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Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

The centerfield playground at Jim Patterson is the best place to properly appreciate Brendan McKay.

By Mike Rutherford

I_medium Here's an updated look at the PJCS construction, courtesy of Pete Nochta.

I_medium I was very sad to hear about the passing of former MTV reality show star Christopher "Big Black" Boykin yesterday. Though he wasn't from the area, Boykin was a Louisville fan who was able to make it to a couple of games in recent years and seemed like an overall quality person.

I_medium Colin Lyman may have turned in the catch of the year last night.

I_medium NBA executives break down which players still on the fence should keep their names in the draft and which should return to college. No Cardinals are discussed.

I_medium Big fan of Markelle Fultz's mom saying she might buy some Big Baller Brand merch because she needs "things to clean with."

I_medium Luke Hancock: still awesome.

I_medium An unreal $209 million was bet on the Derby this year.

I_medium Louisville high school football teams are about to have to overcome twice as many holding calls if they want to win a state championship.

I_medium The latest mock NBA draft from NBC has Donovan Mitchell going to the Pacers with the 18th pick.

I_medium I got to write about DePaul basketball in mid-May. Anything else good that happens this month is icing.

I_medium Romeo Langford talks a little bit more about the decision that is going to captivate this area for the next several months.

Langford said Pitino's pitch has been consistent throughout his recruitment, and he said Calipari's message was "mainly about how they'll help me."

Langford visited the Yum Center for the Louisville-Kentucky game last year as well as when Duke was in town to face Louisville in January. Before that came several unofficial visits, including one to Big Blue Madness in Lexington.

Despite the lure of a nearby school — Langford grew up watching Louisville games — the Bulldogs' star said Tuesday that distance is not a factor in his decision.

"I can go far if that's the school I choose," Langford said, "and if I stay close, I can stay close."

As far as when Langford will commit, only time will tell. Same goes for how, but the 17-year-old said he intends to make his announcement memorable.

"I probably would like to do something different," Langford said, "not just announce on Twitter."

I_medium Ed Orgeron says he'll have 8-10 energy drinks a day, which is just way too many energy drinks for any human to consume during a single work week, let alone a single day.

I_medium ESPN's draft analysts take a closer look at Donovan Mitchell's game.

"If you look down the list of guys eligible for the draft, there just aren't a lot of guys like Donovan Mitchell," Goodman said. "He shot it so well in (ACC) play, and a lot of the NBA guys I talked to were impressed when (U of L point guard Quentin Snider) was out with the injury, (and) Donovan actually did a decent job - actually did a very good job - of running the point, and they feel like, with that, he can initiate offense in the NBA. He's not going to be a primary point guard, but he could help in that regard."

Goodman sees Mitchell as a late-first-round pick, somewhere in the early 20s. ESPN's latest prospect rankings, put together by draft analyst Chad Ford, rates Mitchell 22nd. DraftExpress.com projects Mitchell as the 20th pick.

Mitchell is an undersized shooting guard in Fraschilla's eyes, but one who can figure out a way to be an effective NBA player.

"He's really good off the dribble," Fraschilla said. "He can create his own shot. But he's got to become a better decision maker with his shot selection. ... He's what I would call more of an athlete than a basketball player right now, and that's not necessarily a negative connotation, because the last I checked, you have to be very athletic to play in that league, and he has that kind of athleticism."

I_medium Louisville mayor Greg Fischer says JCPS needs to move to year-round schooling, which appears to be working well in parts of Indiana. Good luck, kids.

I_medium Smarter than Stanford. No bigs.

I_medium Florida coach Jim McElwain having to publicly address whether or not he's the man pictured naked and humping a dead shark is one of the better dead period stories in recent memory.

I_medium Onions!

I_medium The Lexington Herald-Leader's John Clay says that a wild Derby weekend has left Louisville basketball's stock falling and Kentucky's rising.

I_medium Dikembe Mutombo trying to fit into a tiny plane looks like an optical illusion.

I_medium Probably the best video Cincinnati football has produced since Teddy doing the UC cheer in unison with the fans.

I_medium The ACC Digital Network spotlights Louisville's explosive wide receiving corps.

I_medium I can't explain why I think this is so funny so I'm just gonna post it.

I_medium Here's GoCards.com's official recap of Louisville's triumph over Vandy last night.

I_medium Probably Papa John.

I_medium Terry Rozier has been nearly mistake-free for the Celtics during the playoffs.

As the games go by and the pressure increases, Rozier has only gotten better. He is fresh off of a playoff career-high 16-point, seven-rebound Game 4 effort against Washington, and will look to make another big impact Wednesday night when the Celtics take the floor for Game 5 of their second-round series with the Wizards.

"I've always said he embraces these moments," fellow point guard Isaiah Thomas said Tuesday afternoon following Celtics practice. "He's always in the right place at the right time, hitting big shots, playing good defense, and he's a student of the game. He wants to get better. And when you embrace these types of moments, especially ones that are pressure-filled, the best players play (well) in those moments."

What has stood out most about Rozier's postseason has been his lack of mistakes. The second-year ball handler went seven-plus games and 136 consecutive minutes until he finally committed his first turnover of the Playoffs.

I_medium The U of L softball team is off to North Carolina for the ACC tournament.

The second-seeded Cards will open the postseason tomorrow against NC State at 5 p.m.

I_medium Cardinal Sports Zone says Louisville fans need to stop over-reacting to bad news.

I_medium Cool shot. Hope everyone survived the fire.

That was a bad joke and I left it in. That's how much I care about you guys. You get to see the warts.

I_medium Myron Medcalf looks at the good, bad and unsure in college basketball since the title game.

I_medium Not entirely sure what's going on here, but Taquan is still jacked.

I_medium The U of L women's golf team is tied for 10th at the NCAA Championships.

I_medium And finally, Steve Jones examines how the new early signing period in college football might affect Louisville.

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