Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—Cardinal Authority looks at the five biggest recruiting storylines for Louisville men’s basketball heading into the July evaluation period.

—Five Cardinal baseball players were named to the ACC’s All-Academic Team.

—Mick Cronin’s horse capping brother getting duped by a fake Mark Blankenbaker account and tweeting a report that set Louisville Twitter ablaze at 11 p.m. on an early July Wednesday was the summer sports story this area has been waiting for.

What a world.

—Mike James is ready for life in the ACC.

—The full schedule for the 2021 U of L field hockey season has been released. The Cards are coming off the most successful season in program history, one which saw them advance all the way to the NCAA tournament semifinals.

—Jeff Greer’s latest newsletter focuses on why Marcus Carr is such a highly sought-after transfer.

I mentioned in previous newsletters, radio shows and podcasts that Louisville was keeping its eyes open this summer as the transfer market slowed down. The Cards knew then and still know now they need more playmaking talent. If the player in question was no better than the current options, the potential addition would likely be viewed as a chance to improve Louisville’s depth. Last season showed depth (or lack thereof) to be awfully important. A player of Carr’s caliber, however, is the equivalent of landing a five-star prospect who reclassified into the freshman class, only in this case the player has proven success at the highest level of college basketball over multiple seasons. Carr would bring instant star power and credibility to any backcourt.

How does he fit Louisville in particular? The addition would do a variety of things:

1. Allow El Ellis to play both guard spots and operate on and off the ball while also reducing some of the pressure to score and create.

2. Significantly share the playmaking/creating responsibilities with Ellis and Jarrod West.

3. And give Louisville a bona fide power conference star in the backcourt to balance the roster as the newcomers prove themselves. Carr is good enough that Louisville signing him would likely push the Cardinals into the conversation as top-four contenders in the ACC.

The bottom line is, whichever program nabs Carr this late into the offseason will feel like it has hit the jackpot.

—State of Louisville dives into Carr and how his game might fit in at Louisville.

—U of L NIL point man Matt Banker talks a little NIL here.

—Kahil Fennell is the guest on the latest episode of Greer’s podcast.

—MC Hammer and his box celebrating their horse winning the Oaks is the jolt of excitement you need on this Thursday afternoon.

—Inside the Loud House ranks Louisville-Michigan State as the fifth-best ACC-Big 10 Challenge game.

—Cardinal Authority has some early recruiting notes from the July evaluation period.

—Jeff Walz and the rest of the U of L women’s basketball staff are back on the road recruiting.

—Here’s the complete schedule for the 2021 U of L men’s soccer season:

—And here is the U of L women’s soccer schedule:

—Georgia Tech point guard Jose Alvarado is staying in the NBA draft instead of returning for an 11th season in college.

—Louisville RB recruit Jaylin Lucas (2022) committed to Tulane.

—Penny Hardaway hiring Larry Brown as his new assistant coach is hilarious.

—Props to Reggie Theus on continuing to land head coaching gigs.

—Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician takes a closer look at the running back units in the ACC.

—Heavy.com looks at the Rams WR group and how TuTu Atwell fits in.

—A handful of Louisville high school baseball players could hear their names called in the 2021 MLB draft.

—And finally, the CJ continues its countdown of the 30 most important Louisville football players for 2021 here.