theCardNation

Montrezl Harrell, a 2012 Virginia Tech signee, has been released from his letter of intent today. Over the past couple weeks, it has become clear that there may be mutual interest between Harrell and Louisville. Now that he has been released from his LOI, Harrell’s recruitment begins. According to William Gunter of 247sports, Harrell’s early list includes Louisville, Florida, Kentucky, NC State, and Alabama.

Montrezl Harrell is a 6’7 225-lb power forward. Harrell is ranked as the #72 player in the 2012 class by Scout.com. Harrell would be a huge addition to a 2012 class that only includes guard Terry Rozier (if he qualifies..). Harrell would add some depth in the frontcourt.

Here is his highlight reel:

Rick Pitino gives us another informative and entertaining blog update (Link). In this edition, he gives his thoughts on what each needs to do this offseason, as well as introduces new walk-on Michael Baffour, or as Russ likes to call him, Dark Slime. Pitino also gives his reaction to the Final Four run this past March.

Adam Lefkoe of WHAS gives us an inside look at Quentin Snider’s development.

During these last 8 or 9 months, Louisville fans have been frustrated with AD Tom Jurich’s response to the ever so prevalent question of whether or not Louisville wants out of the Big East. Jurich’s responses to this question was always political and included him saying that he would stick with the conference that he’s been in, the Big East. This obviously frustrated me, as well as many other cards fans, since it has been clear for a while that the Big East is becoming Conference USA 2.0, in terms of football at least.

With the departure of commissioner John Marinatto (left), Jurich has wasted no time in voicing his intentions for the University of Louisville. To be blunt, these intentions include getting out of the sinking ship that is the Big East. In fact, both parties, the Big East and Tom Jurich, are under the understanding that the plan is for Louisville to be in the Big 12 sooner rather than later. While there has not been too many solid sources on the topic, there is the rumor floating around that the Big 12 has already extended an invite to Louisville but are just waiting till July to officially announce it. While I do want Louisville’s athletic department to be in the best situation possible, which I believe is in the Big 12 conference, I do not want there to be another situation like with Pitt, Syracuse, and WVU. It is possible to exit a conference without screwing it over for the future, and I believe Tom Jurich is handling the situation excellently. He is being honest with the Big East, and making clear exactly what his plan is in terms of conference realignment.

The bottom line is that it is becoming evident that Louisville will be in the Big 12 and this is just another reassuring sign. And while things are somewhat quiet now, besides this development of course, things will surely heat up over the next two months.

St. Benedict’s 2013 PG Tyler Ennis is a prospect who has been on Louisville radar for a long time now. Over the past year, Ennis has proven to be the real deal at the point guard position. In terms of Ennis’ skills at the guard postion, Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com had this to say, “Ennis is more of a creator than a scorer, as evidenced by his four assists per game in the EYBL. He finds cracks in the defense and is able to exploit weaknesses with his impressive ball-handling and ability to finish in the lane. Ennis changes speeds effectively and is very good in transition”.

Louisville has working very hard on the recruiting trail to get in good with Ennis. According to Borzello, Louisville is on Ennis’ short list of schools who are in contact with him the most. This list includes Louisville, Syracuse, Wake Forest, UCLA, Illinois, Baylor, and Memphis. With key evaluation periods coming up look for the recruitment of the five-star Ennis and other prospects to heat up.

ESPN’s Dana O’Neil seems to think so.

A name that Louisville fans should remember is Vernon Hargreaves III. Hargreaves is a five-star CB and the #10 player in the 2013 class. Before the Charlie Strong Era, any cards fan would dismiss this right away because we have no business with a player of this caliber, but since we are in the Charlie Strong Era, you can never count Louisville out with just about any recruit in the nation. The truth is the Vernon Hargreaves III is very interested in Louisville and Charlie Strong. A few days ago, Hargreaves got us excited by tweeting stuff like this:

As you can see by both of those tweets, Charlie Strong is working hard to recruit Hargreaves via phone calls and school visits. The one thing working against Louisville in the battle for Hargreaves’ services is that his dad is the cornerbacks coach at USF. Though this is a big advantage for USF, it does not mean he’s a lock to go there.

If Louisville were to score a commitment from Hargreaves, he would undoubtedly be our highest ranked recruit ever. The amazing thing that I’ve realized from the case of this specific recruit is that I 100% believe that this coaching staff can bring in the talent to rival any elite program in college football. I know I’ve said this many times, but the future is ever so bright for Louisville football. Get on the train now Vernon because once it gets going it won’t be stopping.

This is a great highlights video that involves multiple fadaway threes, slam dunks and even a game-winner. Enjoy

****UPDATE****

According to the Courier Journal, it is official that Rick Pitino will announce Kareem Richardson as the new assistant coach at 3pm today.

****UPDATE****

With the departures of Richard Pitino and Mark Lieberman, Louisville has some voids in the coaching staff. According to multiple sources, Rich Pitino has called a press conference for 3:00 on Monday to announce who will be filling these voids. It has been assume, but it is not set in stone, that perhaps a former player like Andre McGee might take over Lieberman’s role. The majority of discussion has been about who will replace Richard Pitino. The rumor is that Keatts will take over Richards role as a scout, so the what Louisville needs now is a recruiter. The main candidates that I have been hearing are Will Wade and Kareem Richardson.

Will Wade is currently an assistant coach at VCU. Wade has the reputation as a relentless worker. This would come in handy on the recruiting trail. Wade is also considered an up and comer in the college basketball world. In my opinion, Wade would be a great hire.

Kareem Richardson currently works as an assistant coach for Xavier. He is considered to be a great recruiter, and he has the evidence to back it up. All you have to look at is the 2012 and 2013 classes, each of which have five-star commitments. Richardson is the name I’ve been hearing a lot, and is who I think Pitino will announce as the new assistant coach on Monday.

The bottom line is that all signs are pointing to Kareem Richardson being appointed as Louisville new assistant coach on Monday. In Richardson, Louisville would be getting a solid recruiter, who can bring in top-notch talent, which is what any elite program needs.

Be prepared to rely on small recruiting nuggets to get your daily Louisville fix until football season starts. Here are some nuggets from the past week or so.

• James Quick said recently that Louisville and Ohio State have emerged as his two leaders. I cannot even begin to explain how huge this 2013 Louisville bunch is to Charlie Strong and staff. It’s great that we already got four-star Ryan White, and we are in great shape with five-star Quick and four-star Hatcher. The future of Louisville football is very bright.
• Today, it has been confirmed that 2013 commit Anton Gill will transfer to Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. This of course is where current Louisville assistant Kevin Keatts used to coach. In my opinion, this is a good move for Gill, with Hargrave annually being one of the top prep schools in the country.
• Recently the buzz around Louisville basketball is whether or not there will be a late addition to the 2012 class. This could possibly be Virginia Tech signee Montrezl Harrell. It is expected that Harrell will receive his release from Virginia Tech in the next couple days. The reason Louisville is being mention with Harrell is that there is a connection with Keatts and Hargrave.
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• theCardnation reported a few weeks ago that former five-star linebacker Jeff Luc would be transferring from Florida State and Louisville may be a possible destination. Well, recently Luc came out with his list list, which includes Louisville, Kansas State, Rugters, and Central Florida.
• Stay tuned for more updates from theCardnation.com