Brown: The Ville vs La Familia at Freedom Hall was unifier Louisville basketball needed

For all the imperfections of The Ville’s 70-61 loss to La Familia in The Basketball Tournament quarterfinals, it was a perfect night for Louisville basketball.

The fact that The Ville, a team of mostly U of L alumni, had to watch the mostly Kentucky alumni who comprised La Familia advance to Philadelphia to the semifinals was secondary.

Monday night in Freedom Hall was what unity looks like.

The Cardinals can move on from the images of a mostly empty KFC Yum! Center that defined the past two seasons. They can move on from having a fractured fanbase the past season that was torn between rooting for one of its own in former coach Kenny Payne, and ready to move on from him.

Apathy for the program is no longer greater than support for it.

Not after homecoming in July.

Freedom Hall was at times as loud as it was the last time the Cards and Cats squared off here in 2009. It felt as hot too.

Former U of L players who played for Hall of Fame coaches Denny Crum and Rick Pitino as well as those from the younger generation came out to watch courtside, from Darrell Griffith to Jordan Nwora.

The game, with the perfect timing after live basketball recruiting ended and before football camp begins, allowed women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz and football coach Jeff Brohm to be in the building.

Former athletic director Vince Tyra had a courtside seat as did current AD Josh Heird.

Even Louie the Cardinal mascot dressed out for the event though it’s technically not affiliated with the university.

It was a game to see and be seen.

The record-setting attendance of 13,509 — which nearly doubled the previous TBT best of 7,202 in Wichita last year — would have been the second largest crowd at a U of L men’s basketball game this season. Only the crowd of 17,293 against Kentucky was greater.

TBT knew the game was big when they made the bracket. Chris Paul, a part-owner in the league, got on a plane from Winston-Salem, N.C., to watch in person. TBT also brought in big-time college officials including Jeff Anderson, who has called nine Final Fours and officiated Connecticut’s win over Purdue in April’s national championship game.

Of course the U of L-UK rivalry played a big part in the game drawing such interest. Quite a bit more was nostalgic.

The Cards’ program hasn’t had much to cheer for since before the pandemic when it last made an NCAA Tournament. And The Ville came stocked with some of the guys who did it best from the 2013 national championship team.

But none of whom were in championship shape.

The play reflected a team hastily assembled that hadn’t practiced much nor played a lot together.

The Ville missed its first seven shot attempts to start the game. During one transition in the first half, Omar Prewitt squared up for an open shot, but the ball slipped out of his hands and sailed backward into the crowd.

There was eve a glitch with the videoboard, which showed the broadcast from Fox Sports, as it was slightly delayed from the live action.

None of that will be remembered much. But what U of L fans could take out as they trickled out of Freedom Hall was the anticipation of a new season with a new coach. And the hope that the fun and the feeling they experienced from cheering on The Ville in TBT will return to the Cards in the KFC Yum! Center.

This column will be updated.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: The Ville vs La Familia game was unifier Louisville basketball needed