NEU » taking it seriously and hes learned from his mistake

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Rick Pitino graciously acknowledged the latest milestone in his Hall of Fame career with the hope his Louisville Cardinals grow from the tougher-than-expected win that required overcoming some deficiencies.Quentin Snider scored 15 points, V.J. King added 13 and No. 11 Louisville overcame a cold shooting start to beat Texas Southern 102-71 on Saturday and give Pitino his 400th victory as the Cardinals coach.Pitino, who last month earned his 750th career college victory, improved to 400-163 in his 16th season with Louisville. His Cardinals (9-1) first had to shake off early sluggishness and a 4-for-21 start from the field to pull away from the scrappy, athletic Tigers and win their fourth in a row.They also had to overcome a rebounding clinic conducted by Texas Southerns Derrick Griffin, who grabbed 26 of his teams 49 boards to establish as NCAA Division I high for this season. His performance included 15 offensive rebounds that helped the Tigers make things tense for 25 minutes before Louisville slowly pulled away.Well, congratulations to Derrick Griffin because that was an amazing rebounding performance, said Pitino, whose team edged the Tigers by two rebounds overall. Happy with the victory, but when you can learn lessons in victory rather than defeat, like the Baylor game, it helps you a lot. ... It was good tonight because those guys got taken to the woodshed on the glass, and theyll learn a valuable lesson.Louisville made 30 of its final 57 shots (53 percent) to finish at 44 percent from the field overall while holding TSU (4-5) to 35 percent. Sniders first double-figure game scoring in four contests set the tone followed by five teammates.Donovan Mitchell had 12 points, Jaylen Johnson and Deng Adel 11 each and Mangok Mathiang 10 for Louisville.Freshman point guard Demontrae Jefferson debuted with 27 points for Texas Southern, which lost its fourth straight. Dulani Robinson added 16 points and Griffin had 15 for the Tigers.Griffin didnt seem fazed by his rebounding performance.Playing defense was key, said the 6-foot-7 sophomore, last seasons Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year and this years preseason choice. Thats what we focus on, and our offense comes from our defense.THE BIG PICTURETexas Southern: The 5-7 Jefferson entered as a four-star prospect and with just one practice but delivered on high expectations with strong court leadership and 10 first-half points. Griffin helped the Tigers stay close on the boards with Louisville but had no bench to keep up with the Cardinals, being shut out 21-0 in the first half and outscored 43-8 overall.Theyre just so physical, coach Mike Davis said of Louisville. Because of that, a turnover here, a missed shot there wouldve been different but it wouldve been hard for us to sustain our play for 40 minutes.Louisville: Three days after thriving against Southern Illinois, the Cardinals frontcourt struggled early against TSU as Mathiang and Ray Spalding each picked up two fouls. Fortunately for Louisville, Snider picked things up while Adel and King added timely baskets.POLL IMPLICATIONSLouisville: The Cardinals have had a good week with lopsided wins that should keep them near the top 10.ROAD TESTEDTexas Southern wont debut at home until Jan. 14 against Grambling and their next four games are at No. 22 Cincinnati, LSU, TCU and No. 4 Baylor, which handed Louisville its first loss last month. Davis said he created the challenging road docket to prepare his team for league play and hopefully win a third straight SWAC regular season title.Were not focused on the outcome right now. were focused on the outcome in March, he said. Id rather show them a great hotel, eat really well, play in a game theyll be able to see on TV one day with the family than to play a home game in front of a few hundred people and it cost us money. If they understand the challenges now, itll help them in the real world.UP NEXTTexas Southern: The Tigers stretch of 16 road games to open the season continues Tuesday at No. 22 Cincinnati.Louisville: Hosts Eastern Kentucky on Dec. 17. Pitino reunites with second-year Colonels coach Dan McHale, who was a Cardinals staff assistant and former video director.---More AP College Basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping . 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There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me.The Cleveland Browns want former All-Pro wide receiver Josh Gordon to rejoin the team if he is reinstated to the NFL by commissioner Roger Goodell. Gordon was suspended for the entire 2015 season for violating the NFLs substance abuse policy.The 24-year-old had been suspended for 10 games in 2014 (and for the season finale by the team) and for the first two games of 2013 for the same reason. Browns executive vice president of football operations Sashi Brown was asked about Gordons future at the NFL Combine on Thursday and he confirmed the team are open to having him back.As I understand as its been reported back to me by people who have been in contact with Josh and seen him throughout the offseason, including his representatives, Josh is taking it seriously and hes learned from his mistakes, Brown said Thursday at the NFL combine.Hes serious about wanting to be a pro and be one of the best wide receivers in the game.And so I think if hes done all the things to put himself in that position and clean up some of the mistakes of the past, then certainly we would welcome him back. Josh Gordon had 1,646 receiving yards in 14 games in 2013 Despite Gordons troubled history off the field, he has proven in the past he has the talent to be an elite NFL wide receiver.ddddddddddddGordon set a Browns record with 1,646 receiving yards in 2013, despite missing the first two games of the season.If Gordon fails another test, he will face an indefinite suspension from the NFL but Brown is optimistic he is ready to put his past mistakes behind him.Josh is a tremendously talented young man, Brown said. Ive gotten a chance to know Josh over the three years that Ive been in Cleveland. Ive known him to be generally a good young man. He understands that hes made some mistakes in the past. I think hes accountable for those.Everything that we see and hear in talking to his representation and those that have been in communication with him is that hes eager to get back and contribute. And we feel like if hes accomplished those things, theres a spot for him on the roster. Hell certainly help. Also See: AFC North: In Focus AFC South: In Focus AFC West: In Focus AFC East: In Focus ' ' '