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7/26 DB Hakeem Smith a Good Fit for Cards
Rob Jones

2009 recruit Hakeem Smith gave a verbal commitment to the Cards' defensive coordinator Ron English this week after being in town on an unofficial visit Wednesday. Smith will play safety at Louisville, but also excels at the WR position. Greg Nord was also said to be in on the recruiting. Smith is currently listed at 6-1 170 but is said to have the frame able to put on 25-30 pounds of muscle once put on the correct training regimine that suits a safety (as is evident in the picture). Smith is currently not ranked by Rivals or Scout so Coach English might have found a diamond in the rough. The L Yes! Report talked with Smith briefly on the phone today and he had nothing but good things to say about Coach English and the Cards.

"Coach English is all about business and getting the right defense together for next year." Smith stated when asked what drew him to Louisville. He was able to speak briefly with Coach Kragthorpe who said Hakeem was going to do "good things" for the program and is "very excited" to have him join the team eventually.

Smith said his high school, Riverdale (GA), runs a multi-D set with a base 4-4 and a lot of cover 3 and the coaching staff has asked him to work hard on "reading the offense" and "getting stronger". Smith told me he was making his official visit for the West Virginia game which could not be
better for someone already committed due to the extravagant atmosphere surrounding the Big East rivalry. I assume it will be the "blackout" game again this year.

Smith sounds like a Kragthorpe guy- looking to improve and staying humble. He selected Louisville after also considering Vanderbilt, Louisiana Tech, and Virginia. Smith runs a 4.6, which is nothing to slouch at, but says he can run better. His team starts two-a-days on Monday and he says he'll catch up with us during the season and give an update on how things are going. Coach English hand-picked this guy, proving he has potential and it's only a matter of time before he is in a red jersey living up to it.



7/22 Caracter Back on Pitino's Good Side.....for now
Rob Jones

As was first reported here over a month ago and as everyone knows by now, Derrick Caracter is back on the Louisville basketball team. Rick Pitino, the man who said he was a "dead issue" and "better off playing somewhere else", had a change of heart but has put Caracter on a strict set of guidelines, better known as the "Scott Padgett Plan". This will require DC to get a job, get an apartment, pay his way, and stay away from trouble. Most would assume that this will be a task too tall for the much-maligned monster from Jersey. I would contend that, like myself, Pitino sees something the majority does not, a potential hard-worker who comes out swinging when backed against the wall. DC had been given reassurance after reassurance about how he only needed 1 year in college and then millions awaited him in the league. This surely made last year (one year too many for DC) frustating. It all coming to a head with an "alleged" confrontation in the locker room during halftime of the Elite 8 game
against Carolina. That was going to be the last time we saw Caracter in a Louisville uniform. A mutual break-up. DC was declaring for the draft. See you later Louisville. His buddy Earl Clark was coming with him.

Then Earl made the best decision of his life by deciding that, even though he was a potential lottery pick, maybe another year would help his game and his legacy as a college player. DC wasn't hearing the same praise as Clark by scouts and the idea of coming back to Louisville was beginning to be the only
option besides becoming the next Brandon Bender. DC decided to opt out of pre-draft workouts in Orlando, withdraw his name from the draft, and enroll in summer classes at Louisville. Never once stating he was going anywhere but Louisville. Pitino said he was academically ineligible and was getting his grades up to transfer. DC had other ideas and began inquiring about getting back on the team. After a couple months worth of begging and pleading, Pitino being the great coach and motivator of young men that he is, allowed Caracter back on the team under the stipulations that he sit out a year and adhere to the guidelines. #32 as of right now, will return as a junior for the 09-10 season.

This raises the question a whether or not DC will be available THIS year? If he is practicing with the team and sitting out due to academics, then he should be available for Big East play after the first semester of classes, assuming he makes the grade with both Pitino and the school. The coaching staff knows as well as we all do- front court depth is key in Big East play. If we are bitten by the injury-bug and Caracter is eligible, he will play. This team is too poised for a title run to let a commodity like Caracter waste away on the bench if they are struggling. The only scenario in which I see Caracter NOT playing is if he is declared ineliglible by the NCAA. Otherwise, if he proves capable of becoming a man in Pitino's eyes, I expect DC to be back by Christmas.

I have heard Pitino's integrity questioned over the "DC Saga" which is absolutely ludacrous. He showed he was more than a coach, but a  father-figure to Caracter by trying to motivate him anyway possible, as
was shown by his remarks to the media throughout the situation. He wanted Caracter to know that he made a terrible decision and had to develop much better work-ethic to even come close to his potential. I have a good feeling bith sides will come out smelling like roses. Coach Pitino has faith in DC or he
wouldn't have given him the opportunity to redeem himself. Remember, Caracter has never been arrested or accused of anything but missing curfew, he's not as bad as some make him out to be. Scott Padgett turned his "plan" into a decade long NBA career after success at UK. Let's see how the "Caracter Plan" works out.