Thursday morning Cardinal news and notes

—It’s a big day for Myisha Hines-Allen, who plans to hear her name called during Thursday night’s WNBA draft. The first round of the draft will air live on ESPN2 from 7-8 p.m. The second and third rounds will air on ESPNU.

—For the first time in his career, Gorgui Dieng is headed to the NBA playoffs. Should be a fun (hopefully) few weeks following Gorgs, Donovan and Terry on the NBA’s biggest stage.

—Chris Mack is not out here tempering expectations for 2018-19.

—Two U of L women’s basketball commits have been selected to try out for USA Basketball’s U17 World Cup team.

—This was Wednesday morning:

This was Wednesday afternoon:

I guess I believe in karma now.

Really wish Calipari hadn’t written that letter urging the UK students to be nice on Dec. 29.

—Taco Bells in Indiana are now openly begging Romeo Langford to pick IU. Langford will announce his college decision on April 30.

—With rumors swirling of the Patriots interest in Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady himself showed some love for No. 8 on Instagram.

Lamar noticed.

You never know what to believe this close to the draft, but this is all very interesting. Even if you loathe the Patriots (hand up), this would be a pretty cool situation for Lamar to be walking into.

—Jeff Greer gives us an updated look at the current state of Louisville’s 2018-19 basketball schedule.

Nov. 21 and 23: NIT Season Tip-Off (games vs. two of Kansas, Marquette, Tennessee)

Dec. 1 or 2: at Seton Hall

Dec. 8: at Indiana

Home games with no date set: Kentucky; two NIT Season Tip-Off home games (opponents TBD); Kent State; Nicholls State.

Other games with no date set: ACC-Big Ten Challenge (opponent TBD)

Conference games: Boston College, North Carolina, Pittsburgh and Virginia home-and-homes; at Florida State, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest; home vs. Clemson, Duke, Miami, NC State and Notre Dame.

—Congrats to former U of L standout Becky Burke on being named the new head coach at Charleston.

—If you missed it Tuesday night, Donovan Mitchell now owns the NBA record for made three-pointers by a rookie.

—Spring game smack talk has begun.

—Jaire Alexander visited with the Tennessee Titans on Wednesday.

—Texas assistant Mike Morrell has been named the new head coach at UNC Asheville, a spot where some people thought David Padgett might get a look.

—Smart money is definitely on Wood here.

—FGCU grad transfer Zach Johnson “can do it all” says a former teammate.

—Mike Leach once tracked a raccoon “a half-mile” out of his way through a neighborhood because he was curious about where it lived.

—I’m not 100 percent sure, but I believe Chane Behanan is doing cool stuff in Mexico.

Four years of high school Spanish left me with nothing but “deme seis naranjas,” “puedo ir al baño, por favor,” and a deeper appreciation for Selena. The movie, not the actual person. We watched it like 12 times. I’m sure she was a wonderful person though.

—The U of L men’s soccer exhibition match against Lindsey Wilson that had been scheduled for Saturday has been moved to Friday at 8. Admission is free.

—The track and field Louisville Invitational has also been moved to Friday.

—Weed.

Lots of other stuff too.

—As most expected, Villanova’s Jalen Brunson is off to the NBA. He leaves college basketball as a legend for a new era.

—The guardian of Kansas’ Silvio De Sousa denies that any money was ever exchanged during De Sousa’s recruitment.

—The bullshit simply does not stop.

—Crawford expanded on this in a story for WDRB.

Still, when I clicked a link to the story sent to me via text message from a friend, the Sports Illustrated story that popped up (via the news aggregator Apple News) carried a headline that read, “Analyzing new FBI charges in CBB corruption case,” right under a photo of Mack (see photo at right).

To be clear, Mack is not included in the story. He’s not facing any charges. He has been accused of no wrongdoing. And the photo of Mack was a link to a video in which two SI reporters were talking about his decision to become the new coach at Louisville in the midst of the scandal it faces. Moreover, the arrangement of video and headline may have had as much to do with the aggregator as SI.

But there it is. The SI logo. The headline. The picture of Mack.

My point is this. There are few easier jobs in college basketball right now than recruiting against Mack and Louisville. Because if I’m an opposing coach, and believe me, they will do this, all I’d have to do is take a screen shot of that photo and start planting seeds of doubt all over the country.

Unless you’re really tuned into the story, or into how the media works, you’ll see that headline and photo and think, “What now?”

—The New Orleans Saints are the most recent NFL team to host Lamar Jackson.

—Todd McShay’s latest mock draft has Jaire Alexander remaining a Cardinal.

—Well done.

—Shoutout to Louisville for being one of the most energy efficient cities in the country.

—One Bama website is already talking Louisville.

The 2018 Louisville team won’t have Jackson, but by all accounts the new quarterback with the fabulous name of Jawon Pass is capable for doing some good things that will enable Petrino to develop a formidable offense.

Four starters return on the offensive line.

The receiving corps is very good with Jalen Smith (60 catches, 980 yards) and Dez Fitzpatrick (9 TDs).

The running backs are considered adequate, although it was Jackson who was the primary run threat the past few years.

The Cardinals defense needs a lot of work. It wasn’t great last year, and it lost seven starters from the group. New men are needed to step up on the line, in the linebacker corps, and, particularly, in the secondary.

True, the Louisville offense could be a nightmare for opponents with pass defense issues. All-in-all, though, Bama fans aren’t likely to lose any sleep over the first test for the Crimson Tide in the 2018 season.

—The National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament is back in Louisville, and there’s a team from the Derby City in the field.

—And finally, another reminder that the spring game has moved from Saturday to Friday. Don’t show up Saturday. You’ll have a bad time.