My best guess is that our Louisville Cardinals will start the year ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation, on their way to a No. 1 seed in the 2013 NCAA tournament. Those are the expectations you work under when you reach the Final Four and bring back stars like Peyton Siva, Gorgui Dieng, Russ Smith, Chane Behanan and Wayne Blackshear.

Most assume that Siva, Dieng, Behanan, and Blackshear will be in the starting line up. The biggest surprise may be the starter at the shooting guard position. Kevin Ware has been turning heads all summer and buzz around the program is that he’s taken his game to a new level. Rick Pitino has called Ware Louisville’s most improved player this offseason. All this would suggest that Ware will crack the starting line up. Ware came to Louisville as a four-star recruit, ranked among the ESPN 100 for 2011. The talent was clearly there all along. 

And what about those newcomers? Louisville has two new recruits hitting campus this season, including ESPN 100 prospect Montrezl Harrell and 6-10 Mangok Mathiang. These guys should help provide some good depth in the front court. Another guy making his debut on the court this season and who is expected to have a big impact is 6-foot-6 guard Luke Hancock. The transfer from George Mason averaged 10.9 points, 4.3 assists and 4.2 rebounds as a sophomore. He sat out last year due to the transfer rule. Coach Pitino recently told CBS Sports Jeff Goodman that Hancock would be ready to play again in few weeks. He’s currently rehabbing from shoulder surgery he had in May. Pitino also told Goodman that he intends on having Hancock be Siva’s backup.

Another year of great defense ahead? Last season, Louisville held opponents to a sickly 0.95 points per possession in conference play and refused to allow opponents make shots inside the arc holding them to 42.7 percent. With the addition of two big men and added depth it would be safe to say we’ll see more of the same this season.