Watch: Kenny Payne, Louisville Players Recap Syracuse, Preview Wake Forest
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program might be 2-13 at the midway point of their 2022-23 season, but there is a sliver of hope that wins are on the horizon.
While the Cardinals were handed a loss by Syracuse in their first game of the new year, it was a game where they looked markedly better in the energy and effort department. Mistakes such as unforced turnovers were still present, and inevitably resulted in a 70-69 loss, but the players believe they are close to turning a corner.
"I feel like we've gotten better on the defensive end," forward Kamari Lands said, "We're giving better effort, and being in the right place at the right time. I feel like we play more confident, not just individually but as a team, like finding each other and knowing where each other are, making the right plays for each other on both ends."
Of course, with life in the ACC, you rarely have an off night, as evidenced by Louisville's next opponent in Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons might have lost four of their last seven after starting the season at 7-1, but their overall resume is fairly impressive at this point, with wins over then-No. 14 Duke and KenPom Top-50 teams in Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
"(They're) a very good shooting team, a team that shoots the ball instinctively, so they're not scared of anybody," head coach Kenny Payne said of Wake Forest. "They're not tentative when they're shooting. Offensively, they're very good, they're very big. They have a dynamic point guard (Tyree Appleby), and they got shooters all around. They got a really good shooter out at the four spot, the two and the three can shoot the ball, and they got two seven footers - one's coming off the bench and is shooting 80 percent from the field. This is a legitimate team."
Prior to their matchup with the Demon Deacons, Payne, Lands and forward Sydney Curry took time to meet with the media. They discussed the previous game vs. Syracuse, previewed the upcoming showdown vs. Wake Forest, and more.
Below are the videos from their press conference:
Head Coach Kenny Payne
Forward Sydney Curry and forward Kamari Lands
(Photo of El Ellis, Kenny Payne: Matt Stone - The Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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