A couple of key players had been dismissed from the MASH unit. Ryan Conwell was there despite have missed the last game with banged up knees. Sanada Fru was there, apparently overcoming flu symptoms the day before the game.
But there was no change in the status of Mikel Brown, who continues to recover or wither on the bench, unavailable for duty. Missing in action again.
Brown’s continuing absence, because of lingering back pain, does not portend well for the University of Louisville basketball program. The Cardinals have lost three of the last four games and there’s no indication of long he will be out. The uncertainly almost certainly played into Coach Pat Kelsey’s decision to end the red shirt status of London Johnson, a former NBA G-League guard. He has yet to insert Johnson into the lineup, however.
Louisville managed to hang around most of the game, cutting the deficit to five late in the second half. The outcome was all too predictable, never in doubt, in a 79-70 loss to Virginia in front of 14,697 at the KFC Yum! Center.
This is not the same team without Mikel Brown. A team that was once 12-2 and getting better is now headed south with a 14-5 won-lost record.
Too bad for a team that plays as hard as this current edition does. They play as a team, very unselfish, looking for open teammates, sharing the ball. They are tenacious on defense, physical, making it difficult for opposing teams.
They obviously depend too much on three-point shots. If the first two or three long range shots don’t go in, it’s going to a long night. Against good teams, they struggle around the basket.
That was not the case when Brown was healthy. Averaging 16.6 points per game, he made it easy for other players to get open. He is a big chunk of the UofL offense, and replacing him is a major challenge, regardless of whether he is playing up to his potential.
Regardless of his his issues, Brown is still consider a lottery draft by many NBA analysts. Missing a large part of his freshman year, however, is not conducive to guaranteeing a successful professional career. Louisville needs him back in the lineup.
