Harrell's smarts pay off for U of L in IU win

NEW YORK, N.Y. – At some point in the first half of Tuesday night's 94-74 University of Louisville win over Indiana, Montrezl Harrell approached Rick Pitino with an idea.

The 6-foot-8 All-American thought he'd better help his team in a different way than Pitino was using him.

"I didn't want to keep coming to the high post and setting pick and rolls," Harrell said. "I wanted to get on the baseline and roam."

Pitino obliged – later calling Harrell the "smartest guy on the team" – and the big man's hunch paid off to the tune of 21 points and 11 rebounds, Harrell's fourth double-double of this young season. The performance even felt more dominant than his 30-point, seven-rebound effort in the season opener against Minnesota.

In 34 minutes of playing time Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, Harrell collected six offensive rebounds. All 10 of his field goals were layups or dunks. It was a classic Harrell showing.

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He was seemingly everywhere around the basket, so much so that, at one point in the game, ESPN's Dick Vitale said on the broadcast that U of L's offense seemed to be built around missing jump shots and letting Harrell grab the rebound.

Whatever it was, it worked. Louisville (8-0) scored 25 second-chance points and grabbed 26 offensive rebounds from 44 missed shots, with Harrell leading the charge.

He has now made 13 baskets this season off put-backs, which account for 28 percent of his field goals through eight games. Harrell's shooting 73 percent on 2-pointers.

"(Pitino) always teaches us to start on the baseline (and work) from down low out," Harrell said, "so when the shot was taken, I was always in position to get myself outwards and get the rebound."

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Pitino was effusive in his post-game praise of Harrell, saying his prized power forward "is the best player in the nation."

He pointed to the impact of Harrell's foul trouble on U of L in the waning moments of the first half. Indiana clawed back into the game with a 14-2 run, much of which came when Harrell went to the bench with two fouls and 3:27 to play in the first half.

"You're not only losing your best player, you're losing your most intelligent player," Pitino said. "Montrezl is the heart of our team emotionally, but he's also the smartest guy on the team. He gets our guys into their defense, and if they don't get in it, he's going to be upset.

"They don't like to upset him."

After the game, in the Madison Square Garden's lavish locker rooms, Louisville point guard Chris Jones had freshman center Chinanu Onuaku in stitches.

Harrell, Jones said, wasn't exactly thrilled with his performance for one particular reason.

"He got dunked on," Jones said as Onuaku giggled in the next-door locker. "Everything else (Harrell did) you see every day."

It didn't seem far-fetched at all. Louisville's smartest, most intense player doesn't like losing, or in this case, getting beaten on a hustle-and-muscle play.

So much of Harrell's game is predicated on physicality, passion and power. It made sense that he'd be upset that someone had matched his energy, even just for one play.

And it also illustrates Pitino's point about Harrell.

"Very few players play with that type of motor," Pitino said.

"(There are) a lot of great players in this country, but he has a skill like Kenneth Faried and Dennis Rodman in his prime: Just playing every possession like he hasn't eaten in a week. It's quite special."

Follow U of L beat writer Jeff Greer on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).