LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville’s men’s basketball program may not have had the greatest outing against Florida A&M last Saturday, but it was still the one that ended in victory.
Despite shooting 34.4% from the field and 22 turnovers, the Cardinals were able to hold off the Rattlers long enough to secure a 61-55 win at KFC Yum! Center. With that game following a 94-83 victory over Western Kentucky, he established his first winning streak of the Kenny Payne era.
That’s a far cry from how the Cardinals have looked in their first nine games of the season. Not only did they lose all nine, but they entered their clash with the Hilltoppers having lost their last six by an average of 25.2.
One of the factors that fueled Louisville’s winning streak was the re-emergence of Sydney Curry.
“I see a little difference in his energy, I see a little difference in his desperation to bounce back and fight back and even chase that blocked shot that they called a foul,” Payne said. “That says a lot that he was somewhere above the edge.”
The 6-foot-8, 270-pound forward was the force of nature for Louisville last year. In the Cardinals’ final five games of the 2021-22 season, he averaged 17.6 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 64.4 from the field.
He was expected to continue at this pace to start this season, but he might as well have been on the side of a milk carton. During Louisville’s nine-game losing streak to start the 2022-23 season, not only did he average just 1.7 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and shoot 40.0 percent, but he had the looking lethargic and much less energetic than last season.
So what has changed? The answer is quite simple: diet and strict discipline.
Payne didn’t go into detail about his exact diet, but was sure to add that he called Curry every morning at 1:30 a.m. to make sure he was staying strict. Either way, it’s already starting to pay early dividends, as Payne says Curry has lost “about nine or ten pounds” in the last week and a half.
“I just think he gets it, his energy is up and you can see it coming,” Payne said. “The way he bounced the ball even before this game: he goes after the balls with both hands, catches them and catches them and is strong with that once he touches his hands. It’s important for us .”
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Not only does that show in training, it shows on the pitch. He had 10 points and six rebounds in Louisville’s win over the Rattlers, then followed that up with 13 points and a career-high 19 rebounds against Florida A&M. In those two games, he averaged 11.5 points and 12.5 rebounds while shooting 8 of 12 from the field and 7 of 10 from the free throw line.
“It was good to come in with the right mindset to play hard,” he said after the Florida A&M game. “When you play hard, everything else takes care of itself. It was good to come in, get a good game and get a good win.
Of course, there is still work to be done. Curry needs to continue to stick to his diet so he can stay in his current offensive form, if not improve, and continue to work on his Achilles heel pick and roll defense.
“If we’re going to be a good defensive team, I need Syd Curry to be on ball screens and moving his feet,” Payne said. “I’m not going to cheat on him. It’s one of those things we can do in a pinch, but overall I want Syd Curry to feel confident that he can be on a ball screen, which is what I know he can since he does it in practice and has confidence.
That being said, progress is better than no progress. Whether Louisville continues to rise from its current 2-9 record will largely depend on Louisville’s efforts to get Curry what it needs and Curry’s willingness to stay disciplined.
It just goes to show that we need to do whatever we need to do, whether it’s dieting, stretching, more conditioning, or more massage,” Payne said. with energy, we must do.
Louisville will be back in action on Tuesday, December 20 when they Lipscomb at KFC Yum! Center. Tipping is scheduled for 6:00 PM EST.
(Photo by Sydney Curry: Jamie Rhodes – USA TODAY Sports)
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