Friday evening Cardinal news and notes

As exhausted and ready for a break as I think most of us are by the end of the college basketball season, the first week without it is always a little sad and very strange. It's going to be bizarre to wake up tomorrow morning on a Saturday with no games to talk about for the first time since the opening week of November. Yard work is a fun alternative, though.

Never grow up, kids.

If you missed it at the beginning of the week, Steve Jones has a Q & A with new Cardinal Trey Lewis that will make you even more excited for his arrival.

What all do you hope to get out your one year at Louisville as you go in knowing it's a one-year stay?

All my dreams to come true. That's what I pray. I'm going to go there, and I expect to work really hard, and I expect to take this team to a championship. I mean, that's what Coach expects, and he's going to push me to do that every day. That's what I want to do. I've always dreamed about being in that Final Four, and if we do everything the right way, we'll have a good chance.

Do you think playing at Louisville will increase your pro prospects?

Yeah, that's a factor in why I wanted to play on this level because night in, night out you're playing with the best competition, and you're getting seen across the world. That's what I'm most excited about. I believe I belong on this level, and I'm looking for the opportunity to show that and prove that and I think everything is going to take care of itself.

What do you think about the rise in the level of competition vs. what you've been playing against at Cleveland State? Do you feel like you've proven yourself enough against high-major teams?

I believe so, and Coach Pitino definitely believes so. That's why he wants me to lead this team against those guys. I absolutely believe I belong here, and I'm looking forward to showing that. That's why I'm in the gym right now. It's going to be a process.

Has Coach already said he wants you be a captain?

Yes, he wants me and Mangok (Mathiang) to lead this team. That's his plans for us. That's asking for a lot, and that's a different situation. As a player, you're coming into a team, and first, you have to earn the trust of these guys. There's not going to be anything given to me, and I don't expect that or want anything given to me. I just think they've given me an opportunity, and that's all I need. I want to come here, work hard and earn the trust of the guys. That's what I'm all about. I know this game is about relationships as much as anything. You see the greatest teams have the greatest relationships, and that's what I'm looking forward to doing. I want to get down early with these guys, so I don't have that much time. I want them to know my mind-set coming in is to just help this team reach its height. It's not just focused on me. I don't want all this attention to be about me coming to Louisville. I want the attention to be on this great group of guys I'm a part of. That's what I'm excited about, being a part of a great culture that's already established. I've never been a part of anything like this in my life. It's going to be a different experience for me.

Donovan Mitchell talks with Eric Crawford and reveals that he literally dreamed about playing for Louisville.

Monday night's national championship game was the most-watched basketball game of any sort since Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls defeated the Utah Jazz in the 1998 NBA Finals. That's unreal.

Here's Brian Potts with a nice final ode to March, 2015:

The Buffalo Bills' official website examines Lorenzo Mauldin's remarkable path to the draft.

CBS' Jon Rothstein lists Quentin Snider as one of 5 "breakout players" for the 2015-16 season.

Louisville guard Quentin Snider: Despite struggling offensively in the Elite Eight loss to Michigan State, Snider figures to build off a terrific NCAA Tournament as a sophomore. The floor general takes care of the ball and shoots well enough to keep the defense honest. He should hit the ground running next season.

Stadium Journey gives an updated review of the KFC Yum Center.

The ACC and Atlantic 10 will take part in a doubleheader at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn from 2015-17.

This will be similar to the "challenge" events we've seen from power conferences in the preseason.

The ACC announced the doubleheader in a release last spring, but the specifics of the event will include games between two Atlantic 10 programs and two ACC programs. There will be one doubleheader per year each December from 2015-2017, according to another source. Official matchups have yet to be set, but sources said the games should be set by May 1.

The agreement is part of a deal between the two conferences when the Atlantic 10 agreed to leave the Barclays Center in 2017 and 2018 for the conference tournament. The league will move its postseason to Pittsburgh in 2017 and Washington in 2018 before returning to Brooklyn in 2019.

No word yet on which two teams from the league will be participating in the event this season.

The fifth-ranked Louisville baseball team is in Durham this weekend for a three-game set with Duke.

Here's a look at the current ACC standings heading into this weekend's games:

ATLANTIC

	SCHOOLS	CONF W-L-T	CONF PCT	W-L-T	PCT
	Louisville	14-1-0	.933	25-7-0	.781
	Florida State	11-4-0	.733	26-9-0	.743
	Wake Forest	8-7-0	.533	21-14-0	.600
	NC State	7-7-0	.500	19-12-0	.613
	Clemson	7-8-0	.467	16-17-0	.485
	Notre Dame	6-9-0	.400	21-10-0	.677
	Boston College	5-9-0	.357	15-16-0	.484

COASTAL

	SCHOOLS	CONF W-L-T	CONF PCT	W-L-T	PCT
	Miami	11-4-0	.733	25-9-0	.735
	Georgia Tech	7-8-0	.467	22-11-0	.667
	North Carolina	7-8-0	.467	20-13-0	.606
	Virginia Tech	7-8-0	.467	17-17-0	.500
	Virginia	6-9-0	.400	20-12-0	.625
	Duke	4-11-0	.267	21-13-0	.618
	Pitt	4-11-0	.267	12-19-0	.387

The captain.

Hey thanks for throwing a pie in my face pic.twitter.com/vOaINtK4VG

— Bridget Donoghue (@bridgedonoghue) April 6, 2015

Louisville and Duke are both urging five-star point guard Derryck Thornton to reclassify from the class of 2016 to 2015.

He can play a little bit.

Jeff Greer focuses in on Ryan McMahon, who is set to make his Louisville debut this weekend.

Rest in peace, Lauren Hill. You did more good in 19 years than the vast majority of us will ever do.

Highlights from day 10 of spring practice:

Baseball Prospectus gives an eyewitness profile of Louisville ace Kyle Funkhouser.

I'm typically hesitant to engage in any "in my day/the world has gone soft" behavior, but this is not hazing.

For those asking, there still has not been a makeup date announced for the Louisville/Kentucky baseball game that was postponed on Tuesday. The Cards and Cats are already scheduled to play in Lexington on April 28.

Hard to believe that it's already Derby Festival season again. If you're looking for Thunder over Louisville accommodations, The Galt House has you covered:

DeVante Parker visited with the Detroit Lions on Thursday.

Everybody's comin' around.

For the second straight year, the NFL draft is practically overflowing with talented wide receiver prospects. One of the most enticing of the group is Louisville wide receiver DeVante Parker, whose stock is soaring as the draft gets closer.

"The receiver who I hear scouts gush quietly about the most is Louisville's DeVante Parker," Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com wrote . "A year ago around the combine I wrote what several evaluators I really trusted were telling me - that Odell Beckham Jr. was to them the top receiver in the draft and would be a steal. I'm hearing some similar buzz about Parker and I am sure the Pats are on him, but if so it would likely take a considerable trade up to land him.

"I'm not sure he gets past the 10/11 range, where the Rams are looking long and hard at him and, at 11, the Vikings have spent considerable time scouting him in the regular season (their top personnel people attended several games), and, with Vikins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater a Louisville product, there are too many obvious connections to ignore."

Parker may still be on Minnesota's radar even after the team traded for Mike Wallace this offseason. But if he does get past the Rams and Vikings, the Browns would be sure to scoop him up.

"The Browns have added Dwayne Bowe, but he'll be 31 in September and is more name value than anything close to a No. 1 receiver at this point in his career," ESPN NFL Draft Insider Mel Kiper wrote in his Mock Draft 4.0. "I expect the Browns to pick more than one pass-catcher, and getting Parker here is a good place to start. I do think he has a chance to be as good as any of the three guys already off the board if he cans tay healthy. Parker will beat defenders to the ball on high-point catches with his size, leaping ability and catch radius, and he's underrated as a threat to add yards after the catch on short throws. He'll help a QB look better. The Browns could also look at a pass-rusher here, or Waynes if he's still on the board, but Parker makes sense."

Camp season is upon us:

Pretty cool.

The KFC Yum! Center is the only venue in the world to have hosted a game featuring the national champion in every season of its existence.

— Kelly Dickey (@RealCardGame) April 7, 2015

Will Jude Schimmel play in the WNBA?

Taquan Dean: International good guy/All-World Beard.

All the best to my good friend @taquandean55 in his new team! You're a great player and better person! Thanks! pic.twitter.com/8wDGm1ziNf

— dani diez (@danidiez11) April 9, 2015

Jamon Brown is an offensive tackle to keep an eye on.

And finally, here are your details for this evening's "Night of the Future Stars" at Freedom Hall.