—It’s been exactly six years since we turned Marc Summers from a beloved childhood figure into a mortal enemy. An evening which will live in infamy.
—Louisville football landed a huge grad transfer in the form of offensive lineman Cam DeGeorge. DeGeorge started his career at Syracuse and has been an every week starter the last two years at UConn.
—Sam Vecenie believes Jay Scrubb would be best-served by spending at least one season at Louisville.
FWIW, Scrubb wasn’t quite as good this year as he was during his monster, breakout freshman year. Good player, but I think he’d do well to head to Louisville, personally. Without certainty on workouts, not sure how he can help himself enough to get picked in an advantageous spot. https://t.co/6zchL5gKbk
— Sam Vecenie (@Sam_Vecenie) March 25, 2020
—Based on this Q&A, I’d say Scrubb doesn’t have much intention of ever suiting up for the Cards.
—This doesn’t seem like a great sign either.
I’m almost always in favor of kids going pro when they want to go pro, even in situations where they’re unlikely to ever play in the NBA. Scrubb’s situation is unique in that he has first round talent but nothing definitive which backs that up, and now likely no opportunity to showcase that ability between now and draft night. I think he’s making a fairly large mistake here, but I certainly wish him the best.
—Gary Parrish’s first top 25 and one rankings for the 2020-21 season feature Louisville at No. 26.
—Stephen White’s draft profile of Mekhi Becton is a terrific read.
There are some memories that just pop up into my head for no apparent reason. In particular, when I watch tape to do these draft breakdowns, I often look at these young prospects and see older players who came before them. The problem is I can’t always place who exactly is their on-the-field doppelgänger.
But sometimes I can.
Such was the case when I was watching Louisville left tackle Mekhi Becton’s tape. I am not sure what the correct word to use when discussing a man who is 6’7 and over 360 pounds, but I’m going to go with “massive” for the moment, although that doesn’t quite do his stature justice. But believe me, if his size was Becton’s only redeeming quality, I probably wouldn’t be writing this breakdown about him.
It is almost impossible to describe some of the things Becton did on the field. I could try to stuff this column full of plays instead, and it still wouldn’t be enough to give you an accurate feel for how he dominated other young men as if he were that kid in little league everybody was sure had a fake birth certificate.
As I sat there watching with my mouth open in amazement, I kept thinking I don’t remember ever seeing an offensive lineman completely obliterate his opposition on such a regular basis since I have been doing these breakdowns. Mind you, these were four games against top-notch competition — including the Clemson Tigers, who were the defending national champions at the time and made it back to the title game later in the season.
—Karl-Anthony Towns wants the story of his mother, who tested positive for Covid-19 and has been in a medically-induced coma, to be a cautionary tale for others.
—Carlik Jones might now be the best grad transfer available ... he’s also a Cincinnati native.
Huge entry to the transfer portal:
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 25, 2020
Radford’s Carlik Jones is in the portal, source told @Stadium.
20.0 ppg
5.5 apg
5.1 rpg
According to Jody Demling, Chris Mack was the first coach to speak with Jones after his name hit the portal.
—Penn grad transfer Ryan Betley (11.6 ppg) has also heard from Louisville.
—When you’ve been forced to spend way too much time with dad recently.
Quarantine day 12 pic.twitter.com/crOWkzaFZ1
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) March 24, 2020
—Tyrese Martin, who averaged 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds for a good Rhode Island team, has entered the transfer portal. Overall, the transfer list is now up to over 450 players.
—The NCAA is facing a $475 million decrease in revenue for 2020 because of coronavirus impacts.
—The Athletic’s Danielle Lerner hands out some awards for the 2019-20 Louisville basketball season.
Best individual performance
It’s a wonder Boston College didn’t have to immediately replace the scorched nets in Conte Forum after Nwora’s flame-throwing performance in an 86-69 win on Jan. 29. Jordan Nwora had a career-high 37 points and scored the most points by a Cardinal since Louisville joined the ACC in 2014. He shot 11-of-20 overall, including 7-of-14 from deep, and showed off a fast-break dunk and a fadeaway in the lane. Oh, and he did all of that while coming up just short of a double-double with nine rebounds.
Runners-up: David Johnson’s 19 points at Duke; Ryan McMahon’s seven triples at N.C. State
—Papa John’s is looking to hire 20,000 new employees.
—Scott Boras is pitching a 162-game MLB schedule with a World Series game on Christmas.
—Decent company here for Micale Cunningham.
—The Louisville orchestra has canceled the rest of its 2019-20 season. They’ll keep the rivalry trophy from their beatdown of the Cincinnati orchestra.
—Dana Evans and Jazmine Jones have been named regional finalists for Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division I Coaches’ All-America honors.
—I had forgotten just how nasty this was.
Tonight's #ClassicCeltics: The "Drew" Bledsoe Game
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) March 25, 2020
Terry Rozier (@T_Rozzay3) goes for 23 points, hits the big step back jumper over Eric Bledsoe, as Celtics start trek to East finals vs. Bucks.
7 p.m. on @NBCSBoston pic.twitter.com/HirodbJgBE
—Columbia grad transfer Patrick Tape has committed to Duke.
—The latest episode of The Cardinal Sports Zone Podcast features Keith Oddo and Colin Lyman.
—Peyton Siva talks Louisville hoops, Rick Pitino, playing in Germany with Alba Berlin, growing up in Seattle and much more with The Sports Rabbi.
—Ryan McMahon senior year highlights:
—Twenty-seven years ago today, Calbert Cheaney may have given the single best NCAA tournament performance of any Louisville opponent ever when Indiana knocked the Cards out of the Big Dance in the Sweet 16. The game also produced one of the best rivalry pictures ever when Cheaney and Dwayne Morton went nose-to-nose in the opening minutes.
I have two memories of this game as an 8-year-old:
1) Damon Bailey hit what my mind remembers as a back-breaking 40-footer just before the halftime buzzer (it was actually like a 24-footer).
2) We had to miss the first half because I had “First Communion practice,” and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen my dad more pissed off about anything in my entire life, which is saying something.
—The USBWA has named Vernon Carey (Duke) as its Freshman of the Year, Anthony Grant (Dayton) as its Coach of the Year), and Obi Toppin (Dayton) as its Player of the Year.
—Speaking of Toppin, he is officially headed to the NBA.
Once again Thank You Flyer Nation ✈️
— obadiah (@otoppin1) March 25, 2020
✍
Love you always ❤️
Obi Toppin pic.twitter.com/NOa3pMtGDM
—Kyle Boone’s updated NBA draft big board has Jordan Nwora at No. 46.
—Pat Forde thinks Kansas would have won the national title, which certainly would have been awkward.
—I love that the Bird Mask isn’t the standout moment here.
Filming a @YouTube lesson for @RCEMustangs students over the relationship between area & perimeter when our son, Nolan, crashed the party at the 1:54 mark!
— Scott Johnson (@rsj311) March 25, 2020
The joys of #NTI @oliviakrauth@barrenschools@CardChronicle#TeamKentucky #TogetherKY #Patriot https://t.co/mfyJhs1SWy
—Dana Evans says she at least toying with the idea of leaving early for the WNBA.
—LJ Nesbitt is back with his final BucketHatism of the season over at The Crunch Zone.
—And finally, did you know Please and Thank You is currently delivering? I ordered a dozen chocolate chip cookies on Sunday and I don’t think they’re going to last through tonight.