BOZICH | Three things to like from Louisville's 99-54 exhibition win over Spalding | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Let’s begin with a disclaimer:

Spalding University has a well-run, ambitious basketball program that brought an enthusiastic group of students who stood and cheered every time the Golden Eagles did something special in their 99-54 exhibition game defeat to the University of Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center Monday night.

But Spalding is a Division III program. Division III programs do not award athletic scholarships. The Golden Eagles lost to Mississippi University for Women last season. Hanover College scored 94 on Spalding last season.

The two tallest players that coach Kevin Gray started against UofL were 6 feet, 6 inches and 6 feet, 5 inches tall.

Any full-season projections about either team should be made with extreme care.

After watching Pat Kelsey’s first Louisville team win its two exhibitions, here are three things I like about this group:

1. They share the ball and prefer the pass over the dribble.

Kelsey’s team had 27 assists on 40 made field goals in its exhibition opener over Young Harris Oct. 21. Hunting shots was not an option.

That vibe continued against Spalding. Louisville finished with 24 assists on 35 field goals. All nine guys who played at least 10 minutes had at least one assist and four Cardinals had three or more.

"They're an unselfish team that moves the ball," said Spalding forward Xavier Burton. "They always make the extra pass."

The frontcourt players look comfortable handling the ball and leading the break.

With its substantial height advantage, Louisville worked on attacking the rim more than spraying three-point shots.

After making 24 of 56 threes against Young Harris, Louisville made 8 of 23 shots from distance against Spalding. Louisville scored 50 points in the paint with nine dunks and 15 layups.

"We're going to do what the defense tells us to do," Kelsey said. "I think we exploited them in other areas."

2. Their depth looks legitimate.

"It's not like you can look at our roster and circle two guys," Kelsey said. "One of the great strengths of our team is our depth. We can go deep into our roster and get major contributions from everybody."

Kasean Pryor, currently the first player off the bench, led Louisville in scoring with 26 points, making 9 of 12 shots, including all three from distance. Credit him with 7 rebounds and three steals.

Pryor dedicated his performance to Amir Abdur-Rahim, his coach last season at South Florida. Abdur-Rahim, only 43, died last week during a medical procedure. Pryor flew to Atlanta Sunday for a memorial service to honor his coach.

Koren Johnson, the second-team point guard, ran the team with poise, showing an ability to attack the rim or share the ball with teammates in better position to score. He had three assists in 23 minutes as well as four steals while scoring 20.

Noah Waterman, who is 6-11, is comfortable and confident from the three-point line. He made a pair from distance while scoring a dozen points. So is Reyne Smith.

Final count: The bench scored 70 of Louisville's 99 points on a night when no U of L starters finished in double figures.

"I really like Louisville's team," Gray said. "They're quick, they're fast, they play hard."

3. They pressure the basketball.

For the entire first half, the Cards’ defense churned out this impressive statistic: Spalding averaged one turnover for every field goal attempt. Not per basket. Per field goal attempt.

Eight turnovers with their first seven shots and 10 with their first 10 shots. And 19 turnovers and only 20 shots over the entire 20 minutes of the first half. Spalding averaged 0.525 points per possession in that stretch.

The final count: Spalding made 16 of 44 field goal attempts with 28 turnovers. Credit the Cards with 21 steals by eight players.

Kelsey’s guys pressured ball-handlers. They were in the passing lanes. They deflected passes. They stole dribbles. They made cutting difficult. And they contested shots.

It’s what should happen when one team is clearly bigger, stronger and quicker than its opponent. But it doesn’t always happen. It happened against Spalding.

"We have to come out of this game and have gotten better," Kelsey said. "We have to grow from this game."

The Cards will return to Second and Main streets next Monday at 7 p.m. to open the regular season against Morehead State and then welcome No. 12 Tennessee Nov. 9.

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