Akoy Agau, a Sudan Native, moved to America in 2002. He lived in Maryland for a year before moving to Omaha, Nebraska, and was first introduced to basketball in Omaha. He became serious about basketball in 7th grade and has improved everyday since. The 6’9 senior out of Omaha Central High School was named the best prep player in Nebraska this past season. He was also named first-team All-State, earned the Omaha Journal Star Super State honors, and was named honorary captain of the newspapers All-State team. He led the Omaha Central Eagles to four class A state championships. Agau started for Omaha Central all four years of his high school career and averaged 12 points a game for his career.

He has been described by those who have followed his progress as an outstanding athlete inside the classroom and on the court. Coaches say that he is a very humble guy who could easily drop 25 a night, but he is very unselfish and is fine with what he gets. Akoy is also known for having a golden personality, being a leader to his peers and as a fan favorite. He participated in the Derby Festival basketball All-Star game and you could tell in just those few days of interaction with the Louisville media and fans that he is destined to be a favorite once he starts his Louisville career.

Peyton Siva and Gorgui Dieng were two of the most genuine and humble kids that have ever played for the Louisville program. And our program seems to be full of great young men of this caliber. It is very refreshing and rewarding to see our coaching staff continue to bring in guys that fit that mold. Everything I’ve read and seen about the kids we have coming in next season validates this. Akoy is going to be a special player on the court for our Louisville Cardinals and will also be a great person like those who have come before him.

Omaha Central coach Eric Behrens: “He’s a kid that loves the game,””He loves to get in the gym and work out. He likes to lift and he likes to do all the stuff not everybody likes to do. He really is a kid that you’d call a gym rat.””He is one of the most popular kids in school and is a true leader among his teammates.”

ESPN Recruiting analyst Dave Telep: “You can recruit a kid for his ability, but you don’t really understand what you’re getting until you get him in the locker room and see how well he does with the other guys,””Akoy is a kid like that. The physical stuff is all-important, but he’s got some intangibles, some people skills that are special. He’s a neat kid.”

I can’t wait for this guy to get to campus to start his Cardinal career. He has a very promising future ahead and will be joining a very promising Louisville class.

This weekend was great for Cardinal fans and Monday night was the greatest moment of my life as a Cardinal fan. Most of us got to finally see a championship for the first time in our adult lives and it is a moment that I will cherish forever. I was there on Monday night and it was awesome to witness the pageantry and glory of a National Championship game. I took some photos before and after the game to try and capture what I could of this magical and memorable night.

Last night was the greatest sports moment of my life and I know I share that sentiment with the Card Nation. That was one of the best national title games of its 75 year history. It had everything the pageantry, the stars, two great teams, two incredible fan bases and one shining moment. And our Louisville Cardinals seized the day as they beat the Michigan Wolverines 82-76 in an instant classic. The win gave our Cardinals their 3rd National Title and puts them in an elite group with only 8 other programs reaching that mark. They closed out this magical season on a 16 game win streak.

This season has been like a fairy tale in many ways and one that could be a future 30 for 30 feature on ESPN. In a college basketball culture with kids coming to school for one year to boost their NBA draft stock Louisville has established a team first approach. Coach Pitino and his staff have done a great job of recruiting the guys that fit into this team first system. Louisville really has become the model program for doing it the right way and in a more traditional way. The emotional journey to this championship story started with that 5 overtime loss to Notre Dame. After that loss Coach Pitino challenged this team to bond together and to win the rest of the way. And they answered his challenge by winning out the regular season and winning the final Big East tournament championship. That alone will be something that will never be forgotten but this team wasn’t done yet. They would parlay the great season into the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament. They had a great team run through the first round in Lexington and then in Indy Cardinal Nation and the rest of the world would understand what it means to be bonded together as a team. That’s when we really started to understand how special this group really was. The Cards rode that wave of emotion of losing one of their brothers into the Final Four. Here they would run into two great teams who also seemed to be playing for something greater than themselves. And this is where this fairy tale story had its greatest moments. A walk on who had only played sparingly and had scored 16 points on the season comes into the national semi-finals and hits two of the biggest three point shots you’ll ever see to give the Cards a spark to overcome a 12 point deficit. Then in the national title game a guy that had been averaging around 6 points a game becomes the first player to come off the bench to win the tourney’s most outstanding player. In the end of this fairy tale season the Cards turned out to be the most dominate team in the country.
The Cardinals were locked-in on defense, momentously hot on offense and too emotionally charged to let this one get away from them. They had the experience of last season, a Hall of Fame head coach, the emotional leader Ware and the individual playmakers Peyton, Russ, Gorgui, Wayne, Chane, Hancock, Montrezl, Stephan and Tim. This was a great season and a great story and these Cardinals seized the day.

I know I will never forget this group and the experiences they have awarded me from being a Cardinal fan. I have written so much about these guys that I feel like I know each of them personally. And I’m very grateful to be somewhat connected to them through those words. I’m going to seize this moment and this day for the rest of my life. My Louisville Cardinals are National Champions. Oh and I’m glad I can finally sleep and shave.

Now the college Basketball Hall of Fame does, and many think its about time. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Thursday that Pitino’s induction was long overdue. “Should’ve been in last year, but I don’t see any way in the world that he wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame,” Boeheim said. “He’s got better credentials than probably 80% of the coaches in there.” I know that many of us have always considered Coach Pitino a Hall of Famer but it is great to see it finally become official.

“Pitino went back to the NBA in 1997, but returned to college—and his adopted home state—on March 21, 2001 to coach the University of Louisville following the retirement of Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum. In the 2005 season, Pitino led Louisville to their first Final Four in 19 years, and became the first men’s coach in NCAA history to lead three different schools to the Final Four. Immediately following their Final Four run, several players graduated or entered the 2005 NBA Draft. The inexperience caused the Cardinals to limp into the Big East Tournament seeded 12th, and miss the NCAA tournament. They made the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), where they were defeated by eventual champions University of South Carolina. The 2007 Cardinal team was primarily the same team, with added freshmen. Picked to finish towards the bottom of the Big East Conference again, Pitino led them to a second-place finish, 12–4 (tied with the University of Pittsburgh, who had been beaten by the Cardinals during the regular season) in the conference standings and a first round bye in the conference tournament. Pitino implemented a 2–2–1 and 2–3 zone defense midway through the season. The 2007 team’s season ended when the Cardinals lost to Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 2008 Cardinals finished second in the Big East and ranked 13th in both the AP and Coaches’ polls. Louisville was the third seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament’s East region. They defeated Boise State, Oklahoma and Tennessee to advance to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by North Carolina. Louisville was the top seed overall in the 2009 NCAA tournament and was planted as the first seed in the Midwest region. They defeated Morehead State, Siena and Arizona to advance to the Elite Eight, where they were defeated by Michigan State. In 2010 the Cardinals suffered a disappointing 15-point loss to their first round opponent, the California Golden Bears. In 2011, Louisville was upset by 13th-seeded Morehead State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 2012, Pitino coached the Cardinals to the Big East tournament championship and a berth as a 4 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament. The Cardinals defeated Davidson, New Mexico, and top seed Michigan State to advance to the regional final against Florida and his former player and friend Billy Donovan. The Cardinals would go on to win that game, but lost to arch-rivals and eventual national champions Kentucky in the 2012 Final Four.”- Wiki

This year Coach Pitino is in perhaps his most promising season at the helm of our Louisville Cardinals. He has led them to a 33-5 record, tied for the Big East regular season crown, won the Big East Tourney title and currently has them riding a 14 game win streak heading into their 10th Final Four. It is the Cardinals 3rd Final Four under Coach Pitino and he has a 308–111 (.734) record in 12 seasons as the Louisville head coach. This years team is the odds on favorite to win a National Title and it would be icing on the cake of a remarkable career for coach Pitino.

Coaches: Rick Pitino, Tom Heinsohn, Guy Lewis, Jerry Tarkanian and women’s coach Sylvia Hatchell.

Russ Smith, a Junior on Louisville’s 8th-ranked men’s basketball team, has been named a finalist for the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Year Trophy and it was announced this morning by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Members of the association’s board of directors chose the finalists and the entire 900-member USBWA will vote on the awards as well as the annual All-America and All-District teams.

The recipient of the award will be announced on Friday, April 5, at the Final Four in Atlanta, Ga. They will then be formally presented their awards at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on Monday, April 15, at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award, named after the former Oklahoma State Hall of Fame coach, will also be presented at the gala to be held annually the Monday following the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

As it stands right now our Louisville Cardinals are ranked #10 in the country and are firmly in second place in a brutal Big East. And with the Cards being a legitimate national title contender this season it could be a very memorable one. But whats next? With the news from Coach Pitino a few weeks ago that he will encourage Chane, Russ, and Gorgui to test the NBA draft waters plus Peyton graduating what can Cardinal Nation expect next season and beyond? ESPN offered their opinion on this very topic:

Ballard High School Junior Quentin Snider, is considered a top candidate for the 2014 Kentucky Mr. Basketball award and was voted the Seventh Region Player of the Year this past week. We also found out yesterday that fellow 2014 signee Shaqquan Aaron was named to the Star Times all-area team.

In addition to that information we found out today that future point guard Chris Jones has been named the Panhandle Conference Player of the Year for the 2nd year in a row. Not really a surprise considering he is the best Juco player in the nation.

We also learned today that future Cards Anton Gill and Akoy Agau have been named to the roster for the 2013 Derby Festival Classic. The All-Star event will take place on Friday April 19th at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.

“We were able to select and attract many of the best players in the country to complete the roster,” said Mike Gandolfo and Keith Conrad, the event’s co-recruiting chairs. “The 2013 class is loaded with really good players who will put on a great show.”

It is a very exciting time to be a Louisville basketball fan and everyday is filled with positive news about the future of the program. If you would like to read more about the incoming class next year check out the recruiting page.

Have you ever watched a sports movie and said to yourself “man I’d love to have been a part of that?” Well last night Card Nation got to be a part of something that you usually only see in the movies. We got to watch our Teddy QB lead his team to a Big East championship, a BCS bowl and he did it while playing with one arm and on one leg. It was a heroic effort and a moment that will remain in Cardinal lore after most of us are long gone.

Somebody get Disney on the phone because this last week at the University of Louisville has had enough drama to be an instant classic. And at least enough for one of those ESPN inspirational shorts.

Teddy and Offensive Coordinator Shawn Watson hug it out after the emotional game in Rutgers:

– Big recruiting weekend for football program

This Sunday is a big football game for the University of Louisville. It will set the tone for the entire season, and could have major implications on recruiting. On the sidelines, a talented cast, of almost 50 unofficial visitors. 

Though Charlie Strong and his staff will no doubt be occupied with the team in blue and white, they’ll be spending some time thinking about the biggest visiting weekend Louisville has seen in a long time.

Headlining the list are 2013 in-state stars James Quick, Kyle Bolin, Jason Hatcher, Ryan White and James Quick, and out of state stars Jalen Ramsey, Makail Grace and Jonathan Howard.

You will see a lot of guys in this group that are from the state of Kentucky. Coach Strong was ask Monday about in-state recruiting and if this game Sunday means anything:

“Look at in-state recruiting and all the good guys are leaving. We just have to find a way to keep them home.”

-Louisville Cardinals 6th best in the nation

Using a point system devised by the ESPN Stats & Information department, ESPN.com counted down the 50 most successful programs of the past 50 years. 

Our Louisville Cardinals come in at number six in that countdown. Our program has previously been named the seventh best all-time basketball program by Street and Smith’s, The Sporting News, and CBS Sportsline. 

Our program has been in 38 NCAA Tournaments ranked 5th, have 64 tournament wins ranked 6th, been to 9 Final Fours ranked 6, have 1662 wins that ranks 16, and have a winning percentage of .658 that ranks 8th nationally.

I’m very proud of our program and it’s achievements over the past 50 years. Looking forward to the next 50 years of Cardinal basketball. And looking forward to watching the program add to these already impressive numbers. 

Go Cards!