Additional press conference notes

by Mike Rutherford on Apr 23, 2008 5:10 PM EDT in News Comment 4 comments

With the news about Derrick Caracter out of the way, here are the other major issues that Rick Pitino touched on during his press conference this afternoon:

--Clarence Holloway has been cleared by the NCAA and is back in Louisville. He will be eligible to play during the second semester of next season, but he'll have to pass several medical tests before he can begin participating with the team.

--Pitino is hoping that the 2008-2009 non-conference schedule will be as difficult as the '07-'08 non-con slate was. The Cards are already set to play UNLV and Minnesota, and are close to signing a four-year deal with Western Kentucky that will begin with a game in Nashville next season.

--He's proud of the fact that Earl Clark made the decision to return on his own.

--Earl will start at the four, and either Samardo Samuels or Terrence Jennings will start at center.

--Pitino is expecting a big junior year out of Edgar Sosa because of how poorly his sophomore season went.

"With humility comes improvement," Pitino said. "And that's why I'm bullish on thinking Edgar Sosa is going to have a very good junior season. He finally has a dose of humility in his life, and that's the greatest aid to reaching your potential."

--Louisville will not add any more players from the class of 2008, and no changes to the coaching staff will be made.

You can listen to today's press conference here

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CardsFan922 and I -- and I think Mike--

are thinking the same on DC:

It's not over 'til it's over...

Frankly, I expected Rick to say something like this. I would if I had such total leverage.

The instruction and sweating of DC is not over
by a long shot--unless DC finally gives up

Let's watch a bit more...

by frankpos on Apr 23, 2008 5:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Two cents

I think Pitino really does want Caracter to turn enough heads to be taken in the second round of the draft, but if that doesn't happen, then I think Rick is banking on him being so humbled that he'll return to school with more of a sense of urgency and dedication.

Pitino's thinking is that if he simply lets DC back on the team now that nothing will change, whereas if Caracter continues to go through all the pre-draft stuff, he'll realize just how far behind he is and how hard he has to work to get to the level of the some of these guys who are guaranteed to go in the first round.

I'm sticking with 50/50.

by Mike Rutherford on Apr 23, 2008 6:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pitino doesn't want or need DC

Let's be realistic. Why would Pitino want to get back in the fray with DC? He's tired of begging him to grow up. He's sick of the bad influence that DC is on Earl. Derrick is inconsistent, unmotivated, has zero attention span, a 5-inch vertical leap and plays defense about 30% of the time he's on the floor. Did I mention that he's slower than me with a piano on my back? Other than that, he's a powerhouse. There is absolutely nothing in it for Pitino. He's loaded with talent and doesn't need a 300 pounder dragging the team down.

by TomS on Apr 23, 2008 7:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs