If you care about real basketball, if you want to see it played with discipline, if you like watching hoopsters make cuts and passes and go back door and be where they are supposed to be when running their team’s sets, go to Knights Hall the next time undefeated Bellarmine takes the court. (On January 22, the school takes on conference rival Drury.)

If you like hard-nosed defense, with unrelenting pressure, smart decision making, relentless work on the boards, I suggest you score some tickets to watch the Knights. They are the best “team” in town. Bellarmine’s players are scrappy. They pass. They rebound. They attack the hoops, even against taller opponents. They make cuts. They are usually in the right spot at both ends of the court.

Actually Rick Pitino could do worse than taking his Cardinal charges over for a look see. If U of L ran its offense and played as hard every possession at both ends and with the same precision as Bellarmine, it too might be undefeated.

Against Top 20 Southern Indiana, Bellarmine took the lead from the get go, blew it up to 25-12 halfway through the first stanza after a couple of deep threes from New Albany’s Justin Benedetti and kept the Screaming Eagles measured the rest of the way. It was no contest. Chartrael Hall is a legit Division I point guard. “He could start right now for Louisville,” according to one wag along press row.

Everybody else just does exactly what they are supposed to do, pretty much all the time. Of all possessions of the game — offensive and defensive — Bellarmine’s energy only lagged for a few at the beginning of the second half. Which they started with a thirteen point advantage.

Bellarmine’s leading scorer, Braydon Hobbs, is also from New Albany. He ended the night with 13 points on six of ten shooting, 5 boards and 6 assists with NO turnovers. None of his scoring came in the first half. Hobbs is the poster boy for “letting the game come to him.” He took it over after the break.

This was beautiful basketball to watch.

For some observations of the whole Knights Hall experience, check them out here at culturemaven.com.

– Seedy K