Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Bye Week Spread Check: Bye Week by 9.5.

—Aidan Igiehon’s official visit to U of L and the electric atmosphere at Louisville Live is what ultimately sealed the deal.

“There’s one thing to be wanted and there is another thing to be needed,” Igiehon said. “I felt like at Louisville I was needed and the official visit was mind-blowing for me. I stepped into the city, I already felt the energy and the venue kind of erupted when I arrived. When I saw all of that I felt I was needed there. The coaching staff laid out a blueprint for me and how I can make an immediate impact. They have a plan for me and a goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Igiehon is ready to do his job at Louisville, which may not be as appealing for other top prospects.

“They recruited me based off the fact that I’m a high motor guy, rebound, block shots and that I do my job,” said Igiehon. “They know I can do so much more offensively in order to build upon that, but to be successful I have to be able to do my job. My job might not be sexy to most high-level players, but I take pride in blocking shots, rebounding and running. They think I can do that at a high level and need a guy like that.”

His path is different from most players who commit to a blue-blood school. He started playing basketball at a younger age before he came over to the United States from Ireland. Igiehon sees this as a blessing in disguise.

“I think I’ve been blessed with God-given talents with my physicality,” Igiehon said. “I think me playing the game late made me want it more because I was so behind when I came to the United States from Ireland. I was playing catchup in my first few years here and my main focus was to get better. I made sure that the outside noise wouldn’t affect me and I had tunnel vision. It all came down to the work I put in and I never would have imagined that I make it this far. It’s just a blessing for a kid from Ireland to represent my country at such a high-level school.”

—Chris Mack is off to a start that can only be described as “incredible.”

—The U of L Golf Club is the site of the Cardinal Cup this weekend.

—Here’s a good read from Ricky O’Donnell on the four biggest problems with the NBA’s new plan to pay elite high school players.

Who determines which players will be afforded this option?

The wording the league used in its press release is intentionally vague, saying the option is open to “elite players” before they are eligible for the NBA. Who determines what qualifies as “elite”?

Let’s use an example from the past to show the issue. Take a look at ESPN’s class of 2015 rankings:

—No. 11: Chase Jeter

—No. 43: Donovan Mitchell

Jeter was considered a five-star recruit and presumably would have been eligible for this G-League path. Would Mitchell? He was only a four-star recruit, ranked outside the top 40 in his class.

Fast forward a few years. Jeter is still playing at the college level at Arizona, while Mitchell is a rising NBA star.

Will this option only be available to top-10 recruits? Will it be available to all five-stars? All four-stars? The NBA must figure this out before locking certain players out of an opportunity that might benefit them.

—Saturday is Senior Night for the U of L men’s soccer team, which will look to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Lipscomb by taking down visiting Clemson. First touch is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the senior day ceremonies starting at 6:50. Here’s a preview.

—Louisville baseball’s annual Pizza Bowl competition has ended in a 2-2-1 tie.

“There’s no tying in baseball.” —Tom Selleck, “Mr. Baseball”

Watch it, love it, live it.

—We’ve gotta get @UofLWBB higher than ninth.

—This story on the secret betrayal that sealed Nike’s unique influence over the University of Oregon is fascinating.

—Movie night at Slugger Field has unfortunately been canceled tonight because of the weather.

—For the eighth straight year, Kansas is the preseason pick to win the Big 12.

—We could have stopped this. We should have stopped this.

—The Louisville Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday night to approve the TopGolf project.

—The U of L women’s soccer team took a tough 2-1 loss at the hands of No. 10 Duke Thursday night.

—Thank God this dude was arrested.

—U of L lacrosse will wrap up its fall season on Saturday.

—NC State’s Ryan Finley is the best quarterback in college football that nobody talks about.

—Defense attorneys in the college hoops trial say that Nike and Under Armour pay recruits too. Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams were both too shocked and appalled to comment.

—Final set tiebreakers are coming to Wimbledon, which means we’ll never again see a 70-68 fifth set.

—I love it.

—Just when you think DePaul basketball couldn’t get any weirder, we’ve now got former assistants threatening to kill current coaches.

—There’s been a lot of animosity in recent years between Clemson and NC State, but it’s hard to call it a “rivalry” since the same team always wins. They’ll duke it out as undefeateds tomorrow.

—Some uplifting Friday Irrelevance:

—Is Jon Rothstein a real human being? An investigation.

—QB Jaden Johnson has once again (video) reinforced that he is 100 percent committed to Louisville.

—“Not that I care or anything. I actually don’t care it all. I don’t even really know who we’re talking about. What sport is this even? I don’t care.”

By the way, the people who cover basketball recruiting for a living say Kentucky did offer during their in-home visit with Igiehon, but that the visit didn’t go well for them.

Not that you care.

—Rick Bozich reveals his preseason top 25 ballot.

—Five things to do in Louisville this weekend.

—Louisville is in no rush to find a new sponsor for Cardinal Stadium.

—And finally, R&R is on from 3-6 today talking Aidan Igiehon’s commitment, Louisville basketball media day, and all the other happenings in the Cardinal sports world. You can listen here.