Louisville season preview: Behanan a rising start for injury-plagued Cards

Scouting Report

Coach: Rick Pitino (245-96 entering 11th year at Louisville, 597-220 in 25 years overall)

Last season: 25-10 overall, 12-6 Big East; lost opening game of NCAA Tournament

What to watch: U of L is No. 9 in The Associated Press pre-season poll, No. 8 with ESPN/USA Today, and picked third in the Big East. Early on in pre-season, Pitino said, "It is feast or famine in terms of first unit and second unit." The feast is a starting five of forwards Kyle Kuric and Chane Behanan, guards Peyton Siva and Chris Smith, and center Gorgui Dieng. Highly touted freshman Wayne Blackshear was being counted on to get in that mix, but suffered a shoulder injury and will miss at least the early part of the season. Elisha Justice, a sophomore guard out of Shelby Valley, is healthy and should be able to spell Siva. Forwards Stephan Van Treese and Rakeem Buckles, both coming off injuries, will eventually help. Freshmen Angel Nunez, Zach Price and Mark Jackson Jr., are not ready to play, according to Pitino. Nunez, at 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, will have to add 15 pounds within a month if he's going to play, Pitino said. The 6-10 Price is giving great effort and has an attitude to match, but isn't yet in condition to help, Pitino said. Jackson, a 6-3 redshirt, has taken two years to get his body fat under control. "Still not there, but looking better and playing better," said Pitino, who won't use a player until his body fat is less than 10 percent. And Jared Swopshire, who missed all of last season due to injury, is "nowhere near what he was a year-and-a-half ago," Pitino said. "He's playing. He's very cautious about moving and jumping and hitting, so he's not nearly the player he was." So Pitino thinks he'll need Dieng, a 6-11 sophomore from Senegal, to play 30 minutes a game. As for style, "same as last year," Pitino said. "Some of the statistical data that we tried to reach, we reached it. The only area where we were really way below our goals was rebounding, and I hope with the addition of Chane, the strength of Gorgui, the return of Kyle, Chris Smith is a good rebounding guard, we expect Peyton to be a decent rebounder at his position — I hope we're one of the leaders in rebounding. If we are one of the leaders in rebounding, we will be a very good basketball team. Because we're always very high in assists, always very high in steals, always very high in three-point shooting. And our field-goal defense last year was exceptional."

Mark Maloney

LOUISVILLE — Thank goodness for Chane Behanan.

With a bench already shortened by injuries, Behanan is being counted on to immediately step into the Louisville Cardinals' starting lineup.

Coach Rick Pitino thinks the 6-foot-6, 250-pound freshman is ready to rock.

"Chane Behanan (pronounced Shane buh-HAN-en) is everything I wanted in a power forward," Pitino said. "He's a quick learner, so he's able to play right away because of it. All freshmen have to get better defensively, and he certainly has to get better defensively."

Offense shouldn't be a problem.

In U of L's exhibition opener, a 74-55 win over Pikeville, Behanan totaled 16 points and seven rebounds.

"It's a big challenge," Behanan said of his adjustment from high school to Pitino-ball. "For real, I'm real surprised that I've made it this far, and to become a potential starter. It's really a big honor for me. It's different. You go hard the whole three hours (of practice). ... I'm just glad I'm in shape for it."

After all, summer workouts were the culmination of a years-long process of getting ready to play for the Cardinals.

Behanan transferred from Aiken High School in his hometown of Cincinnati to Bowling Green High for his last two seasons.

"It's just something I wanted to try out," he said. "Just get out of the city, get used to Kentucky. Because I knew I was going to be here all along."

He averaged 23.3 points, 14.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 blocks for the Purples last season, earning McDonald's All-American honors.

Peyton Siva, U of L's junior point guard, is impressed with his new teammate.

"He's a great guy. Very skilled. Big body," Siva said. "Once he gets the fundamentals down, I think he'll be a great player."

Pitino agrees.

"He needs to learn," the coach said. "He's 'the fundamentals away' from being a great basketball player, and he picks up something new every day."

To illustrate, Pitino told of going over film of the Red-White game, in which Behanan notched 32 points. He also grabbed six rebounds. But he had no offensive rebounds and no assists, and that's what caught Pitino's eye.

The coach let his freshman know that his stats were not up to snuff.

"Well, next day in practice, he just tore into that position in the way he played," Pitino said. "So he's a very quick learner, a very quick study."

Aptitude, attitude and ability to focus. Focus on things such as defense.

"Just going to the right spots on defense. ... If (we) score a three-pointer, we're in a certain defense. If we score a two-pointer, we're in a certain (other) defense," he said. "So, just understanding the little things."

He says another "little thing" that he has come to understand in the pre-season is to "not take plays off."

"Because if you take a play off, you're basically letting your family down in reality. Your real family, if you take a day of work off, that's a couple dollars off your paycheck. So that's how I look at it when I do play: I try not to take a play off. I don't want to let my teammates down. I want to be involved in every play."

Behanan cites his "entire family" as the greatest influence on his career. Besides his mother, Heaven Warren, and father, Vincent Behanan, he has four siblings: Cordero, Cameron, Calen and Ce'Arius.

Of the many tattoos he sports, his favorites are his mother's name on his left forearm, and his grandmother's (Maxine Warren) on his chest.

Now, his family includes Cardinals. And he's ready to do whatever he can to help his new brothers.

"I'm going to try to come in and rebound, and try to play my role. Try not to take plays off, like coach has been talking about during practice," Behanan said.

"Whatever he needs me to do — be in the paint if he wants me to be. Rebounding. Helping Gorgui (Dieng, U of L's center) rebound, that's going to be the key."