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Thursday Evening Cardinal News And Notes

Luke Thompson is dying for his first chance to put the CCBM on tomorrow night.

By Mike Rutherford

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I_medium Bye Week Spread Check: College Basketball Eve by 35.

I_medium As expected, Jeff Walz has hauled in the (likely) No. 1 recruiting class in the country. A national title is comin' folks, probably not this year, but it's comin'.

I_medium Exactly zero of ESPN's 1,700 college basketball experts have Louisville making it to the Final Four this year.

I_medium There are hoards of pictures of the Cards enjoying their time in Puerto Rico floating around social media today, but here are just a few of my favorites.

Three thoughts:

1. Beach Matz might just be the best Matz.

2. Chris Jones is out there looking like Michael Dyer

3. David Levitch appears to be making an early push to be Dan McDonnell's replacement

I feel like these pictures have really ushered in the fact that basketball season is here. We needed this.

I_medium Rodger Sherman breaks down why following college basketball's "meaningless" regular season is such a rewarding endeavor.

I_medium Pat Forde says Montrezl Harrell is the sixth-most intriguing college basketball player in the country.

6. Montrezl Harrell, Louisville. Surprised a lot of people by coming back for his junior season, and his return makes the Cardinals a top-10 team. Relentless motor and high basketball IQ make him a Rick Pitino favorite. Has worked to extend his shooting range to where it will suit him best in the NBA, but Louisville will need him soaring and banging inside again to craft a fourth straight 30-win season and make a run at its first ACC title.

I_medium The demolition of Old Cardinal Stadium will begin Monday, news which gives me all of the feels.

I_medium The Sporting News has released its annual list of the 140 best Twitter follows for the upcoming college hoops season. GoCardsAttitude was a shocking exclusion.

I_medium Adam Himmelsbach has a really good feature out on Dani Cogswell which provides a bit more insight into her final hours.

I_medium Major congrats to U of L's Tim Kubel, who was named the ACC's men's soccer Freshman of the Year on Thursday. Junior midfielder Ben Strong was named to league's first team.

Here's the full list of honorees:

Offensive Player of the Year - Patrick Hodan, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Midfielder of the Year - Sean Davis, Sr., M, Duke
Defensive Player of the Year - Alex Bono, Jr., GK, Syracuse
Freshman of the Year - Tim Kubel, Fr., D, Louisville
Coach of the Year - Ian McIntyre, Syracuse

All-ACC First Team
Sean Davis, Sr., M, Duke
Ben Strong, Jr., M, Louisville
Andy Craven, Sr., F, North Carolina
Omar Holness, So., M, North Carolina
Boyd Okwuonu, Sr., D, North Carolina
Nick Besler, Sr., M, Notre Dame
Patrick Hodan, Jr., M, Notre Dame
Alex Bono, Jr., GK, Syracuse
Emil Ekblom, So., F, Syracuse
Eric Bird, Sr., M, Virginia
Michael Gamble, Jr., F, Wake Forest

All-ACC Second Team
Zeiko Lewis, So., F, Boston College
Paul Clowes, Jr., M, Clemson
Kyle Fisher, Jr., D, Clemson
Phanuel Kavita, Sr., D, Clemson
Tim Kubel, Fr., D, Louisville
Brendan Moore, Sr., GK, North Carolina
Luke Mishu, Sr., D, Notre Dame
Julian Buescher, Fr., M, Syracuse
Skylar Thomas, Sr., D, Syracuse
Ricardo John, Fr., F, Virginia Tech
Ian Harkes, So., M, Wake Forest

All-ACC Third Team
Manolo Sanchez, Sr., F, Clemson
Andrew Tarbell, So., GK, Clemson
Brody Huitema, So., F, Duke
Zachary Mathers, Jr., D, Duke
Ricardo Velazco, Jr., F, Louisville
Holden Fender, Jr., M, NC State
Jonathan Campbell, Jr., D, North Carolina
Raby George, Jr., M, North Carolina
Rob Lovejoy, Sr., F, North Carolina
Andrew O'Malley, Gr., D, Notre Dame
Patrick Wall, Gr., GK, Notre Dame
Todd Wharton, Jr., M, Virginia

ACC All-Freshmen Team
Markus Fjortoft, Fr., D, Duke
Cameron Moseley, Fr., F, Duke
Tim Kubel, Fr., D, Louisville
Zach Knudson, Fr., M, NC State
Alan Winn, Fr., F, North Carolina
Jeffrey Farina, Fr., F, Notre Dame
Jon Gallagher, Fr., F, Notre Dame
Julian Buescher, Fr., M, Syracuse
Jake Rozhansky, Fr., M, Virginia
Ricardo John, Fr., F, Virginia Tech
Kris Reaves, Fr., D, Wake Forest

I_medium Louisville is a No. 3 seed in the South in Joe Lunardi's final preseason bracketology.

I_medium Jared Lorenzen caused a fairly significant stir yesterday with his comments on KSR about injured Louisville QB Will Gardner and his desire for Michael Dyer and DeVante Parker to also be "out" for the Cards' game against Kentucky.

I_medium The U of L volleyball team will be wrapping up its ACC road season with a pair of weekend matches at Clemson and Wake Forest.

I_medium ESPN names Rick Pitino as the best-dressed coach in college basketball.

If college basketball dished out a fashion award, it would be called the Rick Pitino "Do You See This Suit?" Trophy. His $3,000 Italian ensembles are unrivaled in the game. He has a fashion sense that demands attentiveness, style and plenty of cash. Fortunately, he has all three.

I_medium Football Savages takes an in-depth look at "the hottest name in the draft," Gerod Holliman. Their assessment is the same as most: his coverage skills are NFL-ready, but his tackling skills are not even close.

I_medium CBS' Jon Solomon has Holliman at No. 5 on his current Heisman ballot.

I_medium Memphis lost an exhibition game against Christian Brothers University last night, which is just wonderful.

I_medium People are legitimately never going to get this right:

I_medium The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy lists his 20 favorite memories from his years covering college hoops.

I_medium Via Jody Demling, Tim Henderson has been added to the basketball staff at Trinity, which already included former Kentucky hooper Perry Stevenson.

I_medium I love this.

I_medium If you're interested in purchasing the kicks the Cards will be wearing tomorrow night, it's possible, but it's going to cost you.

I_medium USA Today continues its reign of terror after not being named LCP of 2013-14 by leaving Montrezl Harrell off its All-America first team.

I_medium It's no Keg of Nails, but I still want a miniature version of it.

I_medium William Gay has been named the Pittsburgh Steelers 2014 Walter Payton Man of the Year for his off the field service.

I_medium Athlon ranks Rick Pitino as the fifth-best coach in college basketball.

5. Rick Pitino, Louisville
Record at Louisville: 341-117 (.745)
NCAA Tournament: 50-17, seven Final Fours, two championships
Number to note: The Cardinals are 22-2 in conference and NCAA Tournament games the last three years.
Why he's ranked here: Pitino's teams are consistently among the toughest defensive squads in the country.

I_medium Boston College coach Steve Addazio says that Louisville is "without a doubt" one of the three best teams in the ACC.

I_medium Yahoo compares Rick and Richard Pitino in 24 different ways.

I_medium Bilas the God.

I_medium How Louisville adjusts to the grind of the ACC is the league's No. 1 burning question heading into the season.

Somehow that one season in the AAC has made a lot of people just completely forget the Cards spent the better part of the previous decade in the Big East.

I_medium Montrezl Harrell is a first team All-American according to Sports Illustrated.

Montrezl Harrell, F, Louisville: When Harrell decided to return to Louisville last April instead of declaring for the NBA draft, Cardinals coaches and fans rejoiced. And for good reason, Harrell scored 14 points and hauled in 8.4 rebounds a game last year; our projections put him at 15.0 ppg and 7.8 rpg this season. It says something about the quality of the ACC that Harrell is a preseason All-America and he may finish third in the conference's player of the year race.

I_medium The Run for the "L" of It 5K (http://runforthelofit.com/) has opened registration for their 2015 run/walk, which will take place on May 16 at 8 a.m. The race will run through and around U of L's campus and athletic facilities, finishing on the field at Patterson Stadium. You'll get some nice Cardinal swag, and I'm sure they'll have some special guests. Since they just opened registration, the first 100 people can register for only $20.

I_medium U of L QB commit Keaton Torre is a smart dude.

I_medium The U of L men's soccer team has arrived in North Carolina for tomorrow night's ACC Tournament semifinal match against Syracuse. Here's your preview of the 8 p.m. match, which you'll be able to watch on ESPN3.

I_medium Kevin Keatts gives his take on the Pitino vs. Pitino matchup.

I_medium And finally, major congrats to our man Chris Gehring, who has landed an editorial internship with the Sporting News. This brings the list of people who have parlayed their time at Card Chronicle into bigger and better things to one. But seriously, this is extremely cool, and very much-deserved. Congrats, man.

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