Tuesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—The new ACC Network is going to air an all-access series on Louisville football this fall, which has the potential to be all sorts of fun.

—Reid Detmers somehow didn’t make Baseball America’s first, second or third team All-America honorees, which sort of invalidates the entire thing.

—Jeff Greer writes about Darius Perry, his sophomore year struggles and why fans should expect more from Perry as a junior.

“There were times when I felt like I wasn’t even going to get into the game,” Perry says. “There were times when I’d go in for a minute or two and get pulled right back out, and that really eats away at your confidence. Just going through those struggles and having that happen overlapped and created a depressing-looking Darius, I guess.”

This is where the story changes again, where it turns back into hope for Perry. It’s hard for him to pinpoint exactly when the change happened, but Perry says it was “an instant click.” He suddenly got it. He wasn’t bothered by mistakes. He didn’t get down on himself. He kept playing. One second he was mired in a funk; the next, “it was all over.” It seems almost too easy, but that’s how he tells the story.

To that point in the season, deep into ACC play, Mack said Perry had learned “the hard way” that his attitude and inconsistency limited his minutes and impact. It was one of the more prominent storylines for a team that started hot, winning 16 of 21 games and earning a national ranking, only to falter down the stretch. The Cardinals were doing it without one of their more talented players producing. (Well, two, actually, as former McDonald’s All-American V.J. King was stuck in an even worse slump than Perry.) The transfer speculation reached a fever pitch.

“I give him a lot of credit, because a lot of guys these days put their name in the transfer portal and it’s the coach’s fault,” Mack said last week. “I’m sure there were some hard days for Darius thinking, should I do that or not? But I was really proud of how he stuck it out the last 10 games or so and became a guy we had trust in putting in, because I didn’t in the beginning or the middle of the season. He re-earned that.”

—Monday night’s Game 5 of the NBA Finals was one of the most bizarre games in NBA history.

—Dan McDonnell was in an especially chatty mood on the radio yesterday. You can listen to our conversation with him on the Monday R&R podcast.

—Mike Brey > Drake.

Under Armour making plays.

—Texas Tech is the latest to offer former Trinity High star and current JuCo All-American Jay Scrubb.

I say winner of the game in December gets Scrubb. Agree to this or you’re a coward, Beard.

—In the 305 recruits treat Shadon Brown like he’s Uncle Luke.

—Alex Binelas has picked up his second Freshman All-American honor.

—Gentry Estes of the CJ gives Louisville fans some reasons why this trip to the College World Series might be more successful than the last four.

Louisville is built for the ballpark

Louisville scored 26 runs the past two days without hitting a home run.

ECU’s coach pointed out Saturday that Louisville is a speedy team built to play on a turf field, while the Pirates are a power team that was confronted with the wind blowing into a stadium that didn’t play to their strengths.

TD Ameritrade Park is much the same. Omaha’s stadium has long had a reputation for being a pitchers’ park that does not yield many home runs. There were only six home runs, for example, hit during 30 combined College World Series games in 2013 and 2014.

While there have been more CWS home runs hit in recent years, the stadium still is one that’s likely to favor a small-ball approach.

—Former LouisvilleWR Corey Reed is transferring to Georgia State.

—Four-star CB De’Arre McDonald has Louisville in his top 10.

—Important renovations are coming to the Louisville Slugger Museum.

—If you’re making the trip to Omaha this week, some words of advice from Jason Puckett:

Might be worth mentioning, for folks driving to Omaha this weekend there is still major flooding in NW Missouri/SW Iowa, so I-29 is closed in areas between KC and Omaha/Council Bluffs.

I’ve made this trip many times (been to the CWS a several times before the Cards started going on a regular basis), so those traveling can detour through southwest Iowa (US 71 N to US 34 W), or maybe take the “northern route” (I-65 to Indy, I-74 to Quad Cities then across Iowa on I-80; a little longer but not too much).

—Also, some Omaha recs from Noah Dartmann, a Cardinal fan who lives there:

—Gary Parrish updates his top 25 and one rankings and still has Louisville at No. 4.

—Andy Katz tabs Steven Enoch as the third-most important player in the ACC for the 2019-20 season.

3. Steven Enoch, 6-10, Sr., Louisville

The easy answer here is to pick Jordan Nwora as the most important player from Louisville. But Enoch can be a game changer. He averaged 9.4 points and 5.2 boards in just 19 minutes a game. He will have to log more and continue to be a rim protector (blocking more shots would help although he alters plenty). If Enoch is a force inside then the Cardinals can have a difference maker in the chase for the ACC title.

North Carolina freshman Cole Anthony is No. 1 on the list.

—Justin Ford has officially joined Louisville football and will be eligible to play during the 2019 season.

—Tuesday irrelevance:

—This story from Facebook is the perfect example of why Jeff Walz and the U of L women’s basketball crew are the absolute best.

—Updated College World Series odds from Caesars Palace:

Arkansas +300
Vanderbilt +300
Mississippi State +350
Louisville +800
Texas Tech +800
Auburn +1000
Florida State +1000
Michigan +1500

—Old rivals Louisville City and FC Cincinnati are about to go at it in the U.S. Open Cup.

—David Johnson has the potential to step in right away and contribute as a freshman next season.

—The CJ has five things to know about Louisville baseball before the College World Series.

—And finally, Donovan Mitchell will join R&R to kick off today’s 3-6 show. Jeff Greer will also join us at 4. You can listen here.