BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CARDS LOOK TO EXTEND STREAK VS WVU

January 31, 2009


Louisville looks for their ninth consecutive win on Saturday afternoon when they host the Mountaineers of West Virginia. Bob Huggins’ club is 4-3 in conference play and 15-5 overall heading into the noon showdown at Freedom Hall.

After a slow start to the season, the Cards have been rolling since conference play began and are tied with Marquette atop the Big East at 7-0 in conference play. UL has to resist the urge to look ahead as they have a date with UConn looming on Monday night.

Here are some pregame stories and previews:

WVU at Home on the Road (Courier-Journal)
WVU Looking to Snap Louisville’s Streak (Register-Herald)
Louisville Shows Impressive Size, Depth (Charleston Gazette)
Cards Can Defend With Man or Zone (Daily Mail)
Freedom Riders (Charleston Gazette)
Looking for Big Win (Times West Virginian)

Louisville has been impressive since the beginning of conference play, impressing the pollsters as they have climbed to No. 7 in the latest rankings. They have also left an impression on WVU head coach Bob Huggins, and he is impressed.

“They’re good,” Huggins told media members this week during the coach’s conference call when addressing Louisville. “I think they’re the deepest team in the league…I think Rick [Pitino] does as good a job as anybody in our game of defining rolls and making sure everybody knows what they have to do. And then they just have incredible size. They stretch from one end of the floor in that 2-3 zone to the other.”

While the veteran WVU coach is saying all the right things publicly how impressed he is with Louisville, he is feeding his players motivation to try and steal a road win on Saturday. The Mountaineers certainly have an impressive stable of athletes that are also long and will get after it defensively, which is important in trying to win on the road.

This is likely a game where WVU misses a veteran guard handling the ball. Freshman Darryl ‘Truck’ Bryant is going to be under constant pressure, much like he was against Marquette. WVU will hope he took the game against the Golden Eagles as a learning experience to be applied in this one, because he will need to be smart with the ball and not get WVU out of their offense.

The other area of concern for WVU is in the middle where they do not have the size or bulk to slow down Samardo Samuels if Louisville dedicates themselves to going inside. The Mountaineers match-up elsewhere pretty well, but unless Alex Ruoff and Da’Sean Butler are both in the 20’s, the Terrence Williams, Earl Clark and Samuels front line should be able to pull this one out. The Cards are 6 1/2 –point favorites.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Louisiville 67
West Virginia 61

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LOUISVILLE NOW 7-0 IN BIG EAST

January 29, 2009


After a tight first half, Louisville blew past South Florida in the second half for a resounding 80-54 win at Freedom Hall.

After trailing just 33-32 at the half, the Bulls are Worn Down by No. 7 Louisville (Tampa Tribune) and a 27-5 run to start the half facilitated the process.

With the state of Kentucky battling some brutal winter weather, the Cards Add Thrills to 'Ville's Chills (Louisville Courier-Journal) outside, especially in the second half. Edgar Sosa hit four three-pointers and led the 13 Cards who scored with 16 points. Terrence Williams scored just 5 points, but had a game-high 10 rebounds and a game-high 6 assists. Samardo Samuels added 14 and Earl Clark 12 in the win.

Dominique Jones had a game-high 19 to lead USF, who has now lost 24 straight road games against ranked opponents.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CARDS LOOK TO CONTINUE STREAK VS USF

January 28, 2009


Red-hot Louisville will host South Florida in Freedom Hall this evening in a Big East conference match-up. The Cards are 6-0 in the Big East and have already won in South Florida earlier this month.

USF is 2-5 in Big East play with both wins coming against lowly DePaul. The Bulls have been dealing with injuries and distractions (arrests of Mike Mercer and Anthony Crater) and are likely in line for a long second half of the conference schedule.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found this morning on the internet:

Pitino: Bulls are Improved (Courier-Journal)
T-Will Figures it out in Fourth Year (Kentucky.com)
Jones Has a Shot at Bradley’s USF Records (Tampa Tribune)
Cards Set for South Florida (Courier-Journal)

The way things are setting up, Louisville might have the inside track at the regular season Big East championship. The home and home match-ups for the Cards include the Bulls, whom they have already beaten, Notre Dame, who is struggling mightily and West Virginia. No game is a gimme, and they can not afford to give one up in a spot like this.

With a frontline of Samardo Samuels, Earl Clark and Terrence Williams, the Cards have the firepower to overwhelm the Bulls. The Cards will unleash their full court pressure against a thin USF club that, even though their strength is in their backcourt, has trouble taking care of the ball.

Look for Louisville to rush out of the gate and then keep Dominique Jones and company at bay with their defense. Sometimes the UL offense might stall, so the NCAA basketball odds showing UL as a 17 ½-point favorite seems high, but these Cards are rolling along…

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Louisville 75
South Florida 57

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE HOPES DOME IS HOUSE OF CARDS

January 25, 2009


Big East action tips off with a highly anticipated showdown at noon in the Carrier Dome when Syracuse welcomes in Louisville. The Cards are riding high at 5-0 in the conference and out their six-game win streak on the line against the Orange.

SU has lost two of three after beginning conference play with four straight wins. The schedule has gotten tougher and now the Orange look to get back into the win column before the losses begin to pile up.

Orange Scouting Report: Louisville vs. Syracuse (Post-Standard)
Louisville Wary Heading into Syracuse (Kentucky.com)
Technical Issues Plague SU (Post-Standard)
Louisville’s Smith Scoring not up to Par (Courier-Journal)
Cards Aim to Impose T-Will (Post-Standard)
Cards Know Dome Can Spell Doom (Courier-Journal)

This game might act as a little bit of a moment of truth for the Orange. As they got off to their 15-1 start, 4-0 in the Big East, they were moving up in the eyes of many as a possible title contender in the Big East. After being thoroughly beaten by Georgetown and Pitt on the road, they have a crucial home game with red-hot Louisville.

SU has relied on Jonny Flynn heavily, but he will be facing pressure all game long against the Cards which will test his decision-making for 40 minutes. As a whole, decision making seems to be one area the SU team can improve upon.

The Cards have been getting great leadership from Terrence Williams and the front court duo of Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels could be lottery picks come June if they both declare.

SU will no doubt be energized by a large home crowd in the Dome. That will help with their intensity on the boards and defensively. I still think the Louisville guards are a notch below the level to carry them in this spot, but it should be a very good game that will come down to the end. If Andy Rautins is hitting some shots for the Orange, they will be in good shape to hold off the Cards.

The latest college basketball odds has the Orange listed as a 2 ½-point favorite on their home floor.


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 73
Louisville 70

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BIG 1ST HALF RUN SPURS LOUISVILLE PAST RUTGERS

January 22, 2009

Terrence Williams continues to shine, making his case as the league's MVP as he scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and made 4 steals in the Louisville Runaway Win in Piscataway (Louisville Courier-Journal) over Rutgers, 78-59.

Louisville Routs Rutgers (NY Daily News) using an early 23-0 run to take command of the game with a 28-7 lead on their wat to a 40-20 lead at the half and the Scarlet Knights, dropping their seventh straight game, never challenged to streaking Cardinals.

Former New Jersey high school stars Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels each added 15 for UL and Edgar Sosa added 10 as Louisville Rolls over Rutgers (Asbury Park Press).

Freshmen Mike Rosario (21 points) and Greg Echenique (13 points), a high school teammate of Samuels, were the only Scarlet Knights to reach double-figures.

Louisville will visit Syracuse for a noon tip-off on Sunday at the Carrier Dome.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE @ RUTGERS

January 21, 2009


Louisville will hope to extend their 4-0 start in Big East play while preventing Rutgers (0-5) from earning their first conference of the year.

The Cards come in hot after beating Notre Dame and knocking Pittsburgh from their top-ranked perch last week. Now, ahead of a date in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse this weekend, Louisville travels to take on Rutgers at the RAC.

Rutgers continues to sputter in the third year of the Fred Hill era. There was some new excitement around the program heading into the season as the Scarlet Knights added McDonalds All-American Mike Rosario and highly toured Greg Echenique to a line-up that had some solid returning players. However, much like the first two years under Hill, wins have been hard to come by in the Big East. Hill is now just 5-34 in Big East games as a head coach. With a new athletic director soon to be coming on board, the pressure on Hill and his staff to find some wins is sure to mount.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the internet:

Rutgers Game Not a Trap Game to Cardinals (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Pitino Talks About Rutgers Match-up (Courier-Journal)
It's Apparent Cards Possess a T-Will to Win (Courier-Journal)
Pitino Pep Talk Charged Cards After Tough Loss (Kentucky.com)
Former St. Benedict's Stars Echenique and Samuels to Face Off Tonight (Star-Ledger)
Echenique, Samuels Meet Again (Asbury Park Press)

Although Louisville is saying all the right things, it is only natural to have a letdown tonight. That does not mean Rutgers is an 'upset' alert or the Cards will not win handily, but after the two tough games at home last week, overtime win over Notre Dame and stirring comeback against Pitt, the Cards probably need to take a breath and come up for air...and, with SU looming ahead this weekend, they might be taking that breath tonight.

On the flip side, and this makes this conference SOOOO tough, Rutgers is desperate for a win, playing at home against a hot opponent with a lofty national ranking, Rutgers will come out firing on all cylinders.

However, when the game gets settled down, Louisville's talent will take over. Senior Terrence Williams has assumed command of the UL ship and is coming off an MVP-worthy week where he compiled 24 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals against ND and then followed it up with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the win over Pittsburgh. Rutgers' Corey Chandler will have his hands full on both ends of the floor with T-Will.

Rutgers put a scare into Pitt and Marquette on their home floor and will look to do so against Louisville tonight. Mike Rosario scored 22 against both Pitt and MU, but in the other three conference losses, the former McDonald's AA is shooting just 12-50 (24%) from the floor overall and 5-28 (18%) from three-point range. He has totalled 36 points on those 50 shot-attempts.

Rosario certainly has the confidence to make 'the next one' and the green light to do so, but often times it looks to be at the expense of getting the ball inside. In those very same three losses, Greg Echenique, Hamady N'Diaye and JR Inman have combined for 51 field goal attempts (one more than Rosario) and 75 points. So, where should the RU coaching staff be trying to get more scoring opportunities from?

In the end, Louisville will have the better game plan and their constant defensive pressure should prey on the Rutgers backcourt that is prone to make poor decisions and force shots when panicked. The oddsmakers have pegged Louisville as a 10 1/2 point favorite on the road. At times I think RU will make a few runs to make it somewhat interesting, but the Cards will turn it on when they need to in order to get the win, but a little closer than expected at the end.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Louisville 70
Rutgers 60

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PITINO, LOUISVILLE MINING INDY HOOPS POWER

Lawrence North High school in Indianaplis is simply known by those in the region as LN. Pretty soon, it might be known as Louisville North with the amount of success Rick Pitino and his staff has had mining the Indiana power. Pitino Likes LN Star (Indy Star) senior Stephan Van Treese, a 6-foot-9 F/C who will be the first arriving among the newfound pipeline from Indianapolis to Louisville.

Lawrence North junior Justin Martin and sophomores Ryan Taylor and Michael Chandler have committed to the Cardinals, leaving highly touted junior Dominique Ferguson Hearing All About Cats-Cards (Courier-Journal). Ferguson is a verbal commitment for Kentucky. How strong is the LN program? Yet another player, forward Jeff Robinson, is committed to Purdue.

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LOUISVILLE RIDING HIGH

Before the season started, Louisville head coach Rick Pitino publicly claimed this could potentially by the most talented team he has had since becoming the Cards' coach. Previous teams included a run to the Final Four and last year's Elite 8 team, so that statement got our attention.

The Cards scuffled along in out of conference play, losing on neutral courts to Western Kentucky and Minnesota before bottoming out in a home loss to UNLV (who was without their best player, Wink Adams). However, Big East play brought new life and after a heroic shot by Edgar Sosa to beat Kentucky, UL has ripped off four in a row in conference play including last week's home sweep of Notre Dame and Pittsburgh which has the U of L Men Jumping up to No. 9 (Courier-Journal) in the country.

As everyone knows, there is no rest in the Big East. Up next for the Cards will be an ornery SU team that is coming off a loss and will likely have close to 30,000 fans ready to cheer on the Orange. The Cards will need their Super Subs, Super Stoppers (Courier-Journal) in Andre McGee and Preston Knowles off the bench to help slow down the SU perimeter attack led by Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins.

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE HOSTS NO. 1 PITT

January 17, 2009


The Big East has marquee match-ups nearly every single night it puts action on the court. Saturday is no exception as the 6 PM match-up in Freedom Hall between Pittsburgh and Louisville will certainly draw a lot of attention.

The Panthers once again will lace up their sneakers as the #1 ranked team in the country and be the most hunted team in the land. With that large target on their back, some believe Pitt has struggled a little with St. John’s and South Florida, but winning by an average of 18 points a game in two conference contests is a way more teams would like to ‘struggle.’


Panthers Like the View from the Top (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Louisville/Pitt Preview (Card Chronicle)
Pitino: Pitt Game Wont Be Pretty (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Cards Prepare to Host Top-Ranked Pitt (News Enterprise)
Ranked Teams Lined Up to Play Pitt (Post-Gazette)

Louisville seems to be finding their stride following the thrilling last-second win over rival Kentucky before entering conference play. The Cards have opened conference play with three consecutive wins, including a 61-60 escape against Villanova and the overtime win over Notre Dame in their last game.

Even with the 3-0 Big East start, this UL team seems to be missing something. The guard play still has not risen to the level needed to push the Cards to the top of this conference, but that was expected to an ongoing battle. Terrence Williams, Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels is a front-line filled with NBA potential and will see a match-up that will test them fully as Pitt will counter with Sam Young, Tyrell Biggs and DeJuan Blair.

The match-up of Blair and Samuels in the paint should be a doozy. The young Samuels is coming off a game of battling Luke Harangody and now sees another bruising force in the paint. Samuels will need to be ready to hit the boards early and often.

Pittsburgh, even against the extended Louisville pressure, will likely rely on a flawless floor game from Levance Fields. What Pitt will also need very much to come away with a road win is Sam Young to shake off a string of lackluster performances and be ‘on’, much like he was in Pitt’s Big East Tournament win over UL last season.

Winning in the road requires top notch rebounding and defense, Pitt is known for those traits and while many Pittsburghers are fixated on the NFL Odds of their beloved Steelers to make the Super Bowl, the city has a college basketball team that is mighty impressive, too.

If Louisville can find a way to get DeJuan Blair to pick up a couple early fouls, they should be able to establish the game in the style they would prefer. If Blair is able to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble, the defense and rebounding edge that Pitt brings to the table should have the Panthers grinding out another impressive win because of their consistency and acceptance of roles. I do not think the UL attack is geared to draw the cheap fouls on Blair and therefore he is on the floor enough to help control the game in Pitt’s favor.

Also, seeing that they are 2 ½-point underdogs should serve as more motivation for the Panthers, who despite the #1 ranking, believe they are still being disrespected by the nation.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Pittsburgh 71
Louisville 65

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: NOTRE DAME AT LOUISVILLE

January 12, 2009


To nobody's surprise, Big Monday on ESPN features another big conference match-up as Notre Dame travels to Freedom Hall to face Louisville for a 7 PM tip.

Notre Dame extended their home win streak to 45 games over the weekend with a win over Seton Hall. The high-scoring Irish are averaging 79.5 points a game in their 3-1 conference start. They are in the midst of a brutal stretch of games with five of their next seven on the road beginning tonight at Louisville. A road trip to Syracuse is ahead this weekend and then after their home-win streak is challenged by UConn and Miami, it is back on the road to battle Pitt, Cincinnati and a non-conference match-up with UCLA.

Louisville has started conference play with a pair of road wins against South Florida and Villanova. The win against the Wildcats over the weekend was a thrilling victory as 'Nova missed several golden opportunities in the final seconds to win the game. Louisville had led throughout, but needed a driving basket by Terrence Williams with seven seconds left to regain the lead and then held on as the buzzer sounded for a 61-60 win.

Here are some pregame stories and previews from the web this morning:

Irish Need a Better Start Against Cards (South Bend Tribune)
Cards Dive Right back into Long Week (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Irish Face Tough Stretch (Journal Gazette)
Irish Men Hope Maturity Helps Through Tough Stretch (WNDU)
Tory Jackson Has Starring Role as ND's Jump-Starter (chicago Tribune)
Pitino Speaks and More Irish Notes (Chicago Tribune)
Kuric Earning his Cardinal Wings (Courier-Press)


Notre Dame remained on the heels of the league leaders with their 88-79 win over Seton Hall on Saturday. As usual, Luke Harangody pointed the way for the Irish with 30 points and 16 rebounds, which came on the heels of his Big Monday performance last week in a win over Georgetown of 31 points and 11 rebounds.

After a very up and down pre-conference slate, Louisville has opened thei Big East with back-to-back wins with Earl Clark being the catalyst. The 6-foot-9 junior has averaged 18 points and 9.5 rebounds in early conference action.

Last season these teams played a wild affair in Freedom Hall, won by Louisville 90-85. Louisville watched a 20+ point lead dwindle as Luke Harangody was raining down three's as part of his 'gody-like 40 point explosion. Departed senior David padgett led the Cards with 26 points...they have definitely missed him this season.

To win on the road in the Big East you need to rebound and defend. Notre Dame did not do those things against St. John's and the Redstorm made them pay in a 71-65 upset. Have the Irish learned their lesson? Defending the versatile and athletic Cards will be another test of the Irish mettle and show if this is a different team that scored a lot of points in the regular season, only to be bounced early in the NCAA's the last two seasons.

Louisville is a 6 1/2 point home favorite tonight. The Cards will have a very tough time slowing Harangody inside, but look for coach Pitino to sell out stopping the rest of the Irish and come up with the win.


NBE Blogger Prediction:

Louisville 73
Notre Dame 65

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE AT VILLANOVA

January 10, 2009

The Big East wastes no time putting a top match-up on the court on Saturday with Louisville travelling to Villanova for a high-noon showdown.

The Wildcats evened their Big East record at 1-1 with an 89-85 overtime win over Seton Hall at the Prudential Center 9n Newark (NJ) earlier this week. Star junior guard Scottie Reynolds carried ‘Nova to the win, matching a career-high with 40 points in the victory. His performance was needed, every single point, as highly regarded sophomores Corey Stokes and Corey Fisher, both former New Jersey high school stars, both went scoreless.

Louisville finally opened their conference schedule this week as the Cards travelled to Tampa and came out of the sunshine state with a win over South Florida, 71-57. Earl Clark was the star of the show with 22 points and 9 rebounds as UL won in their first true road game of the season.

Here are some game previews and stories found on the ‘net this morning:

Cards Start Tough Stretch (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Cardinals Prepping for Speedy Villanova (SportingNews.com)

This will be another test for the Louisville guard corps of Edgar Sosa, Andre McGee, Jerry Smith and Preston Knowles as the Wildcats are always guard heavy. Jay Wright will try and extend the defense to push the UL offense away from the basket to neutralize the size advantage the Cards enjoy with Samardo Samuels and Earl Clark in the frontcourt. The ball-handling and passing of Terrence Williams could be a big key in this one.

Villanova is coming off an OT win at Seton Hall, but they are going to need Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes to provide MUCH more offense to win against the better teams of the Big East. Stokes is bumped and bruised, so they need him healthy as his perimeter shooting ability opens it up for the other guards to get to the rim and take the pressure of Scotty Reynolds.

Inside, Dante Cunningham is going to have his hands full with Samuels and Clark on the boards. VU will need Antonio Pena and Shane Clark to play big to keep the opportunistic Cards off the boards.

The early morning college basketball betting odds have Villanova as a 2 ½ point favorite to defend their home court. Winning at home is essential in college basketball and the importance is only multiplied in the Big East. This is a great opportunity to see what both UL and ‘Nova are made off this season. Expect a close, tight game with the Wildcat guards fending off Louisville in a nail biter.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Villanova 66
Louisville 65

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BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: LOUISVILLE @ SOUTH FLORIDA

January 7, 2009


Louisville finally opens up league play on Wednesday night when they travel south to take on former Conference USA rival South Florida in the Sun Dome. The Cards will look to avoid a letdown following their thrilling win over rival Kentucky from Sunday. USF is 0-2 in the Big East and looks to upset UL to gain some momentum in the conference.

Here are the pregame stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Cards’ Ears Paying for Roaming (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Cards Must Be Loud on the Road (Courier-Journal)
False Alarm for Jet Carrying Louisville Basketball Team (WKYT.com)
Sosa, Cardinals Wars Entering Brutal Big East (Kentucky.com)
Big East Pulls Rank on South Florida Bulls (St. Pete Times)

This is one game we are going to watch closely. Louisville has struggled in their pre-conference schedule and are coming off the exciting last second victory over rival Kentucky on Sunday. The player getting their most finger-pointing in his direction for the Cardinal’s less than inspiring start to the season is Edgar Sosa and he was the hero in Sunday’s game by drilling a three-pointing in the closing seconds for a 71-64 win.

Many factors are at play in this game. Is the UK win the stepping stone and confidence building game that Sosa needed? Or was it just another flash of the talent he possesses and he falls back into his maddening inconsistent ways?

Also, the emotional high of the win over a big rival and then the trip to Tampa to meet the Bulls has caught several teams napping in the past only to escape the Sun Dome with a closer than expected win. The Bulls played an inspired second half at home in a close lose to Syracuse last Friday, so it will be interesting if USF can do the same.

Louisville has the talent to take this game easily, but they need to get acclimated to new surroundings as they will play their first true road game of the season. They have lost neutral floor games to Western Kentucky and Minnesota and a home contest against UNLV. Their lone win outside of Freedom Hall game in nearby Cincinnati when they got past Ole Miss in the Big East/SEC Challenge.

We are still waiting for the Bulls to begin to mesh, they have players filling roles with Dominique Jones being the top scoring option. They desperately need some frontcourt production and Louisville will look to go inside to Samardo Samuels early and often against USF.


Look for Louisville to lead comfortably throughout, but some lapses of concentration throughout will keep coach Rick Pitino on his toes and the Bulls within striking distance and within the 10 ½ point spread that the current NCAA Basketball Odds show UL to be favored by.


NBE Blogger’s Prediction:

Louisville 67
South Florida 59

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LOUISVILLE RECRUITING AHEAD OF THE GAME

January 5, 2008


Louisville head coach Rick Pitino is setting the bar pretty high for the rest of the Big East in recruiting. As any analyst, coach or fan will attest, recruiting is the lifeblood of a program and plays a major role in determining your college basketball odds of success. Pitino, a Hall of Fame coach, has won national championships and been to the Final Four with schools such as Providence, Kentucky and Louisville, that success gets noticed by high school kids.

Relationships are important in recruiting and it looks like Pitino and his staff have developed a very fruitful relationship with Lawrence North High School of Indianapolis (IN), a school that regularly produces top players, including recent NBA 1st round picks Greg Oden and Mike Conley who starred at Ohio State.

Following the Cardinals thrilling three-point win over Kentucky on Sunday, two more Lawrence North HS Players Commit to Louisville (Indianapolis Star)as sophomores Ryan Taylor and Michael Chandler told the UL staff just after the game they want to be part of the future.

Chandler and Taylor join 2010 Louisville verbal commitment Justin Martin and 2009 signee Stephan Van Treese as current Lawrence North players that will be part of the Cardinal future. The Cards have four players signed for 2009 (Van Treese, Peyton Siva, Rakeem Buckles and Mike Marra), three verbal commitments for 2010 (Martin, Jeremy Tyler and Josh Langford) as well as Taylor and Chandler now pledged for 2011. That is a serious head start in recruiting!

other than Pitino's success at the college level, recruits also notice his time spent in the NBA coaching the Knicks and Celtics as a factor in wanting to play for him.

"Just watching Louisville play, I felt like it was a good fit for me, Ryan Taylor told Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier-Journal. "I want to play in the NBA and I felt like the best coach to get me there was Rick Pitino."

The rest of the Big East has some catching up to do on the recruiting trail!

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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.

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