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Tuesday evening Cardinal news and notes

The only thing that gets Avery more excited than graduating pre-school is the news of Deng Adel returning.

By Jeremy Keown

I_medium With Mike off somewhere in the middle of Ireland, he erroneously is letting me run point for the week. With that, I wanted to try my hand at this N&N thing. Like most things that I try the first time around, it's inevitable that one of two things will happen:

1. It'll be incredibly mediocre and forgettable.

2. It'll all go crashing down in flames.

See you on the other side.

I_medium Tough break for former Louisville Cardinal Nick Burdi, who will see his season end with Tommy John Surgery.

I_medium Stephen A. Smith, while loud, is not always accurate.

It still baffles me that ESPN let go of so many good journalists/reporters yet kept this guy.

I_medium Dan McDonnell gives his preview of the upcoming tournament.

I_medium Seems the new site re-design isn't off to a hot start.

Stay strong, CC, we'll get through this together.

I_medium In case you missed it over the weekend with your Memorial Day celebrations, Louisville added a linebacker to its 2018 class.

I_medium Let's check in on Mike over in Ireland.

I_medium With the deadline for early NBA departures come and gone, Jeff Greer takes a look at what the ACC landscape looks like in his latest power rankings. He has the Cards in at #2.

2. LOUISVILLE

Who's gone: C Mangok Mathiang, G Tony Hicks and G David Levitch (graduation); G Donovan Mitchell and F Jaylen Johnson (draft); C Matz Stockman (transfer)
Who's back: PG Quentin Snider, W V.J. King, W Deng Adel, F/C Ray Spalding, C Anas Mahmoud, G Ryan McMahon
Who's coming in: F/C Malik Williams (ranked: 25); G Darius Perry (68); F Jordan Nwora (105); F Lance Thomas (116); W Dwayne Sutton (transfer)

Deng Adel's return gives Louisville a solid perimeter trio with Quentin Snider and V.J. King. The four freshmen, transfer Dwayne Sutton and redshirt sophomore Ryan McMahon can help off the bench. The biggest question is if Ray Spalding and Anas Mahmoud can make another leap after a strong 2016-17 campaign.

I_medium Louisville wasn't the only site in Kentucky that was awarded to host a regional.

I_medium As you probably have heard, Tiger Woods was arrested over the weekend and was charged with a DUI, but he says he was not under the influence of alcohol.

"I understand the severity of what I did, and I take full responsibility for my actions," Woods said in the statement. "I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn't realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly."

I_medium I know I'm about to sound 30 years older than what I really am, but I was on U of L's campus for the first time in quite a while, and it's crazy how much of it has changed in the last three years.

I_medium Ballard's Jo Adell has been named the Gatorade Kentucky Baseball Player of the Year.
"Jo Adell is an incredible athlete," Ballard coach David Trager said. "He brings so much to the table with his skill set but also is one of our best leaders. He has been everything that you could ask for in a senior and as a leader."
Adell is currently committed to play for the Cardinals, but he is projected as a first-round pick in the upcoming June MLB draft.
Adell is currently committed to play for the Cards, but is also predicted as a first-round draft pick in the upcoming MLB draft.

I_medium With summer upon us, let's start going through all of the pre-season awards and watch lists, starting with Lamar Jackson and Jaire Alexander.


I_medium Just can't get enough pre-season rankings? Let's see the various pre-season rankings for the basketball team now that we know who is and who isn't coming back.

NBC

Louisville ranking: 8
What they said: Louisville has a chance to be very, very good next season, particularly now that Deng Adel is back in the mix. If guys like VJ King, Ray Spalding and Anas Mahmoud take a step forward, the Cardinals might compete for an ACC title. That says a lot this year.
What they said: The early departure of Donovan Mitchell leaves Louisville without a proven go-to threat, but the Cardinals have enough pieces returning to take that blow in stride. They’ll build around a backcourt featuring incumbent starter Quentin Snider at point guard and leading returning scorer Deng Adel and breakout candidate V.J. King on the wing. With Ray Spalding and Anas Mahmoud anchoring the frontcourt and a strong recruiting class pushing the starters for playing time, Louisville will be long, athletic and deep once again next season. Look for the Cardinals to once again emerge as an upper-echelon ACC team that uses outstanding defense and lethal transition offense to make up for occasional struggles scoring against a set defense.

CBS

Louisville ranking: 7
What they said: If Donovan Mitchell had returned, Louisville could've been the preseason No. 1. But he isn't. So Louisville won't. But the Cardinals should still be good enough to make a Final Four. It would be the eighth of Rick Pitino's career.


ESPN

Louisville ranking: 10
What they said: Rick Pitino loses elite talent most years, but he often retains the personnel necessary to play with the offensive-defensive balance he demands. The 2017-18 season should follow the same pattern after the Cardinals lost Jaylen Johnson and top scorer Donovan Mitchell. Pitino told the Courier-Journal that Deng Adel, who announced his withdrawal from the NBA draft Tuesday, will fill Mitchell's role. Adel is a reliable jumper (35.2 percent on his jump shots inside the arc, per hoop-math.com) from making a boatload of cash next summer. He'll join Quentin Snider (12.4 PPG, 4.1 APG) and breakout candidate V.J. King on a roster with ACC title and Final Four aspirations. Five-star center Malik Williams will play with Anas Mahmoud and Ray Spalding in a threatening frontcourt that will snatch a bunch of rebounds, alter shots and block dreams on the defensive end. Guess what? The Cardinals will finish the season as a top-10 defensive team, and if they evolve into a more versatile offensive crew, they could dance their way to San Antonio.

SB Nation

Louisville ranking: 12
What they said: With Donovan Mitchell, Louisville had a legitimate claim to the top spot on this list. Without both Mitchell and surprise departure Jaylen Johnson, the Cardinals are going to need both some returnees to step up and its freshman class to help out significantly if they want to be in the mix for a Final Four trip. Deng Adel needs to assume Mitchell’s role as a first-team All-ACC-level performer, and former McDonald’s All-American V.J. King needs to morph into one of the country’s top breakout sophomores.

Yahoo

Louisville ranking: 10
What they said: The early departure of Donovan Mitchell leaves Louisville without a proven go-to threat, but the Cardinals have enough pieces returning to take that blow in stride. They’ll build around a backcourt featuring incumbent starter Quentin Snider at point guard and leading returning scorer Deng Adel and breakout candidate V.J. King on the wing. With Ray Spalding and Anas Mahmoud anchoring the frontcourt and a strong recruiting class pushing the starters for playing time, Louisville will be long, athletic and deep once again next season. Look for the Cardinals to once again emerge as an upper-echelon ACC team that uses outstanding defense and lethal transition offense to make up for occasional struggles scoring against a set defense.

I_medium Donovan Mitchell seems to be enjoying his pre-draft workouts.

I_medium Papa John is apparently "crazy about" U of L athletic director Tom Jurich, which seems hard to do for a guy who is supposedly "invisible".
I_medium And finally, I plan on doing another N&N on Thursday. So if you wish, shoot over to me a Louisville-related photo to use at my email address: Keown.jeremy@gmail.com.

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