Wednesday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Four more Louisville baseball players were selected on day two of the MLB Draft. The draft concludes on Wednesday with rounds 11-40.

—Andy Katz lists Jordan Nwora as the No. 1 candidate to win the Julius Erving Award, which goes every year to the top small forward in college basketball.

—Nwora also gets a nod as a First Team choice on NBC’s early All-America selections.

PRESEASON FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICANS

CASSIUS WINSTON, Michigan State: Winston, for my money, will enter this season this season as the Preseason National Player of the Year. He is the lone First-Team All-American returning from last season, and he will be playing for the consensus No. 1 team in the country. It may be hard for him to improve on the 18.8 points and 7.5 assists that he averaged last year, but that is largely because he should have more help this year with Josh Langford healthy and Aaron Henry on the verge of a breakout year.

MARKUS HOWARD, Marquette: Markus Howard averaged 25 points and 3.9 assists last season, and that was when he was playing on a team that still had both of the Hauser brothers on it. This year, they are gone, meaning that there is a real chance that he ends up averaging upwards of 30 points this year. I don’t know how many wins that will lead Marquette to, but it is enough to get him some hype in the preseason.

MYLES POWELL, Seton Hall: Powell is Howard-lite. He’s not quite as consistent or efficient, but he is just as dangerous when he gets into a rhythm. As a junior, Powell averaged 23.1 points, and I would expect him to be just as dangerous as a senior on a team that returns everyone from last season. Hopefully, we’ll have at least one duel between Seton Hall and Marquette that turns into a shootout between Howard and Powell.

JORDAN NWORA, Louisville: The Cardinals got Nwora back for his junior season after he spent this past year proving himself as one of the most improved players in college hoops. He averaged 17 points and 7.6 boards while shooting 37.4 percent from three, and he should see an uptick in his efficiency this year with Louisville’s talented freshman class providing him with some more help.

JAMES WISEMAN, Memphis: Wiseman, to me, has the best chance to end up being a First-Team All-American. The way he plays should fit in well with the style that the Tigers play under Penny, and he is the consensus top player in this recruiting class and projected as the first pick in the 2020 NBA Draft playing on a team that many believe will be a top ten team.

—Super regional tickets for Friday-Sunday can now be purchased through U of L.

—Chris Mack made it a point to note during his Tuesday press conference that he and his team aren’t going to shy away from the lofty preseason expectations that are already floating around.

—Former Louisville interim head coach Lorenzo Ward has been named the new defensive coordinator at Chattanooga.

—William Gay has signed on as a “coaching intern” with the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise where he spent 10 seasons.

—Bellarmine leading all three divisions of college basketball in field goal percentage in six of the last eight seasons is an unreal accomplishment.

—Chris Mack is one of the guests on the latest episode of the March Madness 365 podcast with Andy Katz.

—Rick Bozich writes about the hype surrounding Louisville basketball heading into 2019-20.

—This is creepy.

—Louisville stays at No. 3 in Jeff Goodman’s updated early top 25.

—Jeff Greer has Louisville at No. 3 in his updated ACC power rankings for 2019-20.

Duke started the offseason with the big news of point guard Tre Jones returning, and Javin DeLaurier’s decision to come back is nice for frontcourt depth. Then, the late addition of Matthew Hurt, a McDonald’s All-American who is a skilled forward, provided a major April boost for the Blue Devils. Hurt is good enough to start alongside fellow five-star prospect Vernon Carey. Boogie Ellis dropping from the signing class hurts, but Duke has plenty of wing and perimeter depth. And speaking of major late signings, Cole Anthony joining North Carolina gives the Tar Heels a serious contender for preseason ACC player of the year. The Tar Heels also added two perimeter pieces through graduate transfer in high-scoring guard Christian Keeling and big wing Justin Pierce, and Armando Bacot will be an impact freshman on the interior. That talent influx over the past two months is enough to push UNC ever so slightly in front of Louisville. The two schools might as well be 2a and 2b.

Louisville may have benefited more than any program from the NBA Draft withdrawals. Jordan Nwora is an all-conference-caliber returnee, and Steven Enoch gives the Cardinals brute strength and interior scoring. Grad transfer Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble also filled a key spot after the departure of savvy point guard Christen Cunningham. Freshman wing Samuell Williamson, a McDonald’s All-American, is starting college after one of the strongest high school seasons in the 2019 recruiting class.

—An overly eventful week for Louisville closer Michael McAvene continued on Tuesday when he was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Cubs.

—Relive all the sights and the sounds from the past weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium.

—Shoutout to the multiple good samaritans in West Louisville who prevented a kidnapping from happening.

—The Big Ten officially named Kevin Warren as its new commissioner on Tuesday.

—Donovan Mitchell was on hand to support Asia Durr Monday night.

—The CJ has a good story on the background of U of L sprinter Martice Moore.

—Big Red Louie says Darius Perry has one job this offseason.

—”Clemson Maven” predicts Louisville will be the third-easiest game on the Tigers’ 2019 football schedule.

3. The Louisville Cardinals: The Cardinals had been one of the biggest threats to Clemson’s Atlantic Division dominance, as a total of 15 points separated the Tigers from the Cardinals in their first three meetings — until two season’s ago when the Tigers began their annual mauling of the Cardinals.

That season, the Tigers dominated the Cardinals, who were led by the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, by a final score of 47-21. And last season saw the Tigers drive the proverbial nail into the coffin of former head coach Bobby Pettrino’s time at the school, as the Tigers beat the Cardinals by a final score of 77-16.

This season, Scott Satterfield won’t have anything easy in his first season as head coach of the Louisville football program. He’ll inherit the pieces (broken albeit) of a team that went 2-10.

—While talking about Cardinal closer Michael McAvene’s ejection, Pardon the Interruption showed pictures of the Louisville Bats on its Tuesday episode.

—And finally, the odds in Las Vegas currently have Louisville as the co-sixth choice to win the College World Series.