Louisville-Simmons College basketball game: Recap from KFC Yum … – Courier Journal

Kenny Payne said he didn’t care about the final score.
These were the things he wanted to see from his Louisville men’s basketball team when the new-look Cardinals opened exhibition play against Simmons College of the Division II ranks on Wednesday night: 
“I want the guys to play with a confidence, a fire,” the second-year head coach told reporters Tuesday. “I want them to show that, (with) all the conditioning that we’re doing, we can play fast. I want us to be physical; I want us to be connected. I want there to be chemistry on the floor, chemistry on the bench from the players cheering for those who are in the game. I want us to look like a unit that cares about each other.
“Those things are important; because, if we’re going to be a really good team, it’s not going to be one guy (or) two guys. It’s going to be a group of guys who have all bought into each other.”
U of L beat Simmons 91-50 — a far cry from the 57-47 loss to Lenoir-Rhyne to begin the 2022-23 season.
But it did not match Payne’s aspirations when the ball was tipped at the KFC Yum! Center.
Instead, many issues that plagued last year’s 4-28 campaign resurfaced. 
A slow start. Turnovers by the dozen. A lack of continuity in the post. Getting beat in transition. And, with 9:49 to play in the first half, the Cards were clinging to a 13-10 lead against a team that allowed Indiana University Southeast to score 101 points in a game last season.
The good news is: Louisville overcame it.
A 24-1 run over the final 5:39 of the first half, with Mike James and Curtis Williams combining for 16 points, put this one out of reach. U of L took a 44-16 lead into the locker room and outscored Simmons 47-34 when play resumed.  
But, again, the score was the last thing on Payne’s mind. And he knows the Cards’ performance in the opening 10 minutes and change won’t fly against a better opponent.
“I knew they were nervous going into the game,” Payne said afterward. “No disrespect to Simmons, but (it had) more to do with playing in front of people for the first time, playing an opponent for the first time. I wanted them to embrace being anxious about that. I thought it would fuel them to play with a sense of urgency, (which) I thought we didn’t have.”
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After walking away from last week’s Red and White intrasquad scrimmage saying his team was “way further along than we were a year ago at this time,” Payne wanted to use Wednesday’s exhibition to answer a few questions:
Who can he count on to fight? Who can he count on to be disciplined? Who can he count on to know the plays and execute?
So he trotted out a starting lineup of Skyy Clark, Williams, James, JJ Traynor and Dennis Evans and took a platoon approach to substituting throughout the evening — to mixed results.
Williams shined brightest, posting a game-high 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting (3 for 4 from 3-point range) to go along with five rebounds and three assists. The 6-foot-5 freshman from Detroit finished +33 in 23:44 after going -14 in 28:37 during last week’s scrimmage.
“I feel like I got all my nerves out last week,” Williams said. “(Payne) giving me the start today boosted my confidence; and it helped me a lot. Going hard in practice, it paid off.”
Added Payne: “It looked like he was playing in rhythm. He didn’t force shots. I need him to understand that is how college basketball is. Now, there is another piece of his offensive game that he needs to get better at; and that is passing the ball.”
The same could be said up and down the lineup after Louisville committed 22 turnovers against Simmons, 13 of which came during the first half. The Falcons converted those miscues into 20 points.
Payne said they were not a byproduct of nerves or platooning. Rather, they were “careless” — something the Cards cannot afford after they ranked 331st among 352 Division I teams and dead last among Power Five programs with 14.9 turnovers per game last season.
“You cannot create an offense within your own mind that’s not what the other four guys are doing,” he said. “That creates a bad situation. We had a lot of that tonight.”
Another red flag the coach raised was a lack of post “presence” from Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Emmanuel Okorafor. The former, a junior, totaled only four points and six rebounds in 17:21; while the latter, a sophomore, had just two and four, respectively, in 9:39.
Simmons scored more than half of its points (30) in the paint.
Evans, meanwhile, nearly tallied a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds to go along with two blocks while playing 17:06 of his first collegiate game.
Afterward, the 7-1 freshman said he’s still “adjusting to the pace” but that he’s “starting to get the hang of it.”
Payne on Tuesday said he’s trying to develop Evans into “a force,” adding: “I hope and pray by the end of the year he is one of the best big men in the country.”
The Riverside, California, native still has a long way to go before making that case. But, in two very early trial runs, he has been U of L’s most impactful big man, leaving Payne to want more from Huntley-Hatfield and Okorafor.
“Until Dennis is able to figure out the pace of college basketball, they should be dominating that spot,” the coach said. “They didn’t. They looked tentative; they looked apprehensive and unsure at times, and that bothers me.”
U of L’s final exhibition is a 7 p.m. tipoff Oct. 30 against Kentucky Wesleyan at the Yum! Center. The Cards’ regular season begins at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 with a home game against UMBC.
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Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

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