– Rozier out, Ware/Hancock in?

We learned yesterday that 2012 commit Terry Rozier will not attend Louisville this season. Last September, Louisville and head coach Rick Pitino received a verbal commitment from 2012 point guard Terry Rozier. Rozier, who was considered a Top-100 prospect by some, was expected to provide backup minutes to returning guard Peyton Siva. “I’m still committed to Louisville,” Rozier told CardinalAuthority.com. “But I talked to coach [Pitino] and I think this is the best thing for me. I’ll be able to spend a year getting better and am still excited about coming to Louisville.”

Rozier plans to attend Hargrave Military Academy (VA), where he will team up with fellow 2013 commit Anton Gill.

The question is with Rozier out what is the backup plan for the Cardinals? We have heard all off season that Kevin Ware has been the most improved and most impressive player during the summer workouts. Pitino spoke with Drew Deener on Early Birds and said the soon-to-be sophomore has been impressive during workouts. Pitino also mentioned to Drew that Luke Hancock could provide some back-up at the PG position. He also hinted that they may not be done recruiting for the 2012 season.

There are a few different ways that Louisville could use Kevin Ware and Luke Hancock. By playing them at the at the 1 to help take pressure off of Peyton Siva, and also allow Russ Smith to play off the ball and concentrate solely on his offense. And as Rick Pitino mentioned this morning with Drew Deener help cut down on turnovers.
Ware’s handle was notoriously shaky while a prospect, so I wonder whether tightening his ball handling skills has been an offseason priority. If Ware plays off guard, he adds some size to the backcourt, or if Pitino shifts Ware to the 3, the Cardinals could feature an undersized, but speedy, lineup.

Guess we’ll have to wait and see, but in the meatime it is fun to speculate and debate.