Louisville Basketball Players Listening To Fans And Family In The Huddle?

Louisville guard Chris Smith had some interesting comments after today's upset home loss to Notre Dame in double overtime. After the Cardinals committed a number of questionable plays and made several boneheaded mistakes, some questioned the focus of the team. With a crucial charge by Peyton Siva when the team was down two, then defensive lapses that let Notre Dame continually come back from two and three point deficits.

After the game, Chris Smith said that these things were addressed by the coaches and that the team was explicitly instructed to avoid offensive fouls and to not give up a crucial three pointer late. Why didn't the team heed Pitino's warnings? According to Smith, the team wasn't focused in the huddle and some, apparently, were busy listening to folks outside of the huddle. Smith clearly did not want to get into too much detail, but did say that there were some Louisville players listening to advice or instructions from fans or family members in the crowd rather than those coming from Pitino.

If that is the case, that would certainly be a troubling development for a team already struggling to overcome injuries and a roster that lacks true scoring threats.