Feb. 11, 2003

By Steve Richardson

Louisville is rolling with Division I's longest winning streak. In year No. 2 of coach Rick Pitino's rebuilding program, the Cardinals could be on the verge of something big.

Louisville closed out its first unbeaten January (8-0) in 23 years and through games Feb. 7 hadn't lost since November, playing a schedule which has included Indiana, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Ohio State and Tennessee.

The Cardinals surely will be in the 65-team NCAA Tournament in March. And their chances of making their first Final Four since winning the NCAA title in 1986 aren't bad.

The Cardinals have led Conference USA in scoring, but also in 3-point percentage defense and blocked shots. And they have sacrificed their own statistics for the good of the team.

The current Cardinals are buying into the Pitino program. Louisville's suffocating defense and uptempo offense have some similarities to the old Pitino days at Kentucky before he left for the Boston Celtics in 1997.

Pitino points out to his Louisville team that eight players on his 1996 NCAA title team at Kentucky have played in the NBA. And several of those players sacrificed scoring for winning when Pitino substituted frequently to keep fresh bodies running on the floor and pressure on the opponent. Future NBA player Derek Anderson, averaged only 9.4 points during the 1995-96 season.

This Cardinal team has two double-figure scorers. That talented Kentucky team had three.

"It's not about you scoring," Pitino told the team. "It is about winning. You get exposure and can showcase talents when you win."

Tennessee coach Buzz Peterson said his team was so worn out by Louisville's defense with 7 minutes remaining it couldn't execute a play in a 72-69 loss to the Cardinals.

"We were physically whooped at that point," Peterson said.

The Cardinals fell behind by 12 points in the first half against Tennessee then rallied for the win in the second half. Cardinals' victories over Kentucky, Ohio State, Saint Louis, Indiana and Seton Hall have followed the same script.

No lead against Louisville appears safe.

"Louisville speeds you up with full-court pressure, but their half- court defense is amazing," said TCU coach Neil Dougherty. "They can truly dictate a game defensively. And they can come at you and pressure you offensively."

Pitino's switch of 6-6 Reece Gaines to point guard from shooting guard has given Louisville a chance to win the NCAA title. Gaines' change of positions has produced magic.

"That's when we became much better basketball team and showed promise," Pitino said.

Pitino made a similar move early in the season when Kentucky won the NCAA title in 1996. He switched Anthony Epps to the point guard spot in place of Tony Delk. And away the Wildcats went.

Pitino obviously hopes history repeats and he can make a fifth trip to the Final Four. Pitino took Kentucky there in 1993, '96 and '97. He also coached Providence to the Final Four in 1987.

Center Marvin Stone, the transfer from Kentucky, has given the Cardinals some bulk inside. He wasn't playing when Louisville lost its only game of the season to a physical Purdue team in late November

"I think we are getting the most out of our abilities," Pitino said. "We still have to be a better rebounding team to be a legitimate NCAA contender."

Keady Going Strong
Purdue coach Gene Keady saw the benefits of weight training years ago. He actually had his teams pumping iron long before it became fashionable - from 1966-74 when he was basketball coach at Hutchinson (Kan.) Junior College.

"The football coach (at Hutchinson) advocated it, so we carried it over to basketball," Keady said. "Weight training wasn't as sophisticated back then. But when I went to Arkansas (as assistant coach) we kept it. We carried it to Western Kentucky and then on to Purdue."

Keady, 66, arrived at Purdue from Western Kentucky in 1980. And the Boilermaker weight program has been going ever since under the direction Greg Lehman, 45, now the school's strength and conditioning coordinator.

Purdue has developed one of the most sophisticated year-around weight programs in college basketball. It includes Olympic weight training, free weight and machine training, conditioning, flexibility and plyometrics, a method of training for power and explosiveness.

Although Purdue suffered through a rare losing season in 2001-02, the Boilermakers are now atop the Big Ten, which is noted for its physical play.

"It (weight-training program) is something Coach Keady may have initiated it in this league, but now everybody is doing it," said Lehman, a former Purdue offensive lineman. "If you have a team which is not very physical or soft, you will get beat up and will not be a contender."

The Boilermakers do a majority of their weight-lifting in the off-season and reduce sessions to twice a week during the season. The Purdue players gain 20 pounds of muscle during in the summer and fall. It's in anticipation they will lose some weight during the playing season.

Keady, a former trackman and football and baseball player at Kansas State from 1956-58, says weight training - especially for the legs - helps with rebounding and 3-point shooting. Weight training also allows players to return faster from injuries.

In the 1980s, the Boilermakers were lifting weights when some coaches feared their players would become too muscle bound to shoot. Still the Boilermakers muscled up and won or tied for three Big Ten titles and advanced to six NCAA Tournaments during that decade.

"He also wanted a lot of leg development," Lehman said. "And he wanted our post players to be tough people with good upper-body strength. He deserves credit. He would recruit intense guys and aggressive kids. And they make good weight lifters."

After Purdue lost to a quicker Rhode Island team in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament, Keady decided he wanted players "with greyhound builds, strong and wiry." "He wanted us to be more competitive with teams running up and down the floor," Lehman said.

Keady dispatched Lehman to the Chicago Bulls, the NBA's model team at the time. He found they were training their players like track athletes, for power and speed. Lehman instituted more Olympic training and plyometrics. The Boilermakers won three straight Big Ten titles from 1994-96.

And they could be in throne room at the end of this season.

Coaching Strategies
No-name Hawkeyes. Before this season coach Steve Alford took the player's names off the Iowa jerseys and created a team-first, me-second atmosphere. "We have to understand who we were representing," Alford said. "...if we are going to have any success, we have to play unselfish."

Kentucky has turned up the defensive pressure since Christmas and is now the team to beat in the Southeastern Conference.

"We went back to basic fundamentals over the Holidays," Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. "We did a lot of film work and...improved some footwork. There has been renewed energy playing better defensively."

Short Shots
Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton coached in his 1,000th game on Feb. 5 when the Cowboys defeated Kansas State 63-55. And he also surpassed former Texas-El Paso coach Don Haskins as the 13th winningest coach in Division history (720)...On March 1, numerous college coaches will wear bow ties in tribute to Mount St. Mary's coach Jim Phelan who will retire at the conclusion of the season after 49 years at his school. The bow-tie is the signature attire for Phelan, who has coached more games than any coach in Division I history.