CRAWFORD | The Mikel Brown era at Louisville may end not with a bang but with an email | U of L Sports
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WDRB) — I came to Buffalo to write about a new beginning for the Louisville men’s basketball team.
Instead, I’m writing my 10th — and perhaps last — column about Mikel Brown’s back.
His college career may well end not with a bang but with a press release.
In the hallway outside the Louisville locker room, just before players were set to talk, the email dinged in. Brown will not play in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Unwritten: Without Brown, there’s unlikely to be a second weekend.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Eric Crawford
What we’d all like to know is how the decision happened.
We’d like to know who made it, in the end.
But we don’t always get to know those things.
Brown has had back issues all season. He sounded like a kid who wanted to play. In fact, he told reporters that his status was day-to-day, when the program clearly said the decision was made — he’s out for the whole weekend.
“It’s difficult to sit down as a competitor and watch your teammates play in this type of environment,” Brown said. “Hard to not compete with them. Hard to not go hard for them. And like I’ve been saying, I’ve never been trained to go half-speed and half-speed is the only thing that I can do right now in my workouts and practice. But half-speed is not our standard. It’s not my standard. So, it’s best if I don’t go out there.”
I get all that.
But I also watched Brown in the subsequent shootaround and thought: the kid looks pretty good for half speed. He could do walking high leg kicks without strain. He drained a fadeaway left-handed three.
I’m not questioning the injury. I’m telling you what it looked like.
Injuries are the oldest story in sports. They do not care what a man is paid. They do not care what month it is. They arrive when they please and leave when they’re done with you, and sometimes they don’t leave at all.
Louisville coach Pat Kelsey during the Cardinals’ public shootaround before Thursday’s NCAA Tournament game against South Florida.
“Our medical people did everything in their power over the last couple weeks, and especially these last several days since the ACC Tournament, with the hope of playing this weekend, and we’re just not there,” Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said. “The health and well-being of our players is always first and foremost. During the recruiting process, this was one of the things Kel talked about all the time — the opportunity to play in March Madness under these really big lights. He wants to play really bad. He’s just not there physically right now.”
Next to the army of reporters talking to Brown, Khani Rooths sat in front of his locker.
Asked about the team’s challenge of playing without Brown, his answer was telling.
“We been playing without him for a little minute now,” he said.
Fair.
They have.
And they’ve played better the more they’ve had to adjust. Adrian Wooley is playing better at point. J’Vonne Hadley is playing the best basketball of his career. Ryan Conwell is averaging 19 points a game with Brown on the bench.
Regardless, the questions were all Brown.
And that’s a bit of a shame.
Kelsey touched on it.
“The unfortunate thing is those guys in the locker room right now are answering questions about (Brown) instead of their experience of playing in the national tournament,” Kelsey said. “Kel is a big part of our team, and he’s a beloved member of our team, and he’s a beloved teammate. He’s got very, very close friends in that locker room. It’s just unfortunate he’s not able to play. But there’s been a big chunk of the season when he wasn’t able to play, as well, and I’m really proud of our guys for adjusting and stepping up.”
Back at home, social media has already taken up the blame game.
I can’t play that game.
Blame a player for his injury? Call him out for not being tougher? I don’t know what he’s feeling. If you’re hurt, you’re hurt.
Blame Kelsey? What, for taking a lottery pick that he was able to bring in? Be serious. He’d take him again tomorrow.
Blame the system? Maybe. But this is the system now. So are injuries. Always have been.
Listen to what the Cardinals are saying about Brown.
“Mikel’s a special player,” Hadley said. “Everybody knows that in the country. He’s with us on the bench, no matter what. We’re by his side throughout the whole process. Injuries are tough. I hurt my back throughout the year, so I know that’s not an easy thing, first-hand. So, big kudos to him for pushing through.”
“Mikel’s just a great player and a better person,” Conwell said. “We all love him and we’ve got his back. If he was good, he’d be out here. But he’ll still be with us on the sideline. No matter what, we’re still a team.”
There’s a game to play. A red-hot South Florida team to contend with.
Brown is now what we call in TV a cutaway shot, the face the camera finds when the game shifts somewhere else.
Conwell and Hadley and the rest of the Cardinals are the show.
The Cards are still dancing, even without their biggest star.
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