O'Leary meets DaMarcus Smith

With Bender and Caldwell making appearances as eels Flotsam and Jetsom. I had a disturbing amount of fun paraphrasing these lyrics...

George O'Leary, adding hostage-taker to his resume...

Loyal readers will recall that there was once a time, back in the darkest Kragthorpian of nights, that Mr. Red advocated for the disgraced ex-Notre Dame coach-for-a-minute, George O'Leary, as a dark horse candidate for what, then, was just a hopeful head coaching vacancy for the Cards.

Now, not so much.

Having refused to let Seneca QB DaMarcus Smith out of his letter of intent, UCF Coach O'Leary will be adding a prized indentured servant to his roster within the next two weeks.

Look, I'm not letting DaMarcus off the hook here, yes, he brought this on himself. But he's a 17-year old kid, he's allowed a few fuckups. O'Leary, on the other hand, should be ashamed of himself. This quote is particularly galling...

He left me saying he was 100 percent a Knight," O'Leary said, alluding to rumors dating back to February that Smith was unhappy with his decision and planned to ask to be released from his letter of intent. "But every time he goes back to the Louisville area, it seems to be questionable what's taking place there".

Yea, the Louisville area, where his family and friends live, as well as the local university he's wanted to play for his entire life, yea, that's where the shadiness is going on.

Netherworld figures like Ken Caldwell and Brandon Bender that were in Smith's ear, well, they're just blown away by the beauty of the UCF campus, that's all.

I feel bad for Smith, even though he's ultimately to blame. He listened to bad advice, and ruined his chance to become one of the most anticipated and beloved local athletes to ever suit up for the Cards. He could have been Bush and Brohm rolled into one; he could a been a contenda.

Now, his prospects look murky. Full of hollow promise, like a George O'Leary resume. I hope these UCF clowns get added to the Big East.

Pitino, Texas... is this tiny planet big enough for both?

From "The Big Mac Blog," Ricky talks TCU's addition to the conference, bad history in the Lone Star State, and the awesomeness of the Big East (solid post below this one by Mr. Red by the way, trying to keep Cal's crying in check):

Mac Engel: What was your reaction to the Big East's decision to add TCU?

Rick Pitino: We felt it was purely a football decision. One of my very worst experiences was traveling to TCU and getting killed there. We were in Conference USA (it was a 71-46 loss on Feb. 17, 2004). It was one of those nights that nothing went well for us and everything went right for them. It was a horrible experience. It really was one of the worst experiences of my coaching career.

It was a football decision, but what it does is enhance the basketball program at TCU for sure.

For all of us it adds value.

Texas is so fertile in recruiting; it's a big part of recruiting in the Big 10 and this should help for us as well. Some of us will feel more comfortable recruiting there now for sure.

ME: How does this add value for a Louisville, or a TCU?

RP: When I came to Louisville we were a top 10 program. In terms of value according to Forbes, there is only one basketball program among the top 50 money making athletic programs in the country that is basketball. The rest are all football. We're the one. That would not be true today if we were not in The Big East. The Big East makes Louisville a top five program. It was the one thing that Louisville lacked was that established conference. We really didn't have it in the Metro or Conference USA. Now we do.

TCU basketball could never, ever - or a South Florida or a DePaul or a wherever - be what it wants to be without being in a major conference. Now they are because they have that affiliation.

ME: UConn finished ninth in the Big East but won the NCAA tournament; can you describe how loaded and difficult this conference is in men's basketball?

RP: It's such a fine line here. We almost beat UConn three times, and we beat Butler at home and we got knocked out of the first round of the (NCAA) tournament. It's very easy to be as close to the top in this conference as it is to finish 10th or 11th. UConn could have been out of the tournament all together if their non-conference wasn't so good.

It's beyond being a bear. It's every night. For a guy like (TCU coach) Jimmy Christian - we went to the same high school, although at different times - he's taken a TCU job and he's building the thing and then all of a sudden he turns around and he's in the Big East. It's awesome from a recruiting standpoint, but, and he knows this, this is a very, very difficult basketball league.

Full post here.

From the annals of chutzpah

"This is no knock on the Big East but they’ve had 19 teams in the Tournament the last two years and how many have made it by the first round? How is this happening? When they start playing each other they say the 11th team is really good. What?"


-Coach Cal, at the SEC coaches' conference. I don't know about the 11th team, but that 9th placed Big East team was pretty good, wasn't it? Ahhhhh? Ahhh? West Virginia too, for that matter.

** Actually I do know about the 11th team. It was Marquette, who beat Xavier and fellow Big East stalwart Syracuse on their own Sweet 16 run. Who was it that finished 11th in the SEC again? Oh right, (7-9 conf.) Mississippi. Yea, they really got snubbed. You make a good point, Waddles.

Quote of the Day

"Promises are made to be broken !"

-Rodney Purvis, via twitter, he of former "My word is my bond!" fame

Melo unmellow, and Purvis to play the Cards?

In the bank of "tell Mr. Red to stop throwing shit-fits about recruiting" files, you can put this one under ABFBTR: as in, "A Big Fat Bust To Recall". Syracuse's Fab Melo, once thought to be a Louisville-leaning phenom, has been arrested on charges of criminal mischief after a thoroughly underwhelming freshman campaign.

There was a time when Melo's decision to spurn the Cards was a major blow, and Louisville was left with little choice but to offer a scholarship to a somewhat-known teammate of stud wing Justin Coleman. Some African kid, probably a bust.

Life's a funny game. Another reminder to regard recruiting services kind of like astrology; you pay attention, but no too much attention, and hope for the best.

These are the things I'll be thinking of when I watch Gorgui Dieng dunk on Fab next year, if indeed, he's still on the team.

And speaking of mystical forces, Rodney Purvis is now making googly eyes towards the Pastner-led Memphis Tigers. Yep, the same Tigers we've known, loathed, defeated on a regular basis, and just renewed our animosity license for. Yep, those same Tigers that will be visiting come December.

If Purvis does decide to take his talents to Graceland, you can re-up the dial on the rivalry to white hot. Should the fates allow.

It's on!

The rivalry with our ancient foe, the Memphis Tigers, is back on. The series will resume at the Kayefseum on December 17 at 3:00pm. The Cards will travel to Memphis the following year.

The two rivals have not played since UofL left to join the Big East after the 2005 season. The Cards, of course, won the final matchup in the C-USA tourney after the infamous Darius Washington missed free throws.

I really wish we could fast forward through the next three months.

See Kevin, see Kevin jump...

His dribbling worries me a little, but there's no denying his athleticism...

KSR hits new low

Just when you think the flagship UK blog can't get any shallower, they somehow manage to drain more water from the pool. Today's nonstory-story is the shocking revelation that UofL's newest commit, Kevin Ware, visited Captain's Quarters on Sunday night during his official visit. And, did you know, CQ sells, gasp, alcohol?

Since Captain's Quarters is a bar/restaurant, essentially this is the same amount of outrage that should be registered had Ware eaten dinner at O'Charley's.

From the man who feigned outrage over Eric Bledsoe's high school algebra grades being released (though in that case, there was evidence), it seems an awfully tactless insinuation. No info, no knowledge, no photos of Ware drunkenly stumbling around. That might be normal for any regular warm-blooded college kid, but it would be startling for Ware, since most of these young basketball guys don't drink at all.

Did Ware drink? Has he ever had a drink? Does anyone know? Nawww, none of that matters. Just a mere granule of impropriety is enough for KSR to run with it.

And Forde/Thamel/O'Neil are the ones that are unserious journalists. It's through the looking glass in Lexington, but then again, we've known that for awhile.

Tuesday Roundup

I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. Mine got a little better yesterday when I received word that Kevin Ware had finally chosen the Cards as his new home. Say what you want about the "Neverending Story" aspect of his decision, but there's no doubt that Louisville's chances for a major run next year just improved.

Next season is Peyton Siva's show, that's obvious, but Ware brings greatly needed depth to the point guard position, especially if Siva cannot correct his penchant for picking up ill-timed fouls. Russ Smith didn't show much in his limited role last season, and Justice experienced his ups and downs as well. Let those three battle it out in practice and may the best man win. If nothing else, Ware is another long, athletic frame that provides a fresh body to play the unrelenting defense we hang our hats on.

Other thoughts...

* I'm really encouraged by the early results shown by the new coaching staff. Kevin Keatts was instrumental in bringing in the solid Luke Hancock from George Mason, and now they've managed to re-lure Kevin Ware after so many ups-and-downs and a much-overblown Twitter dustup between he and the fans. No small feat, and each talked about how comfortable he felt with the coaching staff. Hancock especially, who has played under Keatts, praised his tough, motivational, yet genuine-care-for-his players style.

This makes me feel good about our program, and our ability to get and improve excellent college players. But, in my mind, our "brand" (though I hate that word) should be to surround those solid pieces around one or two blue chippers a season. Until the new staff lands an NBA bound stud, you can expect the conventional wisdom that the staff lacks the sizzle of a Tim Fuller to begin to harden.

* I'm not sure what ultimately made Ware's mind up, but I suspect that Chane Behanan played a large role. I watched them closely at the Derby Classic and they looked like brothers already; they were cracking each other up on the bench the whole time.

* Unless you've been living under a rock, I'm sure you know that Jim Tressel is OUT at Ohio State. And once again, I'm flabbergasted at the reaction of many in the media, how Tressel is being depicted as a victim of NCAA witch hunts. It says a lot about the state of college sports.

But whatever, I'm more interested in whether Strong can pickup any nice recruits from the Buckeye fallout.

* Speaking of cheaters, John Calipari stooped to new lows of pettiness last night, sending out a tweet bashing what UK fans refer to the triumvirate of reporters (Pat Forde, Pete Thamel, Dana O'Neil) that they feel are out to "get" Calipari and UK. Apparently, Cal was furious that each didn't write a front page story about his numerous charity works.

Gag me.  Millionaire coaches are supposed to do charity work, it's especially important for a coach with such a slimy reputation. The fact that he immediately looks around for pats on the back after a charity event says, to me, a lot about the man's character and the true motivations for his "generosity".

Two, it's also an example of Cal's diabolical genius, in that the tweet wasn't really aimed at the reporters, it was just red meat to his fans, feeding the massive inferiority-superiority complex and delusions of persecution that drives UK athletics.

They really are a match made in hell.