Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—The 2022-23 U of L athletics season gets underway tonight when the women’s soccer team hosts UIC at 7:30. Cardinal sports are back.

—The Big Ten has officially agreed to a seven-year agreement with multiple broadcast partners that is reportedly worth more than $7 billion. Oh, and the league says they’re not done expanding.

—It certainly sounds like Louisville has a real shot at flipping the Washington twins from Miami.

It’s been reported that four-star receiver Robby Washington and three-star linebacker Bobby Washington, twins at nearby Miami Palmetto High School, are main targets for Louisville.

The Cardinals have already been making waves in Miami-Dade, grabbing commits from four-star Dade Christian receiver William Fowles and four-star Killian High School linebacker Stanquan Clark.

Now, they’re looking to flip the Washington twins as Miami picks up steam with other recruits. Some programs weren’t quite as high on Bobby at linebacker as they were on his pass-catching brother Robby, but Miami showed high interest in the duo, which is why the Washingtons committed there.

“You don’t get Robby without Bobby…Robby has made that incredibly clear,” said Garcia, “They view themselves as a package deal together. So, that is one element where Louisville is well aware and certainly on board with.”

Both brothers have been open with their recruitment and are continuing to take visits. It will be interesting to see if Miami can maintain their connection with these two local playmakers. The Hurricanes could certainly use some talent at receiver in this class and Washington goes a long way to filling that gap.

—Stewart Mandel’s All-”Wait, That Guy’s Still Playing College Football” Team is out (Athletic link).

—Class of 2023 PG Elmarko Jackson has Louisville in his list of 11 potential schools.

—Louisville Report’s Matt McGavic takes a closer look at new U of L hoops addition Fabio Basili.

Polish: Arguably the biggest detriment to Basili’s current game is his actual jump shot. It’s not that he has incredibly poor form, but his actual release is very slow compared to most other high-major prospects. It will need to be worked on once on campus, or Basili will see his outside shot sent back the other direction in ACC play unless he has a lot of room. One reason he will need to add strength is so he can better absorb contact when in the paint on the drive, as he tends to over-rely on the length of his frame rather than trying to out-muscle them.

Bottom Line: Basili is incredibly raw, but there is longterm potential with him. He’ll need a lot of coaching and development from Kenny Payne and the rest of the Louisville staff, but Basili has a good base to work with, and can be molded into a meaningful contributor down the line. At minimum, it helps the Cardinals tremendously that they have another scholarship guard on the roster to help take the load off of El Ellis, and being thrown in the fire early might not be the worst thing for Basili.

—Three-star edge rusher Joseph Mupoyi (2023) says he’s been in contact with Louisville.

—The 4th-ranked U of L volleyball team will hold its annual Red and Black Scrimmage this Saturday at 2 p.m. Admission to the event at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena is free.

—Ridiculous toss here from Pierce Clarkson.

—Jordan Majewski writes an early preview of the upcoming Atlantic Sun basketball season, and ranks defending tournament champion (and Louisville’s first opponent) Bellarmine at No. 6.

—Pat Forde looks at the 25 most intriguing non-quarterbacks for the upcoming college football season.

—Jermayne Lole is on the preseason watch list for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award.

—Gorgui remains our top human.

—Myisha Hines-Allen and Angel McCoughtry have both been invited to the Women’s National Team Training Camp ahead of the 2022 FIBA World Cup.

—John Michael Hayden has named three captains for the upcoming U of L men’s soccer season.

—The presidents and chancellors who make up the College Football Playoff’s Board of Managers reportedly held a brief discussion on Monday about major college football operating under a governance structure outside of the NCAA.

—Not a good day for one of the best thoroughbred horse trainers in the world.

—Racing Louisville topped AC Milan, 2-0, Wednesday night to advance back to the finals of The Women’s Cup.

—State of Louisville looks at what the addition of Fabio Basili could mean for the upcoming hoops season.

—Rivals says that among ACC teams, Louisville was the third biggest winner in the transfer portal.

3. Louisville

Two key portal adds by the Cardinals were DT Jermayne Lole (Arizona State) and Tiyon Evans (Tennessee). Lole brings much-needed size, quickness and experience to the Louisville line. He is simply a difference-maker on defense. Lole missed last season with a triceps injury. ASU only played four games in 2020, but in 2019 Lole impressed with with 72 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

Evans is a big-time weapon with size, speed and power. He rushed for 525 yards on 81 carries and scored six touchdowns last season at Tennessee. Evans was the Vols’ leading rusher before an injury caused him to miss the final four games of the season.

A standout at at Central Arkansas,

Tyler Hudson played in 33 games and finished his career with the Bears with 167 catches for 3,062 yards and 27 touchdowns. He had 14 100-yard games and earned first-team FCS All-American honors last season.

—The 2022 Kentucky high school football season gets underway tomorrow. Jason Frakes and company make their picks for the biggest local games of week one.

—Louisville remains firmly in the race for 5-star tight end Duce Robinson.

—Louisville outside linebackers coach Greg Gasparato says Yasir Abdullah is the kind of person you’d want your kid to be like.

—College football writer Mike Farrell plays fact or fiction, and says Louisville being the ACC’s sleeping giant is fact.

Fact or Fiction:

Louisville is the sleeping giant in the ACC.

Farrell’s take: FACT

Watch out. The addition of coach John Herron to the recruiting office has changed the landscape of Louisville recruiting, and they are now a serious danger not only in South Florida, where he made his reputation but nationally. Scott Satterfield needs to have a good season, but trust me when I tell you the new level of recruiting and landing players like Reuben Owens, Pierce Clarkson, and most recently, Miami standouts Stanquan Clark and William Fowles gives Satterfield a lot more internal support than people realize. Louisville could be very dangerous in a couple of years.

—Fabio Basili’s high school coach says he’s a “perfect fit” for Louisville.

—The Louisville Bats walked-off Omaha via a three-run home run last night.

—Happy move-in day, kids.

Don’t jump in the baby pool.

—U of L swimmer Gabi Albiero and former Cardinal Mallory Comerford will represent the Cardinals on Team USA for this year’s Duel in the Pool.

—And finally, beat UIC.