TFST Extra: A harsh reminder of the learning year ahead for everyone at Louisville

Inside: Coaching, decision-making and effort kill Louisville's chances at winning its first game of the season in a stunning last-second loss to Wright State.

Five weeks ago, after some thought, I wrote about the 2022-23 campaign as a “learning year” for Louisville men’s basketball, with a first-year-coach, a group of six returning players from a team that really struggled and four newcomers. There would almost certainly be bumps in the road and painful reminders of where the program is in the process of working back to powerhouse status.

Back-to-back one-point losses to (still very good) mid-majors that, on paper, should be wins for Louisville won’t make it any easier to absorb and live through the learning year status. While Wednesday’s loss to Bellarmine simply came down to two missed shots to win, Saturday’s defeat to Wright State will be a lot tougher to swallow because coaching and decision-making cost the Cards their first win under Kenny Payne. And in a season when games will be lost because of a lack of talent and/or depth, they have to be won thanks to maximum effort and game intelligence. Losing because of effort or silly mistakes is a problem.