BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: LOUISVILLE

August 28, 2006

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: George Goode, (F) Raytown (MO) South High School


Projected 2007-2008 Roster


Seniors: Juan Palacios (F), David Padgett (F/C), Terrence Farley (C)
Juniors: Andre McGee (PG), Terrence Williams (SF), Jonathon Huffman (BF)
Sophomores: Edgar Sosa (G), Jerry Smith (G), Derrick Caracter (BF), Earl Clark (G/F)
Freshmen: George Goode


With Rick Pitino as the head coach and in the Big East, it is no surprise that the Louisville Cardinals have become a recruiting powerhouse once again. Over the weekend, Cardinals Get Commitment for 2007-2008 (Louisville Courier-Journal) as George Goode pulled the trigger and pledged to Louisville after visiting the school.


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With the commitment from Goode, Rick Pitino still has two scholarships to give out for the 2007 class. A staple of the Pitino system is long, athletic players that excel from beyond the 3-pt range. One of the things missing from last year's edition of the Cardinals was the shooting prowess from beyond the arc of normal Rick Pitino teams, especially with Taquan Dean injured. On the 2007 recruiting trail, it looks like the Louisville staff is dedicated to improving that aspect of their team. Goode is one of the ideal players for the Pitino system with his length and ability to hit the 3-ball and rattle the rim with an impressive dunk. Goode will need to get stronger to battle inside in the Big East as he tips the scales at a rather slight 205 lbs currently. Goode is a player that can do just a little bit of everything and with his body filling out and using improved strength to be even more dangerous on the boards and defensively. Goode selected the Cards over Oklahoma St, Missouri, Kansas, Baylor and Marquette.


With the final two scholarships remaining this fall, it looks like Pitino and staff has zeroed in on some help at the shooting guard position and big forward position. At the guard spot, Darquavis Tucker and Blake Hoffarber seem to be getting the most attention. Tucker is a powerful 6'4 shooting guard out of Saginaw, MI who has long gotten by with his strength advantage over other players and attacking the rim. His stock has soared of late with his improved perimeter skills that continue to evolve. He seems to have narrowed his choices to UL, Indiana and DePaul. Hoffarber is, quite simply, the best shooting prospect in the class targeted by high-majors. Hoffarber is also being pursued heavily be Big East rivals such as Cincinnati, Notre Dame and Rutgers. He is expected to take a look at Louisville late in September, but he still has a LONG lists of schools and seems to be taking the entire recruiting process in at this time.

At the forward spot, Louisville looks to be targeting sweet shooting Jon Leuer from Minnesota, Tracy Smith from North Carolina and Mac Koshwal of Cnicago. Leuer is a player who saw his interest sky-rocket this summer as he consistently made shots from the perimeter. Although just under 200 lbs standing nearly 6'10, his shooting touch out past the 3-pt line has schools like Notre Dame, West Virginia and Louisville, among others, very interested. Smith and Koshwal are more traditional low-block forwards that use strength and effort to get the job done. Louisville has been a late entrant into the Koshwal sweepstakes and recently hosted him on campus. Koshwal seems to be made for the Big East and DePaul hopes to hang on to this local prospect, but a flurry of September visits to the elite of college basketball will make this tough. When Louisville and Rick Pitino comes calling, players listen, and Koshwal is definitely listening. Not as much was known about Smith entering the summer, but a solid summer has put him on the radar of many top schools and Louisville seems to be on his short list.

With the final two scholarships open and a bunch of visits in the works, we will keep you posted on Louisville's efforts.

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LOUISVILLE SHORT-HANDED AGAINST TOUGHER OOC SCHEDULE

August 22, 2006


Louisville head coach Rick Pitino says an improved Louisville squad for 2006-2007 leads to a More Challenging Schedule for Cards (Louisville Courier-Journal). With a highly anticipated freshmen class and Pitino's excitement over the improvement of sophomores Andre McGee and Jonathan Huffman, along with junior Terrance Farley, the schedule is purposely meant to push this team a little more. The Cards will meet Arizona in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden (a house of horrors for UL last year) and also have dates lined up with Dayton and UMass as well as what is supposed to be a challenging exempt tournament that Louisville will host.

The bad news for Louisville, however, is U of L's Jenkins Breaks Leg (Louisville Courier-Journal) in a pick-up game. Senior Brandon Jenkins suffered a fractured fibula and sever high ankle sprain which will keep him out of action AT LEAST three months. At that time a decision will be made whether to play or redshirt. Pitino wants to avoid the situation that occurred last year when Juan Palacios suffered a similar pre-season injury and was forced to play much of the season on, essentially, one leg.

To me, this is not the news Louisville needs at all. Jenkins is a senior and has the experience in Pitino's system and in the Big East. The freshmen are talented, but learning the key roles of defense and rebounding and good decisions at this level will no doubt take some time. It will force Edgar Sosa, Jerry Smith and Earl Clark to grow up fast, though.

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PITINO ADDRESSES MEDIA ON PLAYER TURNOVER

August 18, 2006


Is it a sign of the times? Or is Rick Pitino different now than at Kentucky? In his 8-yr tenure as head coach of the Wildcats, Pitino only had four players he recruited leave the program. he also had 11 NBA draft picks (including 9 in the first round). Although he has yet to completely put his stamp on the Louisville program, something has been different, he has seen 16 players leave the program in his 5+ years on the job. Although many were holdovers from a Denny Crum-era that had taken a step-back in recent years, it is somehwta alarming to know that Lorrenzo Wade, Bryan Harvey, Chad Millard and Brian Johnson, the four Cards who have departed over the last 17 months. That's four guys in 17 months compared with four guys -- Carlos Toomer, Aminu Timberlake, Rod Rhodes and Oliver Simmons -- in eight seasons at UK. The turnover might have Pitino thinking a little differently on the recruiting front and realizing that UL Needs to Sign Ability and Stability (Louisville Courier-Journal). As Louisville prepares for an upcoming Canadian trip over Labor Day, Pitino Addresses Pressing Recruiting Issue (Courier-Journal). Pitino also plans to us the Trip to Canada to Look at the Rookie Quartet (Lexington Herald-Leader) which Pitino believes is his best group since coming to UL.

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BIG EAST RECRUITING REPORT: LOUISVILLE

August 5, 2006


Projected 2007-2008 Roster


Seniors: Juan Palacios (F), David Padgett (F/C), Terrence Farley (C)
Juniors: Andre McGee (PG), Terrence Williams (SF), Jonathon Huffman (BF)
Sophomores: Edgar Sosa (G), Jerry Smith (G), Derrick Caracter (BF), Jarvis Walker (SF walk-on), Earl Clark (G/F)
Freshmen: No Commitments Yet


With Rick Pitino as the head coach and in the Big East, it is no surprise that the Louisville Cardinals have become a recruiting powerhouse once again. This is bad news for the rest of the conference and, recently, has been bad news to some of the existing players as three highly regarded recruits from their class of 2005 have opted to leave the program since the beginning of 2006. All that has done, however, has opened up more room for Pitino to pursue prospects for the class of 2007.


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Currently it stands that Louisville has three open scholarships to distribute for the class of 2007. It is also not uncommon for Rick Pitino, like last year, to distribute a scholarship or two over the limit and watch things work themselves out. Whether it is a transfer or a player leaving early for the NBA, you can almost always expect some form of attrition in the program.

A staple of the Pitino system is long, athletic players that excel from beyond the 3-pt range. One of the things missing from last year's edition of the Cardinals was the shooting prowess from beyond the arc of normal Rick Pitino teams, especially with Taquan Dean injured. On the 2007 recruiting trail, it looks like the Louisville staff is dedicated to improving that aspect of their team. The two most immediate targets that the staff hopes begin to fill in the pieces are 6'4 guard Darquavis Tucker out of Saginaw, MI and George Goode, a 6'8 forward, from Raytown, MO. Tucker is an evolving player that is still a work in process from the perimeter, but he brings excellent size and athletic ability and has been improving his ball skills very quickly and all summer long he has shown the ability to shoot the ball. Goode is one of the ideal players for the Pitino system with his length and ability to hit the 3-ball and rattle the rim with an impressive dunk. Goode will need to get stronger to battle inside in the Big East, but is a high-potential recruit that is very high on Louisville.


With the third open scholarship it is most likely that the Cardinals will go in the direction of their frontcourt. Big men such as Anthony McClain, Tracy Smith, Jon Leuer, Anthony Randolph, Patrick Patterson and Herb Pope have seen a lot of coach Pitino or his staff at their games this summer. Leuer is a player that got a lot of interest from Louisville lately with his ability to step outside and shoot the ball. The rest of the list are among the high-end of 4/5 prospects left on the baord that everyone is trying to convince to pledge to their program. It would not surprise anyone to see Rick Pitino score one of these elite prospects. One with a very clear connection to the Louisville program is Tracy Smith who is a cousin of current Card Brandon Jenkins, so this is something to watch as players begin to make their college decisions.


As always with Rick Pitino, the recruiting stories will always be available. This year will no different. What looked like just a few months ago to be a very quiet time for the class of 2007 and the Cards has really heated up with the decisions of Chad Millard and Brian Johnson to leave the program. Late in the season, another freshmen, Bryan Harvey had decided to move on, so the three transfers has opened up some new spots that need to be filled, and with Pitino on the prowl, one can expect some more high-end talent to take the care of the opening.

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