Chris Mack to the Ville! By: Beef

                For the first time in 17 years the University of Louisville has a new full time Men's Basketball Coach. To say that I am excited I think would be an understatement. Chris Mack has been on of the most solid coaches in Men's College basketball since he took over at Xavier in the 2009-2010 season compiling a 68.9% win percentage with a record of 215-97 while reaching three Sweet Sixteen's and the schools first Elite Eight last season before losing to the eventual National Runner-Up in Gonzaga.


                Mack is no stranger to the Louisville are as most people have already been made aware which I think will help immensely in recruiting. Within an hour Mack and his staff had already reached out to six recruits. Most of these players were in the 2019 class but the biggest one was the 5 star guard Romeo Langford from New Albany, IN. Louisville was to most people the leader for his services until all of the FBI stuff came down and Rick Pitino was relieved of his coaching position back in September. Romeo then dropped Louisville off of his list and now has three teams left in IU, Vanderbilt, and Kansas. Mack as I stated above did contact Romeo's dad who said he would let Romeo know about the contact so we'll see how that goes.


               As of this morning it was reported that the staff had reached out to 13 recruits from the 2019 class offering them scholarships. Those players include:


Aidan Igiehon- 6-10 215 C Woodmere, NY (Lawrence Woodmere Academy)- 4*
Anthony Harris- 6-3 180 G  Fairfax, VA (Paul VI Catholic)- 4*
Armaan Franklin- 6-4 185 G Indianapolis, IN (Cathedral)- 4*
Asthon Hagans- 6-4 185 PG Covington, GA (Newton)- 5*
Cole Anthony- 6-1 175 G New York, NY (Arch Bishop Molloy)- 5*
Greg Gantt-  6-7 195 SF Fayettville, NC (Trinity Christian School)- 4*
Isaiah Stewart- 6-8 243 C Rochester, NY (La Lumiere School)- 5*
Jalen Lecque- 6-4 175 G Arden, NC (Christ School)- 4*
Josh Nickelberry- 6-4 175 SG Fayetteville, NC (Northwood Temple Academy)- 4*
Justin Moore- 6-4 187 G Hyattsville, MD (Dematha)- 4*
Kahlil Whitney- 6-6 190 SF Roselle, NJ (Roselle Catholic)- 4*
Keion Brooks- 6-8 185 SF Fort Wayne, IN (North Side)- 5*
Rocket Watts- 6-2 180 G Detroit, MI (Old Redford Academy)- 4*


                Again these are all 2019 guys but you have to think he will go back after 4 star guard Courtney Ramey out of St. Louis who was already committed to Louisville before the FBI stuff broke as well. There have also been rumblings about Ryan Taylor who is a graduate transfer from the University of Evansville who averaged 21.9 ppg and shot 43% 3FG as well as FG and 86% FT. His shooting would be a big boost to the players we think will be back if we can somehow lock him up. Another name I have seen mentioned is Evan Boudreaux who averaged 17.5 ppg and 9.5 reb and was already committed to Xavier and is eligible to play next season. He has decommitted from them and was asked if he was considering Louisville and said he had to see what the future held. If he was to switch to Louisville he would have two years of eligibility remaining.


                The future is bright for Louisville basketball after this hire. I am looking forward to the change in guard and how things are run. We will see the players and even our coach on social media which I think is a refreshing change of pace. I won't argue that Pitino was a great coach and got great results from his players but a change is nice. I'm attaching the episode I recorded last night with my reaction to the Chris Mack hire. Do me a favor and give it a listen and share with your friends.


https://soundcloud.com/beefsbeef/episode-34