LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - At least this time, Terrence Williams knew he'd be able to sleep.
In the quiet but not necessarily somber locker room following Louisville's 83-73 loss to North Carolina in the East Region final on Saturday night, the always philosophical Williams tried to put a positive spin on a roller coaster season that left the Cardinals drained if not deflated.
The game was a microcosm of Louisville's sometimes tumultuous year, as the Cardinals fell behind early only to scramble back and take the lead in the second half. Ultimately, the top-seeded Tar Heels made more plays, led by the energized play of center Tyler Hansbrough, who took the game over in the final minutes to propel the Tar Heels to the Final Four.
It's the kind of defeat Williams could live with, at least compared to the tough second-round loss to Texas A&M the year before, when Louisville let it slip away in the final seconds.
"Whenever you lose you don't want to stop because you lost, you want to finish something," Williams said. "Seeing the looks on guys' faces, they still have hunger in their eyes. I respect that. But it's a better feeling than we had last year."
It's a feeling Williams isn't sure he'll chase into his senior season. The team's most versatile player said he'll consult with coach Rick Pitino before deciding whether to test the NBA waters, one of several questions the Cardinals (27-9) face heading into the offseason.
Seniors David Padgett, Juan Palacios and Terrance Farley will be gone. They'll be joined by sophomore forward Derrick Caracter, who will move on after two enigmatic seasons in which he mixed spirited play on the court with questionable behavior off it.
Sophomore forward Earl Clark has said he plans on staying to make himself more NBA-ready, but his outstanding play in the tournament " including a 17-point, 12-rebound performance in the regional semifinals against Tennessee " could alter that decision.
Not that Williams is worried about the program's future, no matter who stays or who goes, as long as Pitino is in charge.
"If I come back or go, this is going to be a great ball team next year," he said. "If I'm a part of it, I'm a part of it. I'd love to be a part of it."
Pitino would certainly love to have him. While the Cardinals likely won't lack for talent next year thanks to a recruiting class Pitino has called one of his best, leadership will be at a premium without Padgett, who was the Cardinals' unquestioned team leader.
"I have to step up tremendously," said junior guard Andre McGee. "I've got to be able to lead the guys. Everybody is going to be younger than me. I've been through the wars and the ups and downs, from the NIT to the Elite Eight. There's going to be a lot of pressure on me to lead the team."
It's the kind of pressure that Padgett eagerly accepted, the kind his teammates didn't seem to want at times during the seven weeks he missed with a fractured knee. The Cardinals quickly fell from the Top 10 to out of the polls entirely as they struggled to find an identity without Padgett directing them on both ends of the floor.
"The worst thing about everything that we went through and all the things we had to overcome is we had to play (assistant coach) Walter McCarty in practice for three weeks. That was the most difficult thing," Pitino said. "We couldn't even practice."
Having freshman swingman George Goode ruled ineligible by the NCAA due to transcript issues and center Clarence Holloway out for the year due to a heart condition didn't help matters.
"It was difficult times," Pitino said. "So for us to get to the Elite Eight and come back and do this... What every coach wants is for their team to reach their potential, and that's when you give the players credit because they reached their potential."
It wasn't until Padgett returned that the Cardinals hit their stride, eventually going undefeated in February on their way to finishing second in the Big East behind Georgetown.
Padgett earned all-conference honors despite playing on two surgically repaired knees that robbed him of much of the athleticism he had when he transferred to Louisville from Kansas four years ago.
Though he said the pain that plagued him during his first two years with the Cardinals had largely subsided by this spring, the ice packs on his knees after games hinted otherwise.
While his career ended without a trip to the Final Four, Padgett knows it could have been worse. He got to finish his career on the floor, not watching from the sidelines in a finely tailored suit.
"Our goal was to win the championship this year and it didn't happen, but we still had a pretty good year," Padgett said. "We got to the Elite Eight and only eight teams get to do that. ... We didn't get what we wanted, but we still had a good year."