UPDATE: Louisville Escorts ---> 2016 Postseason Ban...

[mpwalsh8]

Saw this on Twitter earlier today, pretty funny.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWFuzptMSs[/youtube]

Guess the YouTube BBCode tags don't work ...

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWFuzptMSs

[marquette]

Saw this on Twitter earlier today, pretty funny.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWFuzptMSs[/youtube]

Guess the YouTube BBCode tags don't work ...

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWFuzptMSs

Hahaha. Nice.

[robinreed]

I found this on twitter. I do not know if there is any validity to it but it is interesting.

Utini ‏@PromiscuousJawa · 7h7 hours ago
Shaka Smart and Steve Masiello contacted via proxy to gauge interest in coaching at UofL. Pitino to be termed prior to mid November.

Should he be termed yes. Will he be termed, who knows. Shaka Smart is in his first year at Texas and so that seems improbable.

[Jet915]

I found this on twitter. I do not know if there is any validity to it but it is interesting.

Utini ‏@PromiscuousJawa · 7h7 hours ago
Shaka Smart and Steve Masiello contacted via proxy to gauge interest in coaching at UofL. Pitino to be termed prior to mid November.

Should he be termed yes. Will he be termed, who knows. Shaka Smart is in his first year at Texas and so that seems improbable.

The fact that Louisville took back Bobby Petrino tells you enough about this administration. Until the NCAA puts the hammer down on Louisville like they should (assuming everything is true), I'd be surprised if the admin did anything.

[BEX]

Saw this on Twitter earlier today, pretty funny.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWFuzptMSs[/youtube]

Guess the YouTube BBCode tags don't work ...

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWFuzptMSs

Hahaha. Nice.

hohoho hoe

[admin]

To get the YouTube feature to work just click the button above the reply field and inlude the code (after v= ) within it.

[Bill Marsh]

There must be real panic in Louisville. They know what it was like during the 18 years between Final Four appearances when they went from being one of the nation's elite programs to just another very good one. It took someone of the stature of Pitino to bring them back.

Pitino is obviously gone. Classic "dead man walking". But the university can't move too quickly on dismissing him because as soon if they do, they lose the luster they had with him at the helm. Especially without Pitino, they simply are not the no brainer destination for an elite coach. Think UNLV after Tarkanian left. Some young up & coming go getter will be given the job eventually. But not now. Things will be turned over to one of the assistants, which will create tremendous instability within the program. Look at what Cincinnati went through after Huggins left under a cloud. They're still not back to where they were.

The go getter may be a success or they may not. And Louisville still has tremendous infrastructure to support the program. The problem is that they're now in the ACC. (That conference must be regretting this decision.) This is a league in which a program can fall to the bottom half very quickly and stay there for a long time. If that happens, interest will erode and money will dry up. This is the #2 program in a state where UK is king. A not-so-big state. Not good.

Now the other big problem. The date for the early signing period is fast approaching. So, timing couldn't have been worse. I've read the quotes from high school players, but I'm taking the with a brain of salt. Or 2. Every coach competing for these kids will make sure they know that Pitino is gone. Any kid foolish enough to ignore that will eventually have second thoughts and will rescind his letter of intent, only to be re-signing with someone else in April.

Then there are the players who will leave the program and who will appeal for the NCAA to waive the requirement for them to sit out for a year. Under these circumstances. Will the NCAA really deny them? Hard to imagine they will.

IMO, this is a blow from which Louisville may never recover. They better get really, really lucky with their next coaching hire.

[muskienick]

I might agree if Louisville were in the AAC. But the Cards are in the ACC, a truly elite basketball conference. When Pitino is gone, they will replace him with a very good coach. I'm thinking that Gregg Marshall from Wichita State would top the list. He would possibly have one somewhat lean year there, but if he can get quality kids to come to WSU, think of the 5-star kids he could recruit at Louisville!

[stever20]

There must be real panic in Louisville. They know what it was like during the 18 years between Final Four appearances when they went from being one of the nation's elite programs to just another very good one. It took someone of the stature of Pitino to bring them back.

Pitino is obviously gone. Classic "dead man walking". But the university can't move too quickly on dismissing him because as soon if they do, they lose the luster they had with him at the helm. Especially without Pitino, they simply are not the no brainer destination for an elite coach. Think UNLV after Tarkanian left. Some young up & coming go getter will be given the job eventually. But not now. Things will be turned over to one of the assistants, which will create tremendous instability within the program. Look at what Cincinnati went through after Huggins left under a cloud. They're still not back to where they were.

The go getter may be a success or they may not. And Louisville still has tremendous infrastructure to support the program. The problem is that they're now in the ACC. (That conference must be regretting this decision.) This is a league in which a program can fall to the bottom half very quickly and stay there for a long time. If that happens, interest will erode and money will dry up. This is the #2 program in a state where UK is king. A not-so-big state. Not good.

Now the other big problem. The date for the early signing period is fast approaching. So, timing couldn't have been worse. I've read the quotes from high school players, but I'm taking the with a brain of salt. Or 2. Every coach competing for these kids will make sure they know that Pitino is gone. Any kid foolish enough to ignore that will eventually have second thoughts and will rescind his letter of intent, only to be re-signing with someone else in April.

Then there are the players who will leave the program and who will appeal for the NCAA to waive the requirement for them to sit out for a year. Under these circumstances. Will the NCAA really deny them? Hard to imagine they will.

IMO, this is a blow from which Louisville may never recover. They better get really, really lucky with their next coaching hire.

The ONLY way the NCAA is allowed to waive the requirement to sit out for a year is if Louisville is on probation where they aren't allowed to make the tourney.

One thing that is kind of interesting, and something to remember- Louisville took at least 2 graduate transfers, if not a 3rd, for this year. Like Pitino knew it may be it.

As far as being #2 in the state- that's true- but still they have a really good base. Those folks aren't turning Kentucky fans any time.

[Bill Marsh]

I might agree if Louisville were in the AAC. But the Cards are in the ACC, a truly elite basketball conference. When Pitino is gone, they will replace him with a very good coach. I'm thinking that Gregg Marshall from Wichita State would top the list. He would possibly have one somewhat lean year there, but if he can get quality kids to come to WSU, think of the 5-star kids he could recruit at Louisville!

As I see it, the fact that they're in the ACC is exactly the problem. As we saw in the old Big East, when teams fall from the upper echelon, it was like being banished to Siberia. There's no coming back from that when you're in these super conferences. Teams get buried in the lower tier.

I don't know if Marshall will go there. He's had and will continue to have other offers. Is he interested in a reclamation project?

Louisville had a great 10 year run under Pitino, but the latter years of the Denny Crum era showed that there's nothing automatic about them competing on the elite level. It's hard to sustain a program at that level. UCLA had the greatest dynasty in the history of the game and they couldn't do it. Indiana's had a heck of a time trying to get back to the top in the post-Knight era. It's been a long time for Arizona after Lute Olsen. Even Kentucky couldn't do it after Tubby Smith's first year.

Louisville will now be wearing a scarlet letter. They've been shamed and have something to live down. They've created the impression that they got where they are in recent years because they did something that was out of bounds. That creates the aura of a second class program that cheated it's way to the top, a program that couldn't have gotten it done without going beyond accepted practice. Once a program has the stigma of being a fake program, it's hard to regain its credibility.

I look at UNLV without Tark. Not the same. Or Arkansas without Nolan Richardson. No credibility as a program. All else aside, Pitino is an extraordinary coach. You can't just plug someone else in as a replacement and expect things to continue to move forward with the extra burden that's been added.