clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

That's Gabe Emerson accurately summing up the feelings of the city of Louisville during the week after Derby.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium Gary Parrish has updated the CBS Top 25 (and one) for 2016-17, and while Louisville moved up a few spots, they're still No. 18, which is several spots lower than any other major network.

18. LOUISVILLE

  • Notable players definitely gone: Damion Lee, Trey Lewis
  • Others expected to leave: N/A
  • Notable players we expect to return: Chinanu Onuaku, Donovan Mitchell, Deng Adel, Mangok Mathiang, Raymond Spalding, Quenton Snider, Matz Stockton, Jaylen Johnson
  • Others we expect to join the roster: VJ King, Tony Hicks

Why the Cardinals are ranked here: Rick Pitino shopped in the transfer market last offseason and found enough to help him create a top-25 team. Odds are, he'll do it again.

I_medium The first unanimous MVP in the history of the NBA is a product of the Southern Conference.

I_medium Chinanu Onuaku is still not a first round pick according to the latest NBA mock draft from CBS.

I_medium Trey Lewis and J-Will enjoyed Derby.

I_medium Steve Jones gives an overview of how Louisville's defensive line is looking in the post-Sheldon Rankins world.

I_medium Nyquist has arrived in Baltimore. R.I.P. Omar Little.

I_medium Donovan Mitchell is the first name on NBC's list of college basketball's breakout stars for next season.

Donovan Mitchell, Louisville: Mitchell is a guy that I loved coming out of high school and that showed some serious promise late in his freshman season, including a 17 point outburst at Duke. He averaged just a relatively inefficiency 7.4 points last season, but he is a strong, athletic combo-guard that is an ideal fit for the system that Rick Pitino runs on both ends of the floor. We have Louisville as a preseason top ten team, and one of the biggest reasons for that is that we expect Mitchell to become a borderline first-team All-ACC caliber player.

I_medium As you might expect, satellite camps were a hot topic of conversation among coaches at the ACC spring meetings.

I_medium Jeff Greer takes his first crack at Louisville basketball's recruiting big board for 2017.

I_medium Good news out of Pitt, where running back James Conner has finished his chemotherapy.

I_medium We're already dealing with life after Derby right now. Don't pile this shit on us.

I_medium If you missed it earlier, the Battle of the Barrel game between No. 5 Louisville and No. 6 Vanderbilt has been moved to 5 p.m. because of the weather. The game will be televised by ESPNU.

I_medium John Buccigross was repping U of L hockey last night on SportsCenter.

I_medium Devin Booker is a cool cat. Pun could not be more intended.

I_medium Super weird story from Texas, where recruiting writer Jason Higdon (remember him?) has trademarked and is profiting off of Charlie Strong's "#LetsRide" hashtag that he uses whenever the Longhorns land a recruit.

I_medium Outside of there not being a 3-point line in 1980, these are fantastic.

I_medium Check out the new Louisville training facility backed by noted large human beings and Cardinal greats Breno Giacomini and Eric Wood.

I_medium The C-J's weekly dugout report on U of L baseball has arrived.

I_medium To the surprise of no one, Louisville tuned into the Derby in greater numbers than any other city in America.

I_medium This MLB mock draft from Tomahawk Take has Corey Ray going 10th overall to the White Sox, and Zack Burdi going 29th overall to the Nationals.

I_medium Louisville has earned the No. 2 seed for this week's ACC softball tournament. Here's your full schedule from Raleigh:

TIME EVENT COVERAGE
Thursday, May 12
11 a.m. #8 Pitt vs. #1 Florida State RSN | ESPN3
Live Stats
1:30 p.m. #5 North Carolina vs. #4 Boston College RSN | ESPN3
Live Stats
5 p.m. #7 Syracuse vs. #2 Louisville RSN | ESPN3
Live Stats
7:30 p.m. #6 Virginia Tech vs. #3 Notre Dame RSN | ESPN3
Live Stats
Friday, May 13
1 p.m. Semifinal 1 RSN | ESPN3
Live Stats
3:30 p.m. Semifinal 2 RSN | ESPN3
Live Stats
Saturday, May 14
2 p.m.
Championship

I_medium The Crunch Zone examines the current state of the oft-talked about but never formulated ACC Network.

I_medium Louisville is No. 2 in this week's ACC power rankings from Tomahawk Nation.

I_medium Despite not having a lot of fanfare, Terry Rozier actually put together an admirable rookie season for the Celtics.

Terry Rozier ended up carving out quite the remarkable season for himself when all was said and done. The thought of him playing significant playoff minutes when the Celtics called his name as their first draft selection last June would've provoked some head turns, but there he was. Certainly the Avery Bradley injury, Kelly Olynyk's ailments, Sullinger's poor play, and other factors contributed to his rise, but there was one edge that put him above the others in his youth class on the team.

Unlike R.J. Hunter, who looked like he always was going to need extended time and shot attempts to get going offensively, Jordan Mickey, whose impact on the interior didn't seem to be of particular interest to Brad Stevens save for spot appearances, and James Young, who continued to be a relative nothing on the court, Rozier found ways to be productive no matter the situation.

Whether it was represented in the box score or not, Rozier was able to do things on the court that stood out as important minor plays. A significant factor in measuring a young, unknown player's future impact with me has always been what he can do in short spurts of minutes. Any youngster can take 30 minutes and put up numbers, but those in a situation like Boston's with so little room to make an impact feel added pressure to make plays without the emphasis on them. Those who are able to make an impact despite limited minutes always stick out to me.

Of all the attributes he brought to the table, the rebounding ability shot right out of the TV screen above all his other skills. Rozier could leap with the big boys and displayed sensational timing. There were moments where it seemed like he was courted to specifically assist a smaller lineup on the boards. At 6'2", he pulled in 7.3 rebounds per 36 minutes while only receiving an average of 8 minutes per game in 39 appearances.

Down the stretch of the season, it became clear that Stevens was pressing a rookie to step up and assert himself in the rotation. With his steadiness on both ends of the court, eye for making an impact off the ball, and energy in rebounding and pushing the pace, the rookie who only saw about 100 minutes of NBA action before the All-Star break would be putting himself in position to play in the playoffs.

That was the story of Rozier's 2015-16 campaign: making the most of opportunities. Whether it was playing time with the Red Claws (33.4 minutes,19.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 1.9 steals per game in 14 appearances), getting into Cs games in garbage time, or finally getting his shot in meaningful moments, it all eventually translated to about 100 minutes of playoff court time.

I_medium A closer look at the Bengals' signing of kicker Jon Brown, who never attempted a field goal or extra point during his career at Louisville.

I_medium Louisville's Megan Hensley has been named the ACC Softball Pitcher of the Week.

I_medium And finally, R&R will have Keith Kelsey on live at 3:30. We'll also be discussing the big game tonight against Vanderbilt, Bobby Petrino's thoughts on satellite camps, and our least cool people of Tuesday.

More From Card Chronicle