Friday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Terrence Clarke passing away at age 19 just one day after signing with Klutch Sports is without question one of the more gutting local sports stories I can remember. Obviously, our thoughts are with Clarke’s family and everyone else grieving the loss of a life that was just getting started.

—Chris Mack extended his condolences Friday morning.

—Motivated by her slide to the second round in the WNBA Draft, Dana Evans is ready for her first camp with the Dallas Wings.

—On a related note, Five Thirty Eight looks at why this year’s class of WNBA second rounders could be the best in league history.

—Jeff Greer’s latest Floyd Street Tribune newsletter is out.

If nothing else, Florida transfer Noah Locke is a shooter, which Louisville desperately needs after last season’s clankfest. The playmaking abilities of Carlik Jones and David Johnson went to waste many times because of their teammates’ inability to knock down catch-and-shoot opportunities. That, paired with the lack of a true post-up presence to work through, ran Louisville’s offense stagnant.

Chris Mack left no doubt about his top priority this offseason, adding three players who are a combined 451 of 1,159, or 38.9%, from long range in their college careers. Locke is the best among them, making 2.3 3-pointers per game over his three seasons at Florida, carrying a career 40.2% clip. He made two or more 3s in 54 of his 92 games at Florida.

The interesting note about Locke after his round of interviews with local media: He discussed with Louisville a desire to become more of a combo guard, or at least a secondary ballhandler who could initiate pick-and-rolls and create off the dribble. This is how Chris Mack wants to run his offense going forward, with what El Ellis called essentially two point guards.

—Duke center Mark Williams, who roasted Louisville in the ACC tournament, is returning to Durham for his sophomore season.

—The latest U of L men’s soccer newsletter recaps the Cards’ spring season, which ended with an upset win over No. 1 Clemson.

—The pictures from Churchill this morning are truly incredible.

—Cincinnati might be one of the most tortured sports cities in America, but they always kill it in the logo department.

—Louisville has offered Alex Birchmeier, a five-star offensive guard from the 2023 class.

—People are now breeding digital horses and spending real (sometimes six figures) money on them.

—Even though the attendance is going to be limited, Louisville hotels are still hoping for a nice boost from Derby and Oaks this year.

—Friday Irrelevance, triple helping:

—Louisville Report serves up an NFL Draft profile of Dez Fitzpatrick.

—Louisville lacrosse will end its regular season Saturday at Notre Dame.

—U of L tight end signee Christian Pedersen has wrapped up his senior season and expects to be on campus in late May.

—South Carolina fans were chanting “oompa loompa” at this dude for Arkansas, and then he did this:

If I ever did anything half this cool, I would have the video playing on an endless loop in every room of my house.

—Three members of the Louisville field hockey team have earned All-ACC honors.

—The Cardinal softball team will play doubleheaders against No. 7 Florida State both on Friday and Sunday this weekend.

—Dean Straka of 247 Sports identifies Louisville’s Kenderick Duncan as one of 10 potential impact transfers for the 2021 college football season.

KENDERICK DUNCAN (S, LOUISVILLE)

Transferred from: Georgia Southern

2020 stats: 20 total tackles, four pass breakups, two interceptions

Kenderick Duncan has only been a member of the University of Louisville football program for a few months, but he’s already making quite the impression. A former All-Confernece player at Georgia Southern, Duncan was one of the most impressive players on defense during spring ball. A native of Stockbridge, Georgia, Duncan was a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference first-team selection during the 2020 but missed the first four games of the season after rehabbing offseason hip surgery. He missed the final three games of the season also but was still named a first-team All-Sun Belt performer by Pro Football Focus.

—The U of L men’s tennis team saw its run in the ACC tournament come to an end with a loss to Duke.

—The women’s tennis team was also knocked out of the league tournament by the Blue Devils.

—Productive Boston College forward Steffon Mitchell has entered the transfer portal.

—Local blog Lou What Wear hits us with everything we need to know about this year’s Derby.

—A fitting farewell for Fred Hina:

—The U of L men’s golf team is geared up for the ACC Championships.

—Cardinal linebacker Nick Okeke is bigger, stronger, and ready to be a more versatile contributor in 2021.

—Louisville men’s basketball signee Mike James is the guest on the latest episode of Jeff Greer’s podcast.

—And finally, Cardinal Authority has a full rundown of the top recruiting targets for U of L football as well as the dates that have been set for official visits.