A few weeks ago we learned that Zach Price would be leaving the Cardinals Basketball program. And while there still seems to be plenty of depth in the front court should we be concerned about not having enough bangers inside to make another title run?
Most publications have our Cardinals ranked 2nd or 3rd in their pre-season polls. When looking into their evaluations and reasoning behind them not putting the Cards in that top spot it’s usually the same thing. They think without Dieng’s shot-blocking or rebounding chops, the Cardinals might be a bit vulnerable defending the interior. Most of the talking heads seem to think Louisville could benefit from another player whose sole job is to hit the glass with abandon; as they struggled throughout the 2012-13 season keeping teams off the offensive glass.
One guy in particular that seems to think the Cardinals don’t have much of a shot at winning the title in 2013-14 is Michael DeCourcy of The Sporting News. He has the Cards ranked 3rd in his pre-season outlook and had Zach Price as a guy who would be a major role player for the Cards next season. Now that Price is gone DeCourcy doesn’t think they should even be ranked that high. In a recent online conversation with DeCourcy he states “If you’re playing 6-5/6-8 at center, you will not do better than No. 3. I’m sure of that.” and points out to me in the conversation that “there are certain realities about what wins at the Final Four level. And there hasn’t been a champ without at least a 6-9 starter in decades.” In closing the conversation with Mike I sent a shot his way telling him good job predicting Price to be a role player. He replied “so much for your prediction about them finishing higher than 3 with current roster.”
I personally don’t think that we will have any issues with the guys we have holding down the paint area. In my defense of that I pointed out how Montrezl Harrell took over against Syracuse in the Big East Title game and how Chane Behanan took over the paint area during the Championship game. Both of these instances came against big, athletic and tall front-courts.
Coach Pitino did hint last week that the coaching staff might be out beating the bush in an attempt to sign a late add for the 2013-14 season. So if they do add a player will it be a front-court player to replace Zach Price? And is there a player still out there that could be a potential target?
One player that Cardinal fans should keep an eye on this summer and a guy I think would be a great addition to the team is Nkosi Ali. Ali is the best remaining junior college front-court player in the country. Nkosi Ali, is a 6-11 forward out of NE Oklahoma A & M. Richard Pitino has been courting the big man in recent weeks and Ali was supposed to take a visit to Minnesota on Memorial Day weekend but didn’t make it. Per JucoRecruiting.com Ali is an agile forward who can run the floor and finish in transition. He is a good shot blocker when rotating from the weak side and rebounds the ball well. He averaged 10.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and nearly 2 blocks per game this season while shooting 55% from the field. Ali, who is originally from Atlanta, spent his freshman year of college at Highline CC in Washington. At Highline he averaged 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 55% from the field.
Here’s some early tape on Nkosi: