Coaching the Louisville Cardinals' Men's Basketball Team Case Study

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Team/Individual Case Study: Select a team individual -Season track progress issues encounter. You choose a team -season makes gather information recent season.

Journal entry 1: The question remains -- will the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team become a victim of its previous success? It is very difficult to have an equally strong performance for two consecutive years in the NCAA tournament, particularly given the 'one and done' rule which results in such high levels of team turnover.

Journal entry 2: Louisville has had some impressive victories thus far this year but against comparatively weak teams. This may hurt them in the tournament and lead to overconfidence.

Journal entry 3: Everyone celebrated Kevin Ware's fortitude in coming back from the broken leg that he sustained during the Duke semifinal last year. Now it seems he will have to redshirt the season after being re-injured in the leg. Sobering to reflect that sometimes being a great player isn't just about skill but the ability to come back from an injury.

Journal entry 4: Russ Smith has really grown as a player this year, compared to his performance in the previous year's tournament. He has always been one of Louisville's best players but now he is much less selfish about sharing the ball. Not only does he make great shots, now he also assists in making great shots.

Journal entry 5: The Kentucky-Louisville rivalry is one of the most historic ones in college basketball. Also, Coach Calipari and Coach Pitino famously hate each other on a personal level. This will be interesting to watch 'play out' this year, given that Kentucky is much more competitive this year than it was during its 'rebuilding' last year.

Journal entry 6: Louisville was victorious over the Temple Owls but should have had an easier time of it. Their next game against the Memphis Tigers will be a true proving ground to demonstrate what seed they are worthy of in the NCAA tournament.

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Team case study: The Louisville Cardinals

Sometimes success can be as difficult to deal with as failure. Such is the situation for the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team. The Cardinals' first challenge was living up to their past success as champions in the 2013 NCAA tournament. This point touches upon the common sports psychology issue of motivation: sometimes, the pressure of high expectations can be more difficult to overcome than low expectations. The second was to ensure that the team's playing roster remained intact and injury-free, after the horrific injury of Kevin Ware during the 2013 semifinal last year. Not only this is a challenging physical issue but the psychological threat of injury can be a profound de-motivator for a team. The third was to maintain a positive coaching relationship between famed Coach Rick Pitino and the members of the team. The team is coming into its conference series on a high note, even though sustaining the excitement created by its NCAA win has inevitably been challenging. This touches upon the sports psychology of leadership and what type of leadership is useful for the team. Pitino is famous for a 'tough love' style as a coach.

At present, the Cardinals are ranked 7th in the ACC conference. They have been improving as the season has worn on, indicating heading in the 'right direction' in terms of success. "U of L. completed a perfect season against the five worst teams in the AAC, winning those 10 games by an average of 25.6 points. The Cards also went 7-0 in February, winning six of them by double figures" (Greer 2014). Yet concerns still remain given that in contrast to the thorough drubbing Louisville inflicted upon Temple earlier in the season, their most recent victory was far more hard-won. At present, the team is optimistic: after a weak start to the game, they finished 88-66 rout against Temple (Greer 2014). The team.....

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