CARDINALS

Rozier: Look in the mirror and get better

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj

Rick Pitino pointed to several factors Wednesday night when conducting his review of the University of Louisville basketball team's 71-59 defeat at the hands of Notre Dame.

The Cardinals didn't stop penetration, a defensive problem that's existed all season. They took early, oftentimes bad shots. They had miscommunications on defense that led to easy Notre Dame baskets.

But back in the locker room, standout U of L guard Terry Rozier pointed the finger at himself. He was deadpan in his delivery, each sentence drenched in disappointment.

He had just finished with a solid stat line -- 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals -- but a shooting slump that has lasted since the beginning of February continued in his first game in March. The sophomore made just 4 of 15 from the field on Wednesday, and he is shooting 31 percent since Louisville's 63-55 win at Miami back on Feb. 3.

"I just take full blame for this game," Rozier said. "I didn't step up and do the things I needed to do to help my team get the win. Bad shots come with it."

Pitino said Rozier took five challenged shots against Notre Dame and missed all of them. He was asked if his team's top scorer was pressing too much, feeling a sense of scoring responsibility for a Louisville squad adjusting to life without dismissed guard Chris Jones, who was the Cards' third-leading scorer and Rozier's primary backcourt mate.

"I think Terry is taking bad shots," Pitino said. "I don't know why he's pressing because, if he thinks scoring 20 points is going to impress the pros, he's wrong. So, I don't know the motive behind pressing."

Senior captain Wayne Blackshear empathized with his teammate.

No one had blamed Rozier for the loss, and it would be unfair to do so. The Youngstown, Ohio, native wasn't the only player on the floor. He wasn't guarding Notre Dame's sixth man Bonzie Colson, a 6-foot-5 tank who had 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench. And he certainly wasn't entirely to blame for Louisville's seven missed free throws.

What's more, Blackshear explained, Rozier is juggling a lot right now.

"Other coaches on other teams are going to try different ways and different defenses to try to stop him from scoring," Blackshear said. "I think he's also getting into the role of playing point guard, trying to get us involved, and also trying to score. It's a little tricky for him right now but he's going to be fine."

U of L (23-7, 11-6 in the ACC) needs Rozier to be fine -- well, it needs Rozier to be better than just fine. With challenging games looming, beginning with Saturday's regular-season finale against Virginia, Louisville has to have its best perimeter player play like it in all facets of the game.

The Cardinals are in the hunt for a lot of things -- a double bye in the ACC tournament, a favorable seed in the NCAA tournament, a more fluid offense and a perimeter scoring threat to match the output of Montrezl Harrell.

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For huge chunks of this season, Rozier has been that guy, which is why it's so hard to pin entire losses on him. He has built up considerable cachet thanks to 17 consecutive games with 15 or more points, plus a long list of smaller attributes that add up to big help.

At 6-foot-1, he is Louisville's second-leading rebounder, averaging 5.5 boards a game. And without Jones, Rozier is now the team leader in assists and steals.

But shooting is the one area, even with his late-game heroics at Georgia Tech last week, that has nagged Rozier the past month.

He is as competitive and as resolute as any college player, and he admitted Wednesday night that the struggles have been frustrating. Finding a way out of the slump has now become an issue of paramount importance for Rozier -- and for Louisville.

"All I can do is look at myself in the mirror," Rozier said, "and get better the next day."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).