Thursday afternoon Cardinal news and notes

—According to Jon Rothstein, Louisville will participate in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis along with Indiana, Arizona, Gonzaga, Creighton, West Virginia, Oklahoma and Davidson. Here’s hoping the program is in a position by that point for the Cards to be a legit contender to win the loaded event.

—ACC expansion is back on the table, with the league once again pondering the additions of Stanford, Cal and SMU.

—The ACC stands to make $72M in additional revenue from ESPN if it expands by three, according to these figures.

—Expect a decision on the matter within the week.

—The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel says the ACC adding Cal, SMU and Stanford makes perfect sense, and also no sense at all.

—The 2023 U of L men’s soccer season begins tonight with a 7:30 home game against No. 16 Tulsa. Here’s a preview.

—Congrats to former Cardinal basketball walk-on Keith Oddo on being named an assistant coach at IUPUI.

—John Clay ranks the five best quarterbacks on Kentucky’s football schedule for this season, and Louisville’s Jack Plummer makes the cut.

4. JACK PLUMMER, LOUISVILLE

The former Purdue transfer is expected to be the Cards’ starting quarterback after reuniting with former Boilermakers coach Jeff Brohm. The Arizona native spent last season at California where he was 282 of 451 for 3,095 yards and 21 touchdowns with nine interceptions. He spent his first three seasons at Purdue where Plummer was 319 of 492 for 3,405 yards and 26 touchdowns with 10 interceptions.

“Jack’s done a really good job,” Brohm told Louisville Report. “He’s a great leader, he understands our system. He can see the field, he can make all the throws. Just consistency, being able to do that all the time, is the goal. That’s really for anybody.”

—The CJ’s Brooks Holton revisited eight of the worst Power Five college basketball seasons from the past 20 years to see how those teams fared in their follow-up efforts. Four had their patience rewarded. Four benefited from a changing of the guard.

—The new HBO documentary on Bishop Sycamore is a hit. The one on Florida football? Not so much.

—”Protect The Fed”

—Mekhi Becton will start at right tackle in the Jets preseason finale.

—The Louisville field hockey team is No. 9 in the preseason coaches top 25 poll.

—Pat Forde breaks down the most interesting off-field decision-makers in college football.

—The Hoops Vision newsletter says college basketball’s three-point revolution may have reached its peak.

Since the line was moved back prior to the 2019-20 season, the percentage of shots that are three-point attempts has essentially stabilized — hovering between 37.3% and 37.7%. Last season’s 37.3% was actually the lowest of the four seasons.

Not just that: the expected value of three-point shot attempts has also stabilized.

Last season, the average three-point attempt was worth 1.02 points per shot. The average two-point attempt was worth 1.00 points per shot. That’s a significant change from the early 2010’s when three-pointers were about 0.07 points more valuable than two-pointers.

Moreover, if you adjust for the fact that two-point attempts lead to free throws at a greater rate than threes, you can argue that we’ve gotten to an efficiency equilibrium.

Defenses have changed, which means the mid-range jumper could be due for a comeback.

—The Louisville NIL store is now live.

—U of L men’s soccer forward Gage Guerra has been named to the 2023 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.

—The Athletic celebrates the 30-year anniversary of The Sandlot with some inside stories.

—A dozen college football coaches share their funniest headset stories.

“I had to get off the wavelength” — Tulane coach Willie Fritz

OK, I’m the defensive coordinator at Coffeyville Community College. This was in either ’87 or ’88. I’m on the headphones and it’s a real tight ballgame. And all of a sudden, somebody starts coming over the headphones. And we had a real small airport in Coffeyville, Kan., and between the plane and the tower, they were going back and forth talking, and they started telling me that I had to get off the wavelength. I had to get off these headphones and quit talking. And I of course told them I wasn’t going to do that.

So we’re going back and forth and one of our players goofed up. I even remember the name: Alfred Smith. Good kid. Great player. He missed a tackle, and me and the coach who was on the field were going off about it and maybe said some words that we shouldn’t have said.

All of a sudden the tower asked the (pilot) in the plane a question, and the (pilot) said, “Well, I’m not sure what you’re asking me, but I’m real glad I’m not Alfred Smith.” We all just started dying laughing.

—Just as he has been the last couple of years, Brock Domann is staying focused and will be ready if his number is called.

—Eight Louisville players have been named to the preseason Senior Bowl watch list.

—Confidence has never been a problem for Kei’Trel.

—The Wall Street Journal’s Jason Gay ha a handful of things that could happen to make college football better.

—Matt McGavic’s full 2023 Louisville football season preview is here.

—Some good news here on Wesley Cox’s ongoing health battle.

—College hoops coaches speak anonymously about how NIL has changed the way they recruit a player.

A Coach in the SEC: “If you don’t have the funds, you can’t compete. That being said, kids and families still want to feel like you’re recruiting them; they don’t want to feel like you’re buying them.”

A Coach in the Big East: “Most schools, if not the overwhelming majority of all schools, are no longer investing in the ‘potential’ of high school prospects outside of one to two years. Scholarships for potential used to mean impacting the program two, three, and maybe even four years down the road.

“Potential now means the year after this one. If staff cannot have the vision for serious upside, the high school prospect will certainly be left with considerably fewer options, both in the level of schools recruiting him and the sheer number of schools that value him.”

A Coach in the Big 12: “The process doesn’t really change until the NIL offer has been made. Especially if it’s a substantial offer by a non-traditional school. Once the bar has been set, then all bets are off. The easiest way to build a relationship is with a good NIL offer in place. Gold diggers exist for a reason and money talks.

“In a dream scenario, you only sign a portal kid for every high school kid you lose. Successful programs have their foundation laid by high school recruiting and retention.”

—U of L opponent Virginia Tech was atrocious in the Red Zone on both offense and defense last season. That has to improve for the Hokies to be better in 2023.

—Racing Louisville has signed star Savannah DeMelo to a deal that will keep her in the Derby City through the 2026 season.

—Bryson Tiller to Kentucky? ........ Don’t.

—Former QB Joey Gatewood is now firmly in the mix at tight end for Louisville.

—Adam Duvall just wrapped up an absurd series for the Red Sox against the Atros.

—The ninth-ranked U of L field hockey team begins its season this weekend with matchups against Northeastern and No. 2 Northwestern.

—Mochael Niziolek of The Herald-Times is predicting an IU upset of Louisville.

Sept. 16 vs. Louisville (at Indianapolis)

Last season: Did not play

The buzz: The most interesting game on Indiana’s schedule in September and the first one that will give fans a real indication of what to expect in 2023. The Hoosiers have a real shot at picking up their first win over a non-conference opponent since 2018 (20-16 win over Virginia).

Louisville has been dangerous in recent years thanks in large part to dual-threat quarterback Malik Cunningham, who had 7,889 total yards and 62 touchdowns in 45 career starts.

The Cardinals offense won’t look as imposing with Cunningham off to the NFL and journeyman Jake Plummer likely taking over.

Indiana fans would feel better about this one if former Purdue coach Jeff Brohm hadn’t replaced Scott Satterfield. Brohm was 4-1 against Indiana during his time in West Lafayette with his offense averaging 34.8 points and 463.4 yards during that stretch.

Still, he will be hard pressed to create that magic right out of the gate.

The pick: Indiana wins, 23-20

—U of L has made it official that this year’s Louisville-Kentucky men’s basketball game will be played on Dec. 21.

—And finally, the fourth-ranked Louisville volleyball team begins its season this weekend with three matches at the Cardinal Classic. Here’s a preview of the event.