BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: LOUISVILLE

September 17, 2008

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Stephan Van Treese, 6'9, power Forward from Lawrence North HS (IN)


Projected 2008-2009 Roster


Seniors: Andre McGee (PG), Terrence Williams (SF)
Juniors: Edgar Sosa (G), Jerry Smith (G), Earl Clark (G/F), Reginald Delk (G)
Sophomores: George Goode (F), Preston Knowles (G)
Freshmen: Samardo Samuels (BF/C), Terrence Jennings (C), Kyle Kuric (G/F), Jared Swopshire (SF)
2009 Commitments: Mike Marra (G), Rakeem Buckles (F), Peyton Siva (PG), Stephan Van Treese (PF)
2010 Commitment: Josh Langford (SF)


Rick Pitino made the trip on Tuesday to Indianapolis to meet with Stephan Van Treese to re-iterate the interest the Cardinals had in the 6'9 power forward. The point was made as the Indiana Star Commits to Louisville (Louisville Courier-Journal) and becomes the fourth member of UL's 2009 class.

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For the longest time it was widely considered that Stephan Van Treese would end up as part of Tom Crean's 2009 class at Indiana. However, things never came together and now Van Treese will take his talents across state lines to Kentucku and suite up for Louisville.

Van Treese had been recruited at times by some of the elite schools of college basketball, including the Hoosiers, UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan State, Kansas and Purdue. Van Treese will play tough in the paint and hit the boards. He is a very solid big man that will play his role for coach Pitino at Louisville.

Back in May coach Pitino picked up his third commitment from the class of 2009 when Peyton Siva out of Seattle (WA) made the Cardinals his college choice. Siva has long been considered Louisville's to lose on the recruiting trail after a visit this past season for their game with Georgetown. In the end, Louisville did not lose and scored a very good commitment from their point guard of the future.

Siva is an extremely quick and lightning fast point guard with the ball in his hands. He is also an above-average perimeter shooter who can also explode at the rim with a dunk when the time is right. As he matures, his decision making continues to improve and he always seems to be calm and cool on the floor, a trait that is a must for the most successful point guards in the game.

Siva and Van Treese join previous 2009 commitments Rakeem Buckles and Mike Marra. Buckles is a wiry and raw forward prospect who is just touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his potential. At 6'8, he has explosive athletic ability that you see in an NBA small forward, however his game is still transitioning from a skinny big man to the wing and is a process that is just beginning. However, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino definitely believes it is a project worth undertaking as he aggressively courted the Miami Pace junior and landed an early verbal commitment from Buckles in February. Local Miami and West Virginia were also closely monitoring his progress, but Louisville easily took the most attention in Buckles.

Mike Marra, a 6'5 native of Smithfield (RI), was the first of Pitino's 2009 commitments. Marra is an athletic shooter for Northfield (Mass.) Mount Hermon School. According to his coach, John Carroll, Marra averaged nearly 28 points per game and has hit 55% from 3-pt range over an 11 game stretch late last season. Marra was also considering Providence, Massachusetts, Gonzaga, Wake Forest and Michigan, but after coach Rick Pitino came to watch him play last winter, Marra decided to end the process early and commit to the Cards, who had been his leader for some time. Marra visited Louisville and Freedom Hall in December and they have been on his mind ever since.


Also in the class of 2009, Louisville has been making a strong push forward for Rice HS and NY Gaucho do-everything guard Durand Scott and also reportedly offered Aaron Dotson, a shooting guard from Seattle (WA) who attended the same high school as current card Terrence Williams. Another Alabama high school player has picqued U of L's interest as Bawa Muniru, an African import who is a legitimate 7-footer now playing at Charis Prep.

Rick Pitino continues to stay well ahead of the game on the recruiting trail as the Louisville coach ha snow added a 2010 commitment to the three verbals already secured for the class of 2009. Josh Langford of J.O. Johnson High School of Huntsville (AL) is the latest to make the pledge to the Cardinals. Louisville staff members have been very visible at his AAU games this summer during the open evaluation periods for the Alabama Lasers. Recently, i95ballerz.com had a very good story as Hard Work, Skill Building Nettes Langford his Dream Offer from the Cards.

We will continue to monitor the UL recruiting developments as they happen.