BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: LOUISVILLE

January 4, 2009

VERBAL COMMITMENTS ALERT: Ryan Taylor, 6'6 forward and Michael Chandler, 6'11 center, both from Lawrence North HS of Indianapolis (IN) and members of the 2011 recruiting class.


Projected 2009-2010 Roster


Seniors: Edgar Sosa (G), Jerry Smith (G), Earl Clark (G/F), Reginald Delk (G)
Juniors: George Goode (F), Preston Knowles (G)
Sophomores: Samardo Samuels (BF/C), Terrence Jennings (C), Kyle Kuric (G/F), Jared Swopshire (SF)
Freshmen: Mike Marra (G), Rakeem Buckles (F), Peyton Siva (PG), Stephan Van Treese (PF)
2010 Commitments: Josh Langford (SF), Jeremy Tyler (PF/C), Justin Martin (F)
2011 Commitments: Ryan Taylor (F), Michael Chandler (C)


The recruiting machine that is Rick Pitino and Louisville continues to roll on as the Cards pick up a pair of commitments from a highly regarded 2011 duo from Lawrence North HS in Indianapolis. Ryan Taylor and Michael Chandler are the Top Sophomores to U of L (Louisville Courier-Journal) and continue a burgeoning pipeline for Pitino from the powerful school in Indy.

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Rick Pitino continues to stay well ahead of the game on the recruiting trail as the Louisville coach has now added two top 2011 recruits to go along with a trio of 2010 commitments from Justin Martin, Jeremy Tyler and Josh Langford to the four players already signed for the class of 2009. After this weekend's highly anticipated showdown with rival Kentucky, Lawrence North High School sophomores Michael Chandler and Ryan Taylor informed the UL staff moments after the thrilling win that they wanted to be part of the Cardinal future.

Ryan Taylor is a 6-foot-6 forward that currently plays as an undersized post. He has the toughness of a post player but the athleticism that could allow him to transition away from the basket in the future.

Michael Chandler is a 6-foot-11 sophomore that is just beginning to come into his own. While he has yet to get a lot of playing time at the high school level, coaches universally agree that his has loads of potential and also had Ohio State, Indiana, Florida, Kentucky and others very interested in his services.

Chandler and Taylor join teammate Justin Martin as verbal commitments to UL. Martin is a highly regarded 6-foot-7 forward out of the class of 2010. Martin, Chandler and Taylor are teammates of UL 2009 signee Stephan Van Treese at Lawrence North. Martin made the early commitment, picking the Cards over Xavier. Martin had yet to play a varsity basketball game, playing on the JV last season, at the time of his commitment. Martin is very long and athletic and uses that to score inside and out.

Jeremy Tyler, a highly touted 6-foot-9 manchild surprisingly ended his commitment early this Fall and verbally committed to the Cards over UCLA, Memphis, Arizona and others. Tyler made a trip to Louisville in late August and the San Diego High School star made a verbal commitment to the Cards early in October as he prepares for his junior season of high school. Tyler is a recruit considered to be comparable to current UL frosh Samardo Samuels, so the Pitino freight train on the recruiting trail rolls along and that justifies the college basketball odds listing Louisville among the favorites in the Big East year in and year out under coach Pitino.

Josh Langford of J.O. Johnson High School of Huntsville (AL) was the first to make the pledge to the Cardinals for the class of 2010. 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.

As for the class of 2009, 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 Kentucky and suit 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 visiting for the UK/Louisville game of 1/4/2009 at Freedom Hall was Indianapolis Pike sophomore Marques Teague. The 6-foot-1 guard is considered an elite prospect in the class of 2011.


We will continue to monitor the UL recruiting developments as they happen as Rick Pitino continues to position the Cards among the elite to keep an eye on for March Madness betting pools each and every year.