Quick takeaways from Pitino's Clemson Q&A

Finding Blackshear's consistency. Rick Pitino spent quite a bit of time talking about Wayne Blackshear on Tuesday, saying the 6-foot-5 wing is "having a good year" but still hunting consistency. He hasn't quite tapped into that every-game aggression that Louisville needs and wants from him. Judging by his offensive ratings over U of L's 14 games, Blackshear's had two solid "big" games and two duds. He had 22 and six vs. Ohio State and 14 and seven vs. Indiana. Foul trouble limited his season opener vs. Minnesota and he was just 2 of 9 vs. UK.

Pitino compared his captain to former Louisville player Larry O'Bannon, who was, by Pitino's measure, one of the nicest players he's ever coached. "When you step on the basketball court, your attitude has to change ... He has to be a killer." Pitino thinks there are two ways to motivate Blackshear in games: (1) Shaqquan Aaron will push him for minutes going forward and (2) an early dunk or big play can get his juices going. So, Pitino said, "You just have to stay on him."

Related:What we learned from Louisville's Wake win

Chris Jones and lessons learned. The Cards' 5-foot-10 point guard has had quite a season. No other player on the roster has faced the scrutiny that Jones has, which is how his worst games (UK, Ohio State) and his best games (Indiana, Wake Forest) have gotten so much attention. The lesson here is simple, at least to Pitino. Jones has learned that he either can listen to his coach, "or he'll sit."

On Sunday, Jones followed Pitino's advice and played well, putting together 22 points and 10 assists for his first career double-double. The pregame strategy was simple: Jones was to throw only bounce passes and lobs in traffic. He executed that plan well, with the exception of one play. After completing a successful chest pass out of trouble earlier in the game, Jones -- at least according to Pitino -- thought he could try another chest pass to Montrezl Harrell along the baseline. The pass whistled through Harrell's hands. Pitino was livid. Jones thought Harrell should've caught it. "He wants to be right all the time ... My eyes are still very good at 62. I know when a mistake's being made," Pitino said, laughing. Another lesson learned.

On Shaqquan Aaron's role. Speaking of Blackshear and Aaron, the 6-foot-7 freshman had a solid game on Sunday, scoring 11 points and looking very much like the most confident new player on the team. Not only will that push Blackshear to play harder or lose minutes, Pitino said, it'll also give the Cards a little boost on offense. Aaron can be the streaky outside shooter that Louisville missed, and he's certainly not afraid of looking for his shot. "His role is what you saw" at Wake Forest -- a sixth man with some spark.