Bluegrass battle

Cards, Toppers looking for first wins

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Louisville senior center Kendall Dartez went to the wrong Pitino for sympathy after his 0-point, 0-rebound, 5-foul stat line in Saturday's loss to Iowa.

"He said to my son, Ryan, who's 13 and comes to all the practices, 'Ryan, tell your dad not to lose confidence in me,' " Louisville coach Rick Pitino said Wednesday. "So Ryan said to him, 'Try getting a rebound.' "

Coach Pitino has been more forgiving to Dartez at practice this week as the Cardinals (0-1) prepare for Thursday's game against Western Kentucky (0-3) in Nashville, Tenn.

Pitino said Louisville's tallest player at 6-foot-10 simply had a bad game and must overcome a tendency to get down on himself.

"Tuesday [at practice], you would've thought he was an All-American," Pitino said. "He blocked shots, he was all over the place, he was dunking. He's upset the way he played."

Junior forward Otis George, at 6-8, also had no points and no rebounds against Iowa. Pitino said he's shown the duo tapes of Sacramento Kings' star Vlade Divac to demonstrate what he wants from them.

"So many easy buckets are created from his passing from the low post," Pitino said of Divac. "That's who I'm trying to get these guys to study."

Unfortunately for Dartez and George, they'll have to test their new knowledge against one of the largest players in college basketball -- 6-11, 325-pound Hilltoppers' center Nigel Dixon.

"Wherever he wants to go, he's firmly planted at that spot," Pitino said of Dixon. "This young man is an immovable object."

Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn said Dixon has been an asset -- when he's been able to stay on the floor. He's averaged less than 20 minutes per game and fouled out twice.

The Florida State transfer is still Western's second-leading scorer and rebounder.

"Nigel's been good," Horn said. "He has to continue to play through fatigue and continue to be smart on the defensive end with his fouls. But his numbers are really good."

Outside of the center position, both coaches see their teams as mirror images of each other. Both have revamped lineups from last season and both rely heavily on guards and perimeter shooting.

"Pretty similar, when you break it down," Pitino said.

If one coach has an advantage, it may be Horn, who was the top assistant and lead scout for Marquette coach Tom Crean from 1999-2003. The Golden Eagles beat Pitino three times when Horn was there.

"The one major difference now is they don't have a guy like Reece Gaines, who can go and get a shot and go make things happen," Horn said. "But that said, they've added athleticism and some depth.

"They're a typical Rick Pitino-coached team," Horn said. "They play hard, they're extremely active, they throw a lot of different guys at you and they play with a great deal of intensity."

The matchup of in-state teams in the out-of-state Gaylord Entertainment Center has been two years in the making. The schools had a two-game contract that began in 2000-01, but Louisville backed out of its end of the bargain when Pitino arrived.

Western Kentucky athletics director Wood Selig wanted the Cardinals to be the opponent when the Hilltoppers christened renovated Diddle Arena. He lashed out at Pitino and Louisville AD Tom Jurich for pulling out of the deal.

The Cardinals and Hilltoppers were once traditional rivals, playing 14 times from 1974-1993.

Pitino shied away from the controversy Wednesday but said he would consider playing the Hilltoppers more regularly in the future.

"I have nothing but good feelings toward Western," he said. "I think their AD took [it] a little too personally. His remarks should've been made behind closed doors, but the worst thing I could do was react to his remarks and say what I feel or don't feel.

"I certainly have great respect for them and I hope we can play them down the road again."