A welcome sign of spring...

...but I can't wait until fall.

CJ article on the spring game here, Rick Bozich's article on Victor Anderson here.

Larry Jefferson picks the Cards, looks studly

Thus concludes the latest chapter of The Head Coach of Louisville Saga

So I guess this is the bookend to the whole Richie Pitino Coach in Waiting thing, which was the top story a mere 24 hours ago but 17 revelations later seems like an afterthought. From CL Brown's blog:

In a radio interview Wednesday with Terry Meiners on WHAS-AM, Pitino elaborated a bit more on his eventual replacement. He denied talk that Richard would be named head-coach-in-waiting. He said his 28-year-old son, who has never been a head coach, would not be one of the names he would recommend to athletic director Tom Jurich.

“I'm going to go until I (can't) go with this type of energy,” Pitino said. “I don't know who the successor would be. … Certainly the first guy on the list I would recommend 3-5 years from now would be the coach at Butler (Brad Stevens). He would be the type of person who I would recommend.”

If you didn't see it in the CJ be sure to check it out; according to the source son and wife demanded that Ricky keep on coaching. And in a parting shot at Tim Fuller, Rick announced that in the future he will be asking assistant coaches for three-year commitments to the program.

Frankly, I'm glad Pitino's not moping on about retirement anymore, I'm glad he took Ricky Jr. off the table for the head coaching job and I'm glad that the first name that he did entertain was Brad Stevens. I don't know whether Stevens would still be around in 3-5 years or if he would come to Louisville. But he's the right type of guy to take the reins of our program, and for those experiencing Pitino fatigue he provides the starkest contrast in several ways. Probably most important, Stevens and Pitino developed a fast friendship dating back to last season (something about standing in line for Starbucks coffee), which led Rick to ask Stevens to bring Butler down to open the Yum! Center this year. In the future recruitment of a successor, that kind of rapport could come in handy.

What a day what a day what a day

Terrence Jennings testing the NBA waters.

The Titanic had a captain with more control.

WTF

Shooting down rumors that lil' Pitino is a "head coach in waiting"? Back-alley deals in the works? Our premier assistant leaving for a lesser team? Struggling to hold on to prized recruits? More embarrassment and humbling for an already humbled program?

Just another day in the life of a Cardinal fan, at least while being led under Rick Pitino.

I'm sick. I'm tired. I'm incapable of pretending that all is hunky dory with the Louisville Cardinals basketball program.

By themselves, any one of the stories, rumors, and innuendos would be insignificant. But after the thousandth, the trivial begins to add up to something important, something revealing.

I won't pretend to speak for the "fanbase", but for myself, it's been revealed that the man behind the curtain has been revealed, that there's no "there there",  no one to protect the fortunes of Louisville basketball beyond that of day to day spin control.

Almost despite ourselves, the Louisville Cardinals will sport a formidable team when it's time to lace up the sneakers next year. I have faith in the players I watched this past season, the shot of adrenaline from Wayne Blackshear and Chane Behanan, and the passion of the Louisville faithful to carry us through.

But I've fallen from faith in our head coach, or that Tom Jurich has the control over his most absurdly salaried employee to even know what's going on behind closed doors.

What the hell's going on out here? Tru dat, Vince.

With a grain of salt

But...for now Rodney Purvis is still firm in his Louisville commitment. Per the CJ...

No. There is no change. I’m still committed to Louisville. I met (athletic director Tom Jurich), and he’s very committed to Louisville basketball, and that was great to sit and talk with him. There were just a lot of things I liked about Louisville.

Larry O'Bannon tweets, Mr. Red listens

Wonder if Tim Fuller is leaving da ville bc Pitino's style was a little over the top?!

Negus WC still on board

According to Jody Demling, the 6'6'' swingman is unchanged in his commitment to Louisville in the wake of Tim Fuller's departure.

This is great news, but it's not the big one. Whether we can retain Rodney Purvis, the unrivaled athlete and best point guard in the '12 class remains to be seen.

These are not good times. Rick's vision for UofL basketball is hazier than ever.

Report: Tim Fuller gone

Not good. From CL Brown's blog:

All indications right now point to assistant coach Tim Fuller becoming the second U of L assistant to take a new job. Expect Fuller to join the staff of newly hired Missouri coach Frank Haith. The announcement will probably come later today, barring an 11th hour change of heart.

Fuller, who was only with the Cards one season, was instrumental in getting a commitment from guard Rodney Purvis for the 2012 class. He was also heavily involved with trying to lure Kevin Ware to U of L after Ware backed out of his Tennessee commitment.

The challenge now in replacing Fuller will first be making sure Purvis remains committed.

Who the hell is going to be on the bench next season? More importantly, who is our head recruiter? Richard Pitino?

Crawford blog: Richard Pitino not "coach in waiting"

Still trying to sort all this out until full details are provided, but it's all starting to sound like much ado about nothing. From Crawford's blog:

U of L athletic director Tom Jurich told the C-J’s U of L beat writer C.L. Brown tonight that there will be no "coach in waiting arrangement" for Richard, though the school is talking to him.

That knocks a story moving now on national AP wires is a story with this lead: "GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Billy Donovan says assistant Richard Pitino is leaving to become the head coach in waiting at Louisville."

The direct quote from Donovan, however, was far less definitive than that AP lead, saying that for the younger Pitino to "be the associate head coach and possibly the head coach at Louisville, is an incredible opportunity."

To be "possibly the head coach" and "coach in waiting" are two different things. One is a possibility. The other is a formal plan for succession.

I don’t doubt the former. We won’t see the latter, because a formal succession arrangement for Rick Pitino would create a situation fraught with unnecessary pressure and, at the very least, distraction, for everybody.

Crawford goes on to suggest that Richard Pitino might indeed be considered for the top job when Rick steps down, but will face many additional pressures that other candidates. So wait and see, and reasons to be skeptical.

The other intriguing tidbit was Crawford's take that when the time comes, Jurich could consider top-flight assistant coaches; in other words not limit his search only to "big name" head coaches:

(And don’t think, if you’re a U of L fan, that athletic director Tom Jurich isn’t at least going to look in the direction of some assistant coaches. Doesn’t mean he’ll hire one. He knows U of L men’s basketball is a different animal. He goes for the guy he wants, regardless of where that coach is. He hired Ken Lolla away from Akron when it was ranked No. 1 in the nation in men’s soccer. He hired Jeff Walz as an assistant from Maryland in women’s basketball, Dan McDonnell as an SEC assistant in baseball, and Charlie Strong as a longtime assistant in football. He’s not going to disqualify candidates who aren’t current head coaches. I don’t think the next coach, whenever that day comes, will necessarily be a "big-name" guy, though it could be if it’s the right guy.)

Interesting perspective, worth reading in full here.

Richard Pitino back, Billy Donovan blabbing, Louisville scratching its head

It looks like Richard Pitino will be heading back to Louisville to fill the vacancy left by Steve Masiello's departure. That's terrific news, as the young Pitino was generally regarded as the best recruiter that Louisville had under his pop's tenure.

But now Billy Donovan is claiming that Richard is leaving the Gators to take an associate head coaching position with the Cards with the understanding that he is the "head coach in waiting".

Wait, wha????

I'm skeptical of this report, or that Donovan truly has his pulse on the situation since he's obviously lost total control of his own program, but still. It's not a pleasant thought.

Louisville basketball has stomached a lot, but asking us to blindly accept a Pitino dynasty may be too much to ask. When it's time for Rick Pitino and Louisville to part ways, I anticipate a clean break in a new direction.

There's plenty of better coaches out there. Louisville basketball is better than this.

Caliplagus

"I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you."

-Genghis Khan, to his Muslim foes, before the slaughter

For the life of me, I cannot figure out what the sins of Cardinal nation are. Was it sticking by Pitino throughout his adulterous affair? Was it his hiring in the first place 10 years ago? Was the construction of the Kayefseum a Babel-like affront to the basketball gods?

What, O what, did we do to deserve this? And by this, of course, I mean him.

John Calipari, the swarmy, pudgy, petty coach of the Wildcats is squarely at our gates. And if Cardinal nation isn't rightfully afraid, it should be.

UK's run to the Final Four in a "down year" (a year in which they have only 3 NBA prospects and two professional tweeners) is the official announcement to the world that so long as Calipari is coach at UK, they will be a threat to cut down the nets every year.

And we are fated to share territory; UofL needs to recognize this new paradigm and adjust accordingly. There are no "bridge years", not anymore, they cannot be afforded. This season's confirmation that Cal's one-and-done methods do, in fact, work can only be viewed as a call to arms for Cardinal nation to step up or be left in the dust.

What does this mean practically? It means Rick Pitino needs thoughtful consideration of whom he chooses to refill his assistant ranks, it means he needs to look in the mirror, cease with the world-weary "I'm just an old coach that's seen it all before" schtick and regain that singular drive that made him great.

UofL is 0-2 against the Wildcats in the Calipari Era, with two first round tourney exits to boot. I fear a long losing streak in the annual rivalry until that drive is regained. Pitino's multi-tasking, the TV gigs, the perpetual job-flirting and retirement rumors betray that mindset.

The program cannot afford our coach and captain looking at his Louisville legacy instead of focusing on hanging our next banner. Not anymore.

The vibe around the football program is so good right now not because of our invincibility (though I think we'll be damn good) but because of our firm belief in Charlie Strong's vision, that we're building towards something. Rick Pitino's vision for Louisville basketball has become somewhat muddled. His promises of never dropping from the Top 20, the rebranding last season to "lightning quick" basketball that was somewhat forgotten, they ring hollow. We don't need gimmicks; we need a leader to build a team, not just dangerous underdogs, but the kind that T-Will recently alluded to, the kind with swagger and unrivaled athleticism. Anything less, and Calipari's Cats will trump us year after year.

I don't want Calipari to waddle off to the NBA. I don't want him to be taken down by enterprising sportswriters delving into the secrets of his remarkable recruiting success.

I want to beat him.

Purvis at Boo Williams

Masiello to Manhattan

Wave3 is confirming that the UofL assistant Steve Masiello will be named the next head coach of the Manhattan Jaspers after negotiations with their first choice, Jim Ferry, broke down over salary figures. When's the last time you can remember that happening?

Best of luck to Steve, from all accounts he poured every ounce of himself into his work while at Louisville. But the timing appears to be good for both sides, with the likely departure of Ralph Willard, the ranks of assistantship are due for another shakeup.

A return of Richard Pitino? David Padgett or Andre McGee getting a promotion?