-Caravan wrap-up & Pitino Blog

This past week was a great time for Louisville Cardinal Fans as the Cardinal Caravan travelled around the state making various stops. I was able to attend the events in Frankfort and at Captains Quarter. There were great turnouts at both of these events. There were several 100 in Frankfort and around 1600 at Captains Quarters. I was proud of Cardinal Nation for showing their support for the athletic programs. Below is some video and photos of the events I attended.

Rick Pitino is back to his blogging ways again this weekend and he answered the 3 questions he’s been asked the most over the summer. He first recommends that Jay Bilas take over the job of John Marinatto, who resigned as Big East Commissioner in early May. He then answers questions about the pressure of the upcoming season and starting line-ups.
Says about pressure that fundamentals must improve and that players must stay hungry and humble.
He says that only two players currently locked into starting line-ups are Gorgui and Peyton. All the other guys are battling for their spots. He says that competition will make them better players.

(Courtesy RickPitino.com)

-Caravan & Recruits

The 11th annual Cardinal Caravan kicks off tomorrow with stops in Frankfort and Newport. The Caravan will run from Tuesday July 17 through Thursday July 19.
The Caravan was created in an effort to reach fans across Kentuckiana. And in my opinion is an awesome family event. The Caravan has great timing as well. I am so ready for anything UofL sports related. I strongly urge everyone to get out and attend one of these events this week. Lets show our athletic department that the BIG RED WAVE does exist.

The live period for college, basketball recruiting began this weekend. College coaches were allowed to go watch their recruiting targets but were not allowed to make any type of contact. There were two major AAU tournaments taking place that were hotspots for these coaches. One was the Adidas Invitational in Indy and the other was the Nike Global Challenge in DC.

The other prospect that looked very good is D’Angelo Russell. Russell also plays on the 16U Louisville Magic squad. Unlike Hall, he is already a nationally known name. He also had a huge game on Sunday making explosive plays on both ends of the floor. Folks in attendance said that Russell made it very clear that he belongs in the discussion among the elite shooting guards in the class of 2014. While many major schools are knocking on his door, most believe it will come down to Russell making the decision on whether he looks good in Red or Blue.

We have been hearing a lot about Troy Williams over the past couple of days. Especially since, it was mentioned by him that he could end up coming to Louisville as a package deal with his best friend Anthony Barber.

Williams shined this weekend at the Nike Global Challenge. He dominated both ends of the court and impressed the coaches and scouts in attendance. Williams also posterized several defenders with dunks including the one in the video below in which he drove the baseline and slammed with two hands on a Chinese defender.

Anthony Barber also had a big weekend. He also dominated both ends of the floor with his superior play. Most in attendance considered him the best guard in the tournament. Standing 6-foot-1, Barber is lightening quick with a tight handle, which makes him a nightmare to try to stay in front of. And with his quick hands and feet, he is not fun to be guarded by.
If Williams ends up coming to UofL with Barber, they could do some damage going forward. And it would be great times ahead for our Cardinals.

I would also like to mention a future Card in this discussion. 2014 Louisville commit Quentin Snider also shined bright this weekend helping the Louisville magic U16 team win the title in Indy and winning the MVP. No doubt, that this guy was a great get for Rick Pitino and he just keeps becoming more and more impressive. I cannot wait to see him dunking on Big East opponents in the Yum center in a few seasons.

– UofL returns fire in the billboard wars and 4 basketball players are given high honors.

Today the University of Louisville fans fired a return shot in the summer billboard wars. The #LexingtonIsForTheBirds billboard is up. You can see the billboard on the right side of Interstate 64 just before exit 58 in Frankfort Ky. It was announced this morning by a tweet sent out from @BigTimeYurts. No doubt Louisville fans will flock to the spot to see their achievement. I attempted to be the first one out there this morning but was beat to the punch by another passionate fan.

In 53 days the annual Battle of the Bluegrass will take place on the football field, but today the battle rages on high above interstate 64.

Senior Kyle Kuric and juniors Mike Marra, Peyton Siva and Stephan Van Treese were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches 2011-12 Honors Court as announced Tuesday by the NABC. The award recognizes those collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the 2011-12 season. The NABC Honors Court is an annual academic award that recognizes junior and senior college basketball players who have completed at least one full year at their school with a GPA of 3.2 or higher.

I’m very happy to see these guys preparing themselves for life after basketball. The NABC Honors Court recognizes the talents and gifts student-athletes possess off the court, and the hard work they exhibit in the classroom. In the ever changing environment of college basketball it’s good to see that our program still has the traditional model of the student athlete. And it is great to see them be honored for being student athletes. It should be mentioned that Louisville is the top school for players receiving this honor in the Big East.

Kudos to these guys for their hard work and to the Louisville coaching staff for running a program that still believes in the importance of classroom work.

(Courtesy UofL Sports)

– A candid interview with Louisville Cardinal Gorgui Dieng.

A remarkably candid interview with Gorgui Dieng was just reveled by WDRB’s Eric Crawford and Rick Bozich. All I can say about this interview is wow. We have a wonderful young man in our basketball program. This kid is such a great ambassador for his nation and for our athletic program. He understands the importance of community. This is something that is lacking in our athletic environment today and the world as well. It will be a long time before we see another young man come through our program with such a grounded mentality. Gorgui has a good set of values, a sense of the common good and of caring for one’s neighbor. We could all take a lesson from this kid in that department. I would like to say kudos to Momma and Poppa Dieng for raising such a great person, and thank you for sharing him with us.

(Courtesy of WDRB, Eric Crawford, and Rick Bozich)

-Early Birds w/Coach P, Siva Scholar-Athlete, Cardinal Caravan

Our basketball coach Rick Pitino called into the early birds this morning on Sports radio 790am with Drew Deener. Drew and coach talked about several topics. The first thing up was Pitino’s thoughts on the NBA finals. I don’t really care about the NBA so I tuned that out.
Next issue was about the Rakeem Buckles transfer. Coach explained what I mentioned yesterday in my comments about the situation. He said that it came down to playing time with Rakeem. He wanted to go somewhere he could be a major contributor and give himself a chance to play at the next level.
Rick was also ask about the Stephan Van Treese situation. Sounds like he was given the option to go to Bellarmine and then return to Louisville. Coach Pitino said that Stephan and his father wanted to do their own thing.
Next topic was about new recruit Montrezl Harrell, and Coach Pitino seems very impressed with his newest young recruit. Says that he is a very aggressive player with a motor that won’t stop. Coach Pitino seems very confident in his ability.
Coach was asked about the current players and how their development over the summer was going. Coach said that the players that have improved the most are Russ Smith and Kevin Ware.

It was very good to hear Coach P this morning talking about the upcoming season that will be here in about a 114 days. I can’t wait. Been a long time since I’ve been this excited for a season to start.

(Courtesy Sports Radio 790am & Drew Deener)

In an example of brains and braun we found out today that our star point guard Peyton Siva has been named the recipient of the 2011-12 BIG EAST Conference Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award for men’s basketball. The award recognizes academic and athletic achievement as well as community service. Siva has a 3.41 Gpa and was named to the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-District 2 men’s basketball first team. We all knew that this young man was special. He is going to be very successful in what ever he does.

(Courtesy of UofL Sports)

And last but not least the announcement was made today about the 2012 Cardinal Caravan. We learned that the Caravan will make five stops this summer and will kick off in my neck of the woods Frankfort Kentucky. Was very excited to learn that among those traveling around with the Caravan are Cardinal basketball players Peyton Siva, Russ Smith, and Gorgui Dieng. Very excited to meet those guys and to wish them the best for the upcoming season. If you haven’t been to a Caravan event I would highly suggest it. Great way to get up close and personal with the Cardinal athletic program.

Cardinal Caravan 2012: Register for any one of the Cardinal Caravans!

(Courtesy UofL Sports)

-Buckles & Billboards

We learned today that Rakeem Buckles is transferring from the Cardinal program and will join head coach Richard Pitino, a former Louisville assistant, at Florida International. Buckles is the third injury-plagued player to transfer from Louisville this season, following Stephan Van Treese and Jared Swopshire out the door.

There are many folks buzzing today about the way Coach Pitino is handling the recruitment process within the Louisville Basketball program. I guess they have a right to their opinions but I don’t see an issue here. Those young men were given the opportunity to play for one of the greatest basketball programs in the country and to learn from a Hall of Fame Coach. Now they have a chance to take what they have learned and be big time contributors at their next stop. No basketball player wants to sit on the bench and watch someone else play in their spot and that would have happened if these players had remained at the University of Louisville. I truly believe that this move was the best for all involved. Louisville will be a stronger, deeper team because of it.

(Courtesy UofL press release)

We also learned today that the billboard wars are on. After @BigTimeYurts reached their goal of selling 900 bumper stickers for the #LexingtonIsForTheBirds billboard the company that agreed to host the billboard backed out of the deal saying it was degrading.

But don’t worry Cardinal fans the company Lamar advertising called today and said that they had changed their minds. Ha! The power of media persuasion I guess. The billboard is set to go up on I-64 westbound close to Frankfort. I can’t wait to see it on my way to work every day.

(Courtesy Whas 11 & @BigTimeYurts)

– Coach P and ESPN Andy Katz discuss upcoming season

In an interview on Tuesday night Andy Katz talked with Rick Pitino about the high expectations of the upcoming season and asks his opinions on the final seasons of Pitt and Syracuse in the Big East.

Rick was also asked about Pitt and Syracuse final season in the Big East. Rick says that he thinks Pitt will do ok but can’t see how Syracuse survives anywhere but the Big East.

(Courtesy of ESPN, and Andy Katz)

Very interseting read indeed, and some very interesting comments from Coach Pitino. Gets me in the mood for some college basketball and I can’t wait until the march to the Final Four begins.

– The Future looks bright.

Over the past couple of weeks we have been hearing some great things about a couple of Louisville commits. Anton Gill, a 6′-3″ shooting guard from Ravenscroft (NC) and Quinton Snider a 5’-11” point guard from Ballard (KY). These guys made a huge impact on the recruit scouts in attendance last weekend at the 2012 NBPA Top 100 Camp. Here is just a brief summary of how a few of those scouts felt about this duos performance.

(Courtesy of NY2LA Sports)

Gill is firmly a shooting guard in the high school ranks, but there’s reason to believe he can also help out at point guard, if the Cardinals’ 2011 signee, Terry Rozier, struggles in that role. Gill has a scoring edge though, and his role at shooting guard would play to his strengths. He can create off the dribble, and has significant range with his shot.
Pitino landed Gill from the basketball rich Triangle region of North Carolina, where he held offers from NC State, Wake Forest and others. He is considered by most to be a top-50 prospect nationally, and could continue to rise up the charts.

The future really does look bright with this duo bound for the Louisville campus. Additionally, if Quentin Snider can convince his grassroots basketball teammate D’Angelo Russell to join them, the Cardinals will have something really special in the making.

– Updates from the big recruiting weekend and other Cardinal News

The big recruiting weekend turned out great for our Cardinals. Rick Pitino and his staff signed the nations most highly unsigned prospect of 2012 in Montrezl Harrell. He is rated the No. 72 prospect in the Class of 2012 by Scout.com, No. 82 by Rivals, No. 89 by ESPN. But his play at the U-18 trials suggests Harrell might just be better than all those numbers suggest. The big man survived the difficult first cut at USA Basketball training camp from the initial group of 23 prospects by performing with what Draft Express analyst Jonathan Givony described as ”a terrific combination of length, athleticism and intensity, which allowed him to be a consistent force attacking the rim with ferocity and often finishing in highlight-reel fashion.”

To read Rick Pitino’s latest blog entry visit www.rickpitino.com
To read more comments and news from the big recruiting weekend check out my recruiting page.