Louisville Point Guard Peyton Siva has been selected as one of 10 finalists for the 2012-13 Men’s Basketball Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

-Classroom
Siva received the 2011-12 BIG EAST Conference Scholar-Athlete Sports Excellence Award for men’s basketball, an honor presented to an individual in each of the league’s 24 sports which recognizes academic and athletic achievement as well as community service. Siva, who has a 3.41 cumulative grade point average in sociology, was named to the 2011-12 Capital One Academic All-District 2 men’s basketball first team. He has been named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.0 or better GPA) in each of his six semesters at UofL.
-Character
As a senior, Siva will serve as the Cardinals’ co-captain for the second straight year. He has been called by Louisville Coach Rick Pitino as “one of my top five of all-time as a person.” He wears No. 3 because of his Christian faith for the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and has been involved in Bible study since his high school days. The story of him as a 13-year-old locating and convincing his father on the verge of suicide not to end his life became a national story.
-Community
Siva has made several visits to Kosair Children’s Hospital to help brighten the lives of many youth. He has spoken to children at Louisville area elementary schools about the importance of doing well in school and has shared his Christian faith at local school FCA meetings. After completing an internship with the Boys and Girls Club in Louisville, he continued to help out at the facility when possible.
-Competition
Siva was a preseason first-team All-America selection by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook. He was named to the West Region All-Tournament team while leading Louisville to the 2012 NCAA Final Four. Siva earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2012 BIG EAST Championship, leading Louisville to the title. Siva is second in the Big East in assist and 20th in the nation averaging 6.1 a game. He is currently #56 All-Time Scoring with 1060 points, and 2nd All-Time in Assists with 594. Needs 119 to tie LaBradford Smith.

The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in October. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website or on the Senior CLASS Award Facebook fan page through March 25. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches’ votes to determine the winner.

The men’s Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta, Ga., April 6 and 8.

2012-13 Senior CLASS Award Finalists
Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary’s
Mike Groselle, The Citadel
Jordan Hulls, Indiana
Jonathan Lee, Northeastern
C. J. McCollum, Lehigh
Mike Muscala, Bucknell
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Peyton Siva, Louisville
Andrew Smith, Butler
Marc Trasolini, Santa Clara

University of Louisville guard Russ Smith was named one of 19 third team recipients of the Academic Momentum Award, announced last week by the Scholar Baller program, in conjunction with the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS). A junior communication major Russ has a cumulative 3.1 grade point average and was a third team selection for the academic honor.

Eighty-nine nominations were received from 30 different colleges and universities across the country. The nominations were divided into three teams based on the level of academic improvement and the impact of that academic momentum on each nominee and his or her peers. A total of 28 male and female award recipients from the NCAS schools were chosen for team one, 17 recipients were chosen for team two and 19 recipients for the third team.

Russ is leading the Cards in scoring this season with 18.4 points per game, shooting 41.4% from the field, 32.3% from 3, and 79.7% from the free-throw line. He also averages 2.6 assist per game and 2.2 steals per game. His Big East statistics are as follows, he is fourth in scoring 18.4pg (38th nationally), third in steals 2.2pg (31st nationally), 12th in free throw percentage 79.7% and 14th in three-point goals per game 1.7pg. He is a national player of the year candidate and one of the 25 players left on the Wooden Watch list. He was also mentioned today on Espn for being one of the breakout players of the year.

THIRD TEAM Academic Momentum Award recipients are:

-John Dickson, Virginia Tech, Wrestling, Business Information Technology
-Russ Smith, University of Louisville, Basketball, Communication
-Jessica Gehrke, Florida International University, Track and Field, Sand Volleyball, Sports and Fitness
-Josh Reese, University of Central Florida, Football, Sport and Exercise Science
-Harry Adams, Auburn University, Track, Sociology
-Andrew Incho, Canisius College, Soccer, Communications
-Erica Winston, University of Central Florida, Track and Field, Interpersonal Organizational Communication
-Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, Texas A&M University, Tennis, International Studies
-Sandra Jean-Roman, Monmouth University, Track and Field, Anthropology
-Sam Kernan-Schloss, Brown University, Soccer, Community Health & Economics
-Stephanie Thompson, Brown University, Softball, Neuroscience
-Ensley Ann Gammel, University of Florida, Softball, Family, Youth, & Community Services
-Camille Everett, University of Central Florida, Varsity Rowing, Interdisciplinary Studies
-Michael Wilder, UC Irvine, Men’s Varsity Basketball, Psychology and Social Behavior
-Mar Rodriguez, UC Irvine, Varsity Women’s Soccer, Sociology
-Kelly Meggs, UC Irvine, Varsity Women’s Basketball, Psychology
-Hannah Croghan, UC Irvine, Women’s Water Polo, Public Health Policy
-Ashley Rivera, Texas A&M Kingsville, Golf, Environmental Engineer
-Jake Rouser, Idaho State University, Football, Business Management

This year’s nominations included stories of overcoming past academic failures; transferring schools in the middle of a season; leaving his or her hometown and still exemplifying leadership while inspiring peers and teammates to do the same; overcoming the adversity of being injured and channeling their energy into academics; being an international student who had to persevere through hardships both academically and culturally; and participating in local community service initiatives.

The NCAS is an ever-­‐growing organization of colleges and universities that provides opportunities for current and former student-­‐athletes to continue their pursuit of higher education, while working in the community with children to address social issues. Established in 1985, the overall mission of the NCAS is “to create a better society by focusing on educational attainment and using the power appeal of sport to positively affect social change.”

Established in 1995, the Scholar Baller movement evolved in response to concerns that the student-athlete’s athletics role increasingly superseded the student role. In order to address this issue, the founding members of Scholar Baller developed a groundbreaking program to bridge the gap between education and sport utilizing student-athletes’ passion for entertainment and athletics. As a result, the Scholar Baller program has produced unprecedented outcomes in student retention and academic achievement. Each award recipient will receive a recognition certificate; the second and first team will also receive an authentic Scholar Baller medal. All nominees who made the first team will also receive a ThinkMan/ThinkWoman trophy. All nominees are individually and collectively a testament to the “student” in “student-­‐athlete.” Their commitment to academics and athletics is truly an inspiration.

Very proud of Russ Smith for this accomplishment. It’s always great when your players are stars on the court and in the classroom. He is not only winning basketball games but winning in life as well.

With Signing Day less than a month away, The Cards look to put their best foot forward with some of the big names left on their recruiting board. Louisville will host 7 big name targets this weekend, and they’ll also try to shore up their standing with several commitments who are also visiting.

U of L commitments visiting:

-Kyle Bolin, QB, (Lexington, Ky.) has been committed to Louisville since September. After receiving interest from schools around the country, Bolin didn’t need much time to make a decision. The Lexington Catholic signal-caller decided early in his junior season that he wanted to attend Louisville.

Is a prototypical pocket passer, he’s also able to make plays with his feet.(ESPN)

-Derrick Calloway, DT, (Bradenton, Fla.) Bradenton Manatee defensive tackle Derrick Calloway officially committed to Louisville a few weeks ago during the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Houston. He picked Louisville over South Florida and Missouri. He also had offers from Arkansas, Ohio State, Florida State, USC, Texas A&M and several other Division I schools.

He does display the ability to be a good run defender and interior pass rusher.(ESPN

-Skylar Lacy, OL, (Greenwood, Ind.) The Center Grove offensive tackle committed to the Cards back in early May. He held scholarship offers from Cincinnati, Ball State and Western Michigan. Wisconsin, Indiana and Purdue showed interest.

This guy is a tough customer who works to finish blocks and punish defenders when the opportunity presents itself.(ESPN)

-De’Asian Richardson, DE, (Orange Park, Fla.) The Orange Park defensive end flipped his pledge to Louisville from West Virginia in early January. He held offers from the likes of Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, UCLA, Michigan State, Pitt, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

He’s a physical, wrap-up tackler who can attack ball carriers high. He could be a disruptive interior pass rusher with his good initial burst.(ESPN)

-Terrence Ross, Safety, (Apopka, Fla.) The Wekiva High School defensive player committed to the Cards back in early May. He held offers from Cincinnati, North Carolina State, Wake Forest.

He is a scheme versatile defensive back who brings good instincts and athleticism to the safety position.(ESPN)

-Keith Towbridge, TE, (Toledo, Ohio) The Central Catholic High School TE committed to the Cards back in early April. He held offers from Bowling Green, Nebraska, Toledo.

He will line-up as a wing and come around and lead on plays and is agile enough to block well on his feet in space and get a piece of moving targets.(ESPN)

UofL Targets visiting:

-Jermaine Grace, LB, (Miramar, Fla.) The Miramar High School LB has offers from Miami (FL), Tennessee, Bowling Green, Florida, Florida State, Kentucky, Marshall, Nebraska, North Carolina, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, South Florida, Syracuse, Texas A&M, UCF, West Virginia, and Louisville.

Grace is a tough customer who is capable of aligning in a variety of positions and causing havoc in the opponent’s backfield. He can turn and change direction without losing a step and is very effective against the outside run, showing excellent sideline-to-sideline range. He shows very efficient skills as a zone coverage defender.(ESPN)

-Ro’Derrick Hoskins, LB, (Orland, Fla.) The Maynard Evans High School LB is committed to Florida St. but holds an offer from Louisville and Coach Strong and staff will be trying to change this young mans mind this weekend.

His flexibility, agility and balance allow him to play effectively both on and off the line of scrimmage. Hoskins has the ability to make game-changing plays anywhere on the field and has the talent to see early playing time at the BCS level of play.(ESPN)

-Keith Kelsey, LB (Gainesville, Fla.) The Gainesville High School LB has offers from South Florida, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Iowa State, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Purdue, South Alabama, South Carolina, Temple, UCF, Utah, Wake Forest, Weber State, and Louisville.

This prospect plays downhill, showing the ability to take on blockers at the point of attack; moves through traffic well flashing the ability to turn and change direction with better than average range. Does a good job as a coverage defender; is alert, demonstrating good route awareness; picks up receivers out of the backfield, is effective getting his hands on receivers and disrupting their routes.(ESPN)

-Lamar Robbins, CB, (Miami, Fla.) The Miami Southridge Senior High School CB has offers from Purdue, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Auburn, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Marshall, Memphis, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, South Carolina, South Florida, Texas A&M, UCF, Virginia.

Shows flashes of good ball skills but needs to show more consistency. Range and ability to cover ground make safety a likely possibility if he can add size and become more physical on run support. High-cut and long helping his good high-point skills and ability to cover ground but hinders crisp movements at corner and ability to mirror receivers tightly in man-to-man. Long arms for effective reach tackles but tends to catch as a tackler instead of driving through with force and firm wrap-ups.(ESPN)

-Chucky Williams, CB, (Hialeah, Fla.) The Champagnat Catholic High School CB is committed to Ole Miss but has offers from Nebraska, Arkansas, Boston College, Bowling Green, Clemson, Florida International, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Purdue, South Carolina, South Florida, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, Western Kentucky, and Louisville.

He transitions smoothly and quickly when turning and running with receivers. He possesses good recovery speed and it is very difficult to create separation on him. He pursues, runs well, takes proper angles and shows good open field tackling skills. His movement skills allow for him to get from the hash to the sideline in a hurry. Williams is a good football player who adapts to the role he is put into, but he lacks great top end speed.(ESPN)

-Sean Avant, CB, (Miramar, Fla.) The Miramar High School CB is committed to FIU but holds offers from Bowling Green, Marshall, South Alabama, Syracuse, Temple, UCF, Wake Forest, West Virginia.

Shows he can come off the line with good surge and get up the seam quickly on vertical routes as well. Needs some polish as an intermediate route runner but will go up and get the contested jump ball or make the occasional catch in traffic over the middle. Will pluck the ball in stride and get North without gearing down much. Most of his damage is down underneath though. Excels at turning the short pass into a big gainer. Shows the ability to change direction quickly after the catch and flashes above average up-field burst. Slips tackles and despite not being overly strong or explosive, he can get a few tough yards after the catch and absorb a hit.(ESPN)

-Cameron Fraser, OL, (Phenix City, Ala.) The Central High School OL is committed to South Florida but has offers from Arkansas, Jacksonville State, Middle Tennessee, Ole Miss, South Alabama, UAB.

His initial punch and extension are positives. This guy is a tough customer who finishes with the nasty attitude we like to see from offensive linemen.(ESPN)

A lot of work and planning go into hosting these types of recruiting weekends. I hope Coach Strong and his staff have some success and I’m looking forward to hearing about some big time commits by the end of the weekend.

Louisville men’s basketball senior Peyton Siva has been selected as one of 20 watch lists finalists for the 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, as announced by the Naismith Memorial Basketball of Fame Thursday.

The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in men’s college basketball. Peyton was one of 85 players on the initial watch list, and is one of two Big East players to make the list of 20.

As a Louisville fan, it has been fun watching the progression of Peyton Siva. He has always been an excellent defender, and over the course of four seasons, his offense has evolved to the point where he is now a great point guard. He is averaging 11.5 points a game, grabbing 2.2 rebounds a game and is dishing out 6.1 assist a game. Seemingly, out of nowhere he has become a dependable three-point threat. Over the past 2 seasons, he made just 26 percent of his threes but now that he picks his spots and keeps a low number of attempts, he has increased that 10 percentage points to 36 percent. He has also become pretty much automatic from the charity stripe shooting 88% and that has increased by 27 percentage points over his 4 seasons. He has also become solid from the field averaging 43%. He is currently 15 points away from being the 64^th Louisville player to score 1000 points. He is doing a much better job of protecting the ball averaging 6.1 assist to 2.7 turnovers a game and is currently only 4 assist away from being in a tie for second place for second most assist all time. Without Peyton that final four run last year would have been nonexistent and that was a defining moment for him. And if the Cards are to make a run at their 3^rd national title in March it will be Peyton leading the way again. I hope he continues to have a great season and gets all the accolades that come along with it.

The watch list of candidates will be narrowed down to a final 10 in early February, and final five will be selected in early March. A selection committee has been appointed by the Hall of Fame to review the final five candidates in contention for the nation’s top collegiate point guard award. The winner of the 2013 Bob Cousy Award will be presented at the Hall of Fame’s Class Announcement on Championship Monday in Atlanta as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.

Previous winners of the Bob Cousy Award have included Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph’s), Raymond Felton (North Carolina), Dee Brown (Illinois), Acie Law (Texas A & M), DJ Augustin (Texas), Ty Lawson (North Carolina), Greivis Vasquez (Maryland), Kemba Walker (Connecticut) and last year’s recipient Kendall Marshall (North Carolina). For more information on the 2013 Bob Cousy, log onto www.CousyAward.com.

-2013 Bob Cousy Award Candidates
Jahii Carson, Arizona State
Pierre Jackson, Baylor
Quinn Cook, Duke
Kevin Pangos, Gonzaga
Keith Appling, Michigan State
Isaiah Canaan, Murray State
Kendall Williams, New Mexico
Lorenzo Brown, North Carolina State
Aaron Craft, Ohio State
D.J. Cooper, Ohio
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Nate Wolters, South Dakota State
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse
Mark Lyons, Arizona
Ray McCallum, Detroit-Mercy
Trey Burke, Michigan
Andre Hollins, Minnesota
Phil Pressey, Missouri
Erick Green, Virginia Tech

– Soccer’s version of the Blue and Red rivalry

Friday night UofL and UK soccer took center stage in front of the second largest crowd to ever watch a match in Cardinal Park. There was a buzz in the air as these teams took the field for their version of “The Battle of the Bluegrass”. On this night it was the guys in blue who would win the battle.

Despite finishing the game with a 11-5 shot advantage and a corner kick advantage of 9-2 the Cards couldn’t find the back of the net. UK played solid defense throughout the match coming up with answers every time it appeared that Louisville would have an advantage. The Cards played some great defense as well and it took a penalty kick for UK to get on the board. Late in the first half Ade Akinsanya went for the ball outside the box and took down a UK player then was called for a foul. UK’s Matt Lodge took the free kick and found the back of the net to put the Wildcats up 1-0. This would be the only goal of the night.

The Cards had won the last three meetings with UK. And they hadn’t allowed a goal since 2007. Louisville has been the dominate soccer program in Kentucky for several years and even made a trip to the 2010 NCAA Championship game. But on this night it was a UK squad that was off to one of their worst starts in the programs history who would be victorious. Every dog, or in this case cat has their day I suppose.

Coach Ken Lolla would say after the game: “The name of the game is scoring goals,” “We got some great opportunities but just never converted,” “I thought our guys battled especially in the second half we just didn’t get any goals.”

Coach Ken Lolla on where his team is at this point in the season: “We are still finding ourselves,” “I loved this atmosphere tonight, a lot of our guys have never played in this type of atmosphere,” “We are still making gains and finding ourselves,” “I like this team and I know we are going to be very good come the end of the year.”

Tonight was a great sports atmosphere at Cardinal Park and perhaps the one thing that I took from it was how much these guys give back, especially to the kids. These guys had just lost a heart breaker to their instate rivals and they stayed over for 20 minutes to sign autographs for the kids. That really was a cool thing for them to do. The Louisville fan base has really rallied around the Olympic sports and tonight it was very apparent that Cardinal Nation loves their soccer team.

– UofL’s “Meet the Press”

We are just 6 days away from the gridiron version of the “Battle of the Bluegrass”. Today Coach Strong and senior OL member Alex Kupper met with the press.

The theme of this press conference was that of humility and playing hungry. Strong said “We’re just not good enough yet to turn the switch on and off.”, “We have to understand the expectations are high but preparation is the key to fulfilling those expectations. We have to pay attention to the small details.” Coach Strong praised his opponent saying that “UK is a very good football team, similar to us in a lot of ways”;”UK has some outstanding players. In a rivalry game, everyone is excited but this is two very good teams”

Coach Strong then talked about his team:

Teddy QB- “Teddy is more of a student of the game.” Says he had a really good preseason camp and “improved a lot.”

RB’s- “We still have Tuesday and Wednesday to go and then we’ll sit down with the offensive staff. We still have three good RBs sitting there and it will be one of the three and whomever we pick is going to be the feature guy.”, He says D. Brown, Wright, and Perry are all very good players. The winner of the battle will have earned it & will do a good job. Strong said, “There will be a featured back.”

WR’s- Coach Strong said that the WR position “has been the surprise position of preseason camp” He like the development of Copeland, Andrell Smith and says “We have enough receivers, we have enough guys there. We lost a really good football player in Michaelee Harris but that position had a really good fall camp.”

OL- Charlie says about the O-line that they have five returning players with starts from last season. Says they feel very good about it and that it’s really gelling as a group. Strong said “In the trenches is where it has to happen” “We feel really good”

DL- Coach Strong says that they have some depth and have lots of guys who will help. Says they have plenty of talent to succeed.

LB’s/Secondary- Strong “have enough depth at LB position, and return four starters in secondary” Strong repeatedly said “we have enough guys”, Says “Durant has just had an outstanding camp, like his whole attitude and the way he’s working”

Special Teams- Coach strong mentioned that he was very concerned about the kicking game. Says “A concern for me is the kicking game. I’ll tell you right now, I’m not really pleased with how it’s going in the kicking game” Strong says “no consistency.” Added that Nakatani and Wallace are missing too many FGs in practice and said punting unit also not consistent. “Might be 50 yards one time and 20 the next.”

Some other points from the press conference by Coach Strong:

Game Plan: “We want to run the ball. If you’re strong up front, and UK has a strong defensive fron, they can create issues for you”

On Leadership: Strong “despite only having 9 seniors, those guys are leading. With so many young guys, they do play and they’ve been challenged to lead.”

Bryce McNeil: “Left on his own. Always say when get transfer, this program is not for everybody. Some can handle it, some can’t.”

On the favorite/Underdog: Says we’re going to be the hunter. We will go out on the field with the mentality that we’re always the underdog. “We haven’t talked about preseason ranking, it’s where you finish”

Emotions: “We must control emotion and make sure guys aren’t too fired up”. Says they “must channel that energy into executing properly”.

Camp: “We’ve had some really good hitting practices. I think I need to back away a little now”, “This has been a very physical camp for us”, Says he tells his guys “Don’t punch that clock. Keep working.”

Governor’s Cup effect on recruiting: “Look at in-state recruiting and all the good guys are leaving. We just have to find a way to keep them home.”

Next up was Senior O LINE member Alex Kupper: He talked about how tough training camp had been but did say that there were fewer reps due to the depth. He mentioned expectations and said they must handle it one game at a time and said that this team hasn’t even scratched the surface on how good they can be. Then talked about facing UK’s defensive line: “It’ll be a challenge but we have to face it. They’ve gone against big time offenses and offensive lines.”

Other notes from Kupper:

On RB’s- Said that they have great confidence in Brown, Wright and Perry. Says all 3 guys have great talent and all 3 can help the team win.

On Humility- Says they must stay humble. Says they haven’t done anything yet and that you can’t expect to just roll the ball out and win. He said they must execute and “Play UofL football”

On “The Rivalry”- “It’s a big game for this program and a big game to the state. Newcomers will know how big the game is on Sunday”

Very informative press conference today and it seems like Coach Strong and Alex are very focused on the task at hand. I really like the things that I heard from them today. Kick-off now just 6 days away folks.

– 4 Louisville Offers in Elite 24

The Under Armour Elite 24 is a celebration of streetball’s past, present and future. This event has existed for 6 years and has become the premiere event of the summer. The first four were at Rucker Park, and the last two years at Venice Beach. This years event was held at Venice beach.

Among the 24 participants this year were Louisville offers Isaac Hamilton, Jermaine Lawrence, and Marcus Lee from the 2013 class. And Rashad Vaughn from the 2014 class. Vaughn was a late add after another player couldn’t make it to the event.

Ultimately, the 164-138 win for the Brandon Jennings-coached Raymond Lewis Squad over the Kyrie Irving-coached Marques Johnson Squad did turn into a giant fastbreak, but not till the last five minutes—and that was the fault of whoever drafted the teams, not the game’s format.

– Rick Pitino spending some time this summer with his other athletes

Our basketball coach Rick Pitino has been out west doing some scouting the past couple of weeks. He’s been checking out some pretty fast athletes on this trip. But not the ones with 2 legs. These athletes have 4.

That’s right this scouting trip had nothing to do with hoops. Pitino has four horses with trainer Doug O’Neill, including three 2-year-old colts, giving Pitino his first presence as an owner on the West Coast after having horses in Kentucky and on the East Coast for years.

Doug O’Neill is the trainer that had  Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes victories earlier this year with I’ll Have Another. O’Neill was introduced to Pitino by a former Louisville soccer player Jack Sisterson who is an assistant to O’Neill.

Pitino watched all of his horese train last Wednesday. Among those horses was Russdiculous. Last night Coach P spent some time in the winners circle at Del Mar Racecourse. His horse Koco Loca won the first race.

Among the partnership for the West Coast horses is Lou Lamoriello the chief executive officer, president, and general manager of the New Jersey Devils. He was the athletic director at  Providence that gave Rick his first job.

Good to see Ricky P out getting some time away from basketball. I want him to be well rested. He’s got some 2 legged thoroughbreds to coach this winter. And hopefully the Louisville Cardinals will be in the Winners Circle at the Final Four in Atlanta.

– Media Day

Today was media day for the University of Louisville football program. The 3 coaches to take the podium were Head Coach Charlie Strong, Defensive Coordinator Vance Bedford, and Offensive Coordinator/QBs Shawn Watson. All coaches had great things to say about how the team was progressing but each remain cautiously optimistic about how their young group will perform when the lights come on.

Coach Strong’s opening:
“Each day it’s all about getting better. The team, what we need to do is establish an identity, and we know only nine seniors. But enough guys have played that we can have some guys step up. The guys have responded well so far.”

Coach Bedford’s opening:
“Right now, we are really excited about our defensive line. We have a lot of depth there.”

Coach Watson’s opening:
“We look like a Division I football team should be,”

QUARTERBACKS:
Coach Strong – “Teddy continues to get better every game. He has become a student of the game.”

Coach Watson – “The thing I want to see out of Teddy is him manage the game. The different aspects of the game, he has to manage those things.”, “He’s taken to heart increasing his strength and durability. He’s a totally different looking player.”

RUNNING BACKS:
Coach Strong – “Each one of the five have a different quality. We have enough guys there. We have five guys there.”

Coach Watson –  “We’re going to have to go through training camp. Get into scrimmage situations” before a decision made on the starting running back. “They are all not letting up. They all want to be the starter. Competition is a great thing.”

RECEIVERS:
Coach Strong –  “Moving Gaines to wide receiver has added to the group. Each day he’s talking to his own guys and just adds enthusiasm to the group. All the guys are stepping up and a really good group.”

Coach Watson – “We have a lot of speed, we have a lot of speed.”

OFFENSIVE LINE:
Coach Strong – “we know we have five solid.”

Coach Watson – said Mario & Kupper “are the thump and the voice,” of offense. “If something needs to be fixed, those two guys will fix it.”

DEFENSIVE LINE:
Coach Strong – “I told Vance this may be the group that we go rush four and hope we can get some pressure on the quarterback.”

Coach Bedford – “Right now, we are really excited about our defensive line. We have a lot of depth there.”, “We just don’t know. On paper we like what we see… but when the lights come on? I don’t know what we’re going to do. They might start crying. I might need pampers.”

LINEBACKERS:
Coach Bedford – “Compared to our first two years, athletically we’re a lot better.”, Mount & Mauldin: “They are going to play up, down, all around. We’re going to play them all over the place.”

DEFENSIVE BACKS:
Coach Bedford – “Hakeem Smith is by far one of my favorite players. Not big enough, not fast enough but makes plays.”, 

Kicking: 
Coach Strong – “is a major concern”

Other things of importance:

Coach Strong on:

-Zeke Pike – “We talked about this program and our focus and he’s accepted how this program is ran.”  Coach Strong also mentions how the goal is to help change lives.

Fan Support –  “The fan support here has just been tremendous. When you have the fan support, then the players start believing in themselves.”

Team Balance – “You like to have balance and like to have it in all three phases of the game. Offensively, a year ago didn’t know what QB situation was going to be and offensive line we were so young. Even on defense just so young. You do feel like you have a balance there because enough guys that have played.”

Education – “I want to see every young man in our program to graduate. I told them if you don’t get a degree then you don’t need to be in this program.” Strong said that it “carries over onto the field.”

Playing home games – “The games at home, we have to win. So tough to win on the road. We pack it in here and fans come to watch us play. Tell the guys, they are here for a reason, so lets go give them a show. We have to do a better job of defending out home stadium.”

This really could be a big year for our Louisville Football team on many different levels. First, the football program has the potential to take a big step forward. Strong is making that happen. More importantly, the current unsettled climate of conference membership could well have U of L moving to a new home in the coming years. No matter where that is, Strong is taking measures to make sure the football team will fit into any new environment quite well.

– Cardinal Paradise – Battle 4 Atlantis Bracket revealed

We learned today that our Louisville Cardinals will be the #1 seed of the 2012 Battle 4 Atlantis. Our Cards will face Northern Iowa in the first round of the tournament. The rest of Battle 4 Atlantis Draw: Missouri-Stanford, Duke-Minnesota, Memphis-VCU,. This is considered by most to be the best preseason tournament of the year. And it is the best field of talented teams that the tourney has had since it began in 2011. Last year Harvard defeated UCF 59 – 49 for the title.

The Battle 4 Atlantis is a Kerzner International owned and operated preseason college basketball tournament that takes place in late November of each year, at Atlantis Resorts on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas usually the week before Thanksgiving. The tournament is known for being the richest Division I Men’s pre-season college basketball tournament. Teams are awarded 2 million to participate in the event.

No doubt this will be a great preseason tournament to start the college basketball season and will be a great gauge to see just how good our Louisville Cardinals will be to start the season. I can’t wait!