will adjust his offense around the three other guys on this team who have been the statistical leaders throughout. Terry Rozier is averaging 17.6 points a game, Montrezl Harrell is averaging 15.6 points and 9.5 rebounds a game, while Wayne Blackshear is averaging 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds… These guys will be counted on to carry the bulk of the load as they have done for most of the season, but we really need these younger guys to also step up.

For Quentin Snider who dreamed of someday being a hometown hero and starring in front of the Yum Center crowd this is his time to start that journey. He played 38 minutes last week against Syracuse and ran the team with poise and control. The guys seemed to really feed off his positive energy.

Shaqquan Aaron was called out by Coach Pitino last week and was challenged to put his team first and to be a Louisville man. This is his opportunity to show his coach and his peers that he is ready to get past the me-ball and ready to put in the work it takes to get to that next level as a college athlete. The minutes are going to be there now.

Chinanu Onuaku is oozing with potential. He has the god given size and athletic ability to really be a premiere Center in college basketball. Coach Pitino has called him one of the best passing big men he’s ever seen. Word is that he’s been working with another one of those great passing big men assistant coach David Padgett. If Onuaku can decide he wants to listen he could also be a valuable asset for a team that is going to need some points from the five spot.

Let’s face it folks there is going to be a huge opportunity for these guys including Anton Gill who will also get the opportunity at the guard spot, while Jaylen Johnson, Mango Mathiang and Anas Mahmoud will get their chance at minutes at the five spot.

I think Coach Pitino needs to roll the ball out and really start to simplify some of the things he tries on the defensive end of the floor. That is what has been holding a lot of these guys back. Just let them get out there and make their mistakes and play basketball. These guys need to start having fun in these games instead of worrying about making a mistake and being in the wrong spot on defense. Coach Pitino doesn’t have a veteran team and just dismissed his best defensive player. In my opinion it’s time to relax and tell these guys to guard their man and do their best. Maybe this will also let them play looser on the offensive side of the ball leading to more production.

I love new beginnings. It’s a big reason why I love the NCAA tournament. It’s like a season all of its own and as long as you get there it doesn’t matter what happened along the way. Anyone can ask last year’s UCONN team about that. As far as I’m concerned tonight starts the new University of Louisville basketball season. I think and hope we’ll see a revived group of Cardinals ready to face the challenges that lie ahead. Go Cards!