Cardinal Takeover- Louisville’s Day At The Speedway

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You can bet that where two or more Louisville fans gather for an outdoor sporting event it is going to rain. As was the case Saturday at the Cardinal Takeover event at the Kentucky Speedway. As we huddled in the hospitality tent watching the rain come down some of us talked about how the day reminded us of our tailgating experiences of the 2012 Football season. Even though the rains came and eventually postponed the actual race the day wasn’t a complete wash out for Cardinal fans.

Our Cardinal takeover started when one of the all-time greats “Dr. Dunkenstein” himself Darrell Griffith stopped by the hospitality tent. He greeted Cardinal fans and took pictures with them and there were even some stories told of some of those great championship moments from the 80’s. It was also a great moment when a champion of the past went to have his picture taken with the #55 Championship race car. Again Darrell was interviewed by the Aaron’s representatives about his thoughts of the car and the 2012-13 Cardinal basketball team. He would say that he thought it was great to have the National Championship represented on the race car and talked about the great accomplishments of the team. Fans lined up for their chance to meet the Cardinal legend and he was very gracious taking several photos.

The next visitor to the Cardinal hospitality tent could be heard making his weird call of the wild yell all over the Speedway grounds. Kentucky woodsman Ernie Brown, Jr., nicknamed “The Turtleman” and his friend, Neal James visited Cardinal fans, took photos and told a few stories of their wild adventures. I have never seen the show myself but fans seemed very excited at the opportunity to meet the interesting figure. And it was an interesting moment when “Dr. Dunkenstein” met the “Turtleman”. Turtleman to Griffith: “Man you could really dunk that ball.”

Our third visitors of the day were a couple of Forbes 400 members David Smith son of billionaire Speedway Motorsports owner Bruton Smith, and non other than Mr Papa John himself John Schnatter. These guys took time to visit Cardinal fans and seemed very excited to take a picture with the National Championship trophy. These guys were very friendly with the crowd and several folks took the chance to meet and take photos with them.

The Final visit of the day came from Ryan Newman driver of the No. 39 Stewart Haas Racing team. Ryan took a moment to talk with Paul Rodgers about his thoughts on the weather, the race track and his racing career. Newman made the quickest exit I’ve ever seen. Race Car drivers are not only good at getting away from their competitors in a race car but they can avoid fans with the same elusiveness. He was nice enough to bring several pre-signed cards to give to the fans.

The Voice of the Cardinals and local radio Icon Paul Rodgers did a great job at interviewing these folks at the Cardinal Takeover event. And he also made himself available to Cardinal fans. It was great talking some Cardinal sports with him and spending some time with someone I grew up listening to on the radio.

I would also like to thank Jennifer Heisey Executive Director of the University of Louisville Alumni Association and her staff for putting this event together and doing such an excellent job yesterday. They were all very friendly and welcoming to Cardinal Fans and made a rainy day a lot of fun.

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Luke Hancock: The Anatomy Of A Shooter

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Luke Hancock: The Anatomy Of A Shooter

1. Courage/Confidence
The first way to increase your jump shot percentage is to make sure you have confidence in your shot and the courage to take it. When shooting a basketball you will get what you expect. You have to anticipate your shot going in every time you take it, and more times than not it is going to happen.
Having a positive mental attitude will not only help you hit a jump shot but it will also help you achieve your life goals and overcome other obstacles in life to be the person you are striving to be.
Luke Hancock wasn’t a highly touted recruit when he came out of Hidden Valley, where he made the All-Timesland second team and helped the Titans reach the Group AA semifinals. And he didn’t have the big boys beating down his doors after his postgraduate year at Hargrave Military Academy where he helped them become national prep school runners-up and earned a spot on the all-tournament team. He was viewed as a low to mid major prospect. Hancock received a rating of zero stars and received only two scholarship offers to play ball one from Toledo and one from George Mason. However, that didn’t get Luke down and he never stopped believing that he belonged. He wasn’t a small guy at 6’8″ yet he lacked superior strength and wasn’t a physically gifted athlete. The one thing he could do was shoot. At George Mason, he shot his way to the CAA all-rookie team as a freshman. He averaged 10.9 points and made All-CAA third team as sophomore, and he made the winning shot against Villanova in NCAAs.

2. Vision / Focus
The second way to improve your jump shot is vision and focus. When shooting the basketball you have to focus on the front of the rim, vision it going in, and Clear your mind of all other thoughts. Making the basket should be the only thing on your mind.
If you have a goal in life, you have to vision yourself completing that goal and you have to maintain the focus on attaining it.
Through two seasons at George Mason Luke Hancock kept his vision and focused on his goals and the basket. After that huge shot in the Tournament and after his very efficient two seasons where he helped make George Mason a consistent winner one person took notice. That person was Rick Pitino. Coach Pitino was looking for a great shooter and passer for his high-octane offense to compliment a great group of guys he figured on having in 2012-13. Finally Luke would get the affirmation that had been absent for his career up to this moment. Schools that turned him down for scholarships before were now competing for his attention. That affirmation and the opportunity were too much to pass up and Luke chose to transfer to Louisville where Kevin Keatts, Hancock’s coach from Hargrave, was now working.

3. Balance
The third way to enhance your jump shot is balance. Balance starts with foot placement, shoulder placement, hand placement and your overall center of gravity. When going through the motions of a jump shot those four things are essential. What feels like perfect balance to you may not look like perfect balance to someone else and that’s ok. If you have your feet set, shoulders pointing towards the basket and holding the ball, the proper way you are going to shoot a higher percentage. However, any one misplaced aspect can trigger friction and upset your balance.
Sometimes in our lives, we have great balance and everything seems to be going in the right direction when something comes along and disrupts that balance creating friction.
After battling through long odds and years of doubt, Luke Hancock’s basketball career was finally in good balance. With two strong years of college basketball behind him, Luke’s road should have been easy. Stay in shape, then work his way into the lineup once eligible to play for Louisville. What could go wrong? Having a history of injury problems Luke suffered quite a blow in a pick-up game before the 12-13 season, injuring his shoulder severely enough to require surgery. According to coach Pitino, the injury was so bad he was not sure Hancock would recover in time for the season and the doctor said it was the worst shoulder he ever operated on. It would take him over a half hour of warm-ups just to lift his arms up over his head but he did maintain his balance getting things pointed in the right direction again. He was in the lineup for the first game of the season not just as a member of the Cardinals, but as a junior co-captain.

4. Small Adjustments
Your jump shot will live or die by the adjustments you make along the way. Small adjustments are necessary and every great shooter has made adjustments to fine-tune their shot. Your jump shot is like an instrument and you’re the tuner. Keep tuning until you can really feel the internal harmony. Don’t be afraid to create little adjustments, but whatever adjustments you make they need to feel good.
When you are trying to reach your goals in life, they will live or die by the decisions you make along the way. Don’t be afraid to step outside of the box and be prepared to step up in tough situations. Don’t be afraid to lead.
When Luke Hancock did make his way onto the court in the early part of the 12-13 season it wasn’t pretty. Cardinal Nation was comparing Hancock’s hype to that of Mike Marra and calling for coach Pitino to keep him off the floor. The theme of those calling into the local radio shows after he went 4-for-29 on three-pointers through Louisville’s first four games was that of dismay. Luke did not let the dissatisfaction affect him. He chose to stay confident, remained positive, kept playing his game and eventually found his form, as he ended up leading the team with a .432 three-pointer percentage. And as for his role as the captain. The Louisville basketball team faced a very difficult moment during their Elite 8 game of the NCAA Tournament when one of their brothers Kevin Ware suffered a gruesome injury. When the other players, coaches, and trainers appeared to be in a moment of shock Luke Hancock remained calm, kneeled down, and grabbed the hand of his fallen comrade. Luke was able to calm Kevin with a prayer. And by doing so enabled Kevin to inspire his team to eventually beat Duke and go to the Final Four.

5. Rhythm & Harmony
Like a fantastic symphony orchestra, your jump shot is a work of art. Some works are beautiful, some abstract, and some are considered strange. Everyone needs to find their own special rhythm on the basketball court that works for them, but it has to be in harmony along with your teammates or you’ll not be producing beautiful music together. If you shoot in rhythm, you will make far more shots.
If you have confidence, maintain vision and focus, keep your balance and be willing to make adjustments your game and your life will have perfect rhythm and harmony. You will also find it much easier to achieve your goals and face the big trials of your life. Luke Hancock’s confidence, vision, focus, balance, and adjustments have led him to the perfect jump shot and he was able to lead his team in rhythm and harmony to a national championship. He was also named the most outstanding player along the way. Luke played in all 40 games this past season, knocked down a team-best 63 3-pointers, and totaled 40 steals. In the national championship victory over Michigan, Hancock totaled 22 points and two steals, going 5-of-5 from beyond the arc.
I haven’t mentioned in this story about how Luke Hancock’s father was battling cancer along his journey. I didn’t mention it because Luke never mentioned it. It wasn’t until after the Final 4 that most of us learned of his father’s illness. Luke’s father lost his battle recently but did get to see his son take the lessons he had taught him and apply them to a game. He got to see his son be great. And even with the end of his life near continued to push Luke towards his game and the pursuit of greatness. With his father, gravely ill Luke went to try out for the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team. Luke did what he has his whole basketball career and rose above his adversity to make the 12-man roster. Another great accomplishment for this young man from Roanoke, Virginia. What this kid has done this past year of his life is nothing short of amazing and I don’t think he is done yet. I can’t wait to see part two of this story and am looking forward to telling it. Keep shooting that amazing jump shot Luke!

***Editors Note: I used The Anatomy Of A Basketball Jump Shot
By coach Duane Waits to shape my story.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6414318

Cards Nominated For 2 ESPYS

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The ESPY nominations are out and I was right with my prediction on two of the nominees. The Louisville Women’s basketball team is nominated for Upset of the Year and Coach Pitino is nominated for Coach of the Year. Both the women and Coach Pitino are very deserving of these awards and you need to make sure to get over to the website and cast your votes for the ESPYs.

I still don’t understand how the men’s basketball team missed out on a Team of the Year nomination or a Game of the Year nod. Especially with Alabama getting mentioned for their football title. Was their championship team as inspirational as ours? And wasn’t that NCAA Final Four Title game one of the most watched ever? How does that get overlooked? Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud to have Coach Pitino and the Women’s basketball team included but I do think ESPN gave us the once over by not giving our championship basketball team any recognition. They say you have to earn respect and I think our men’s basketball team did that and more last year.

As mentioned above we do have two categories to vote for so click on the link above and vote. This years ESPYs is decided by the fan vote. I’ll be watching on July 17th and will hopefully get to see our Women’s team and Coach P walk across that stage.

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Vote For WBB Here:

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Vote For Coach Pitino Here:

2 Cards Will Be Waiting To Hear Their Names Called

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Tonight two Cardinals take the next step in their basketball careers and will hopefully be drafted into the 2013 NBA class. Gorgui Dieng and Peyton Siva were two of the best guys that have ever laced them up at the University of Louisville each with super attitudes and golden personalities. These guys made a huge impact on the Cardinal basketball program and left champions. These guys deserve all of the glory, prominence and fame that a NBA career can bring. Tonight the NBA draft will begin and both of these guys will be waiting to hear their names called.

Gorgui has been projected to be drafted anywhere from the late lottery to late in the first round in most mock drafts. That could mean anywhere from 10th to 24th. Most draft experts say that Gorgui’s age, and his tendency to be pushed around by stronger players are his biggest weaknesses going into the draft. They say his defensive awareness, passing ability, and athleticism are his biggest strengths. And they also say that his positives outweigh the negatives. Some of the teams mentioned that could possibly be interested in Gorgui are:

Mock drafts:
• HoopsWorld.com: 10, Blazers
• SI.com: 12, Thunder
• CBSSports.com: 12, Thunder
• DraftExpress.com: 20, Bulls
• NBA.com: 20, Bulls
• SBNation.com: 20, Bulls
• NBADraft.net: 24, Knicks
• ESPN.com (Insider): 22, Nets

Peyton is one of the most decorated of all the draft eligible players. And despite his two state titles, a national title at Louisville and back-to-back Big East tourney MVP trophies he is projected to be taken late in the second round. Most draft experts say the combination of being a 6-foot-1 point guard with a suspect jump-shot is his biggest weakness. They say his quickness, athleticism, ability to defend, excellent lateral quickness, and being a good distributor are his strengths. And most believe that the potential NBA ability is there. Some of the teams mentioned that could possibly interested on Peyton are:

Mock drafts:
• HoopsWorld.com: Late Second/UnDrafted
• SI.com: Late Second/UnDrafted
• CBSSports.com: 50, Hawks
• DraftExpress.com: 53, Pacers
• NBA.com: Late Second/UnDrafted
• SBNation.com: 53, Pacers
• NBADraft.net: 51, Magic
• ESPN.com (Insider): Late Second/UnDrafted

I think that both of these awesome young men deserve to be drafted tonight. I will be watching and cheering for their dreams to come true. The 2013 NBA Draft will start tonight at 7:30pm ET on ESPN.

ESPY Nominations In The Cards?

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The ESPY Awards is an award function for sports that showcases the year’s nominated athletes, memorable highlights, and individual/team achievements. It brings together all of sport, honoring the best performances, and those whose courage and conviction transcend sport. This has become the prime event for celebration for the years sports cycle. I really enjoy the inspirational stories, and motivational speeches by those who win the awards. The ESPYS is designed to showcase the year’s best sports moments in a sharp, fun and entertaining manner and it does just that.

The nominees for the ESPYs will be reveled later this week on June 27th and voting will also begin. I expect to see our Louisville Cardinals represented in several categories this year. And how awesome is it going to be to see our incredible year acknowledged on that grand stage and in front of the entire sports world. The nominations I expect to see:

-ESPY Award Best Upset 2013 Nominee
I fully expect our University of Louisville women’s basketball team to be nominated in this category for their upset of Baylor in the NCAA Tournament. That was perhaps the biggest upset ever in college sports and one of the biggest ever in any sport. No way our Cards don’t get a nod for this. One could also argue that the Louisville Football teams victory over Florida could also be in the mix here.

-ESPY Award Best Game 2013 Nominee
TV ratings for the 2013 Final Four were higher than the NBA Finals, BCS and World Series. There were a lot of television sets tuned in to see our Cards mens basketball team beat Michigan in that Championship game so I fully expect to see them to be represented in this category.

-ESPY Award Best Coach/Manager 2013 Nominee
Has there ever been a coach have the kind of year our Rick Pitino had? He led his team to a National Championship riding a 16 game win streak along the way and topped it off with a Hall of Fame bid. And he became the only coach to lead two different college basketball teams to a national title. I would be completely shocked to not see coach Pitino’s name in this category.

-ESPY Award Best Male College Athlete 2013 Nominee
Take your pick here Cards fans. I could see a nod being given to Teddy QB, Peyton Siva, Luke Hancock, but who knows. This is a broad range category so its hard to say where the nominees will come from. I know we have several Cardinal athletes that could easily be a part of this category so hopefully one will make the cut.

-ESPY Award Best Team of the Year 2013 Nominee
Our Louisville men’s basketball team had one of the most inspirational runs ever in the NCAA tournament. And the injury to Kevin Ware in that EliteEight game against Duke became a world wide story. I don’t think it’s a very bold prediction to say that our Cards will be front and center for this award and could add another trophy to the case. I really think we could bring this award back to Louisville.

I know I’m very excited to see the nominations come out later this week and hope to see them filled with Cardinal Red. It would just top off our incredible year to see Louisville represented on this special night for the sports world. This year, sports fans will determine the winners in all ESPYS categories, except the Arthur Ashe Courage Award and other special awards.Watch for voting to open for all nominee categories at espn.com/espys on June 27th, continuing up to and including awards night on July 17th. So get to the site this week and get ready to vote for our Louisville cardinals.
The 2013 ESPYS will air live on ESPN on July 17 at 9 p.m. ET from Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. This years host will be Mad Men’s Jon Hamm. Should be a awesome evening. One of my favorite actors and CardNation represented well. Can’t wait!

“COACH SPEAK”

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Fans, media and journalist of every venue should know by now that when a coach speaks it should be taken with a grain of salt. But it never fails that when the larger than life Coach Pitino speaks it sparks interest from all over the nation.

A couple weeks ago coach Pitino was the featured luncheon speaker during the Mid-South ACG Capital Connection in Louisville. The event brought together private-equity and venture capital investors from across the region. Pitino summed up his remarks by telling the attendees about his greatest regrets and how those regrets made him more successful. It was comments made during that part of his speech that had folks in Boston, Lexington and Louisville buzzing.

Coach Pitino said the second best event of his career aside from stepping down as the head coach of the University of Kentucky was failing as a coach with the NBA’s Boston Celtics. Saying that these moments resulted in him finding humility and eventually happiness later in life. That seems pretty easy to understand and you wouldn’t think it would need any further evaluation but those comments have sparked up conversation amongst Louisville fans, Kentucky Fans and the Celtic Pride. Kentucky fans are upset that the comments made by Coach Pitino seem to contradict what he has said for years about regretting leaving Big Blue Nation, Louisville fans are giddy about the contradiction and Boston fans are just mad that they were made to remember the Pitino days again.

Speeches like Rick made a few weeks ago are not for dissecting and should not be taken literally. Coaches twist words, use analogies and talk out of both sides of their mouths to get across their message of the moment. Contradictions are what coaches do best. Below is a link where you can view Coach Pitino’s full speech. You watch it and decide for yourself.

Ricks Speech

2014 Louisville Commits Show Out At NBPA Camp

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This past weekend was the prestigious NBPA Top 100 Camp. This basketball camp takes 100 of America’s top prep players and splits them into different teams evenly by positions. This provides a great opportunity for these players to really show they belong in the elite company of the nations best. This camp is unique in that it really does put the best against the best. This event is closed to the public and only credentialed scouting services are allowed to attend. This provides an atmosphere that is all about business for these recruits. There was a lot of recruiting news that came out of the camp including many new updates regarding current and new Louisville targets. You can see those updates and info on new targets on the Beak Recruiting page. According to many scouts present at the event Louisville was being mentioned in conversation by many of the top athletes and it appears that Coach Pitino and staff are working hard to secure future greatness for the basketball program.

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A couple of future Cardinals that turned many heads over the weekend was 2014 commit Shaqquan Aaron and Quentin Snider. These guys delivered huge performances amongst a stellar field of highly regarded players. Aaron fresh off of his standout performance at the high school tournament in Seattle called the Quaker Slam was creating a lot of buzz at the NBPA Top 100.

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ESPN’s Paul Biancardi also had this to say about Aaron’s weekend:

-Most Creative
Shaqquan Aaron (Seattle/Rainier Beach)
SF, 6-6, 175
This Louisville commit was comfortable with the ball in his hands, sizing up defenders then separating from them with his dribble. He excels in the transition game and when the game slowed down, he would shoot a stare-down 3-pointer easily rising over a defender with his length. He is not a volume scorer and is at his best finishing a play, but he also showed he could create and find others for scores. He has some George Gervin in his game.

2014 Louisville commit Quentin Snider was also creating some buzz of his own as scouts talked about his improved strength and shooting ability. It was a bigger, more physical Snider who walked through the doors of John Paul Jones Arena last Thursday. He knew he would have to get stronger to be as affective as he wanted to be at the next level and that is just what he’s done. He is now at 177 pounds up from 150 pounds at last years Top 100 camp.

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The folks over at NY2LASPORTS.COM also had this to say about Snider’s weekend:

-Quinten Snider — 2014 — PG — Ballard H.S.
6-2 — Louisville, KY
The Louisville commit is one of the best in the country at getting in the lane and making plays for himself or his teammates. Snider strikes a very good balance as a point guard and this enables him to help his team get a good look on almost any possession. Snider as a scorer gets it done in a variety of ways, as he has crafty moves around the hoop while also having good range and a solid and pretty consistent perimeter stroke.

I am really looking forward to seeing these guys in Cardinal uniforms next season and both could potentially be at the five star level by the time their high school careers are over. I look for both of them to continue to move up in the rankings. Keep checking my recruiting page this summer for updates on these guys and other potential future Cards.

CARDS DOWN TO THEIR LAST “L”

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The first error of the College World Series wasn’t committed by any of the teams playing, it was the guy that did the artwork on one of the dugouts that got that honor. You will notice on the picture that College has three L’s instead of one. In a crazy twist to this mishap all 4 teams that were in the dugout that had the extra ‘L’ in college yesterday took an ‘L’ in the opening round of the College World Series.

The Cards baseball team couldn’t get the bats going against Indiana and the great pitching performance of Joey DeNato on Saturday and were shut out in their first game of the College World Series 2-0. DeNato turned in a four-hit, complete-game shutout, walking three and striking out eight. He threw 136 pitches and got stronger as the game went on. Oddly enough the only other shut out of the season was at the hands of DeNato and Indiana earlier in the season.

Today the Louisville Baseball team is down to their last chance. They will play against Oregon State the No. 3 national seed at 3pm and the team that gets the “L” in this one will be eliminated from the College World Series.

-BASEBALL AMERICA OREGON SCOUTING REPORT

OREGON STATE (No. 3 national seed)

Record: 50-11. Preseason ranking: 6. Ranking at end of regular season: 4.

Season In A Nutshell: The Beavers got off to a 15-0 start—their best since 1986—and never looked back, winning the Pac-12 by two games over Oregon. They allowed just seven runs in a three-game sweep through the Corvallis Regional, then bounced back from a loss to Kansas State by winning the next two games of their super regional.

Tune into ESPN2 at 3pm and cheer on the Cards. If you are at work you can listen on ESPN radio or the watch ESPN App.

Football Phil Says Cards #7

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We are several months away from the pig skin flying through the air, tailgating and the Louisville football team taking the field for another season. Websites and sports gurus everywhere are putting out their pre-season polls in preparation. Most of the publications and talking heads have Louisville firmly in the top ten and most have them going undefeated on the season.

Today the king college football Prognosticator Phil Steele who publishes a college football preview magazine put Louisville at number 7 in his countdown. Steele, whose annual college football preview is gobbled up by thousands of fans each summer, has been releasing his preseason top 40 one-by-one over the past few weeks. Out of all of these folks Steele is the guy who’s opinion I value the most. He is fun to read, does his research and plays his hunches. Steele says “UL has 16 returning starters and figure to be in the AP Top10 in August.” and “they figure to be favored in every game.” Steele also goes on to say that 5 out of his 9 sets of predictors calls for the Cardinals to go undefeated.

You’ll likewise be interested to learn that Pregame.com, a Vegas aggregator, has released the opening lines on all Louisville’s games, and according to the Golden Nugget the Cardinals will be favored in every one. Per Pregame Louisville is one of 5 teams that should be favored in every regular-season game. The others are Ohio State, Oregon, Alabama and Georgia.

Back to Mr. Steele. He has been offering up his preseason Top 40 in drips and drabs, revealing one team per day on PhilSteele.com. His unique yearbook hits newsstands Tuesday.

2013 HOOPS CLASS ON CAMPUS READY TO MAKE THEIR MARK

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Louisville’s 2013 hoops recruiting class is one of the most anticipated groups in years and maybe ever for some.There is anticipation not only for the groups talents but for what they could potentially add to an already stacked Cardinal line-up. Louisville’s 2013 group is ranked 8th by Scout, 9th by 247Sports, 7th by Rivals and 8th by ESPN. It will feature the number one ranked Juco player in Chris Jones, a top 20 player in Terry Rozier, a top 50 guard in Anton Gill and a top 100 physical big man in Akoy Agau.

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One by one the new Cardinals made it to campus to begin their new journeys. They have all got registered for classes and have started their summer workouts. The word already coming out of those workouts is about Jones being a tireless worker and how Agau showed up to campus 25 pounds lighter than when he was here for the Derby Classic.

I have said all along that I think Jones and Rozier will make the most immediate impacts this season while Agau and Gill will be great role players as they wait their turns into the rotation. Recruiting gurus have all talked very highly about this group and the Recruiting Nation hoops experts on ESPN recently discussed what 2013 class would outperform their ranking this season and Louisville topped their list.

Here’s what ESPN Recruiting Analyst Dave Telep had to say: “Even though it’s ranked No. 8, Louisville’s class has an excellent chance to outperform its ranking. The Cardinals have returning backcourt pieces and also usher in more backcourt assistance. Juco point guard Chris Jones is a tough, tough kid. Five-star post-grad point guard Terry Rozier was one of the biggest revelations this past season and could turn out to be Trey Burke reincarnated. Meanwhile, ESPN 100 shooting guard Anton Gill will carve out his niche and ESPN 100 power forward Akoy Agau gets to play apprentice for a season. Combine the pieces and you have the makings of a group that can over-deliver.”

I know I’m very excited to see how this group blends with the great players we already have and I do think this Louisville team will have something to say about the upcoming 2013-14 NCAA Championship.