The University of Louisville’s front line just got much stronger.

Montrezl Harrell, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound power forward, is a Cardinal today, over the weekend committing to play his college basketball at U of L. He’s a freshman, eligible to play immediately.

Harrell confirms his commitment on Instagram

Rick Pitino is still looking at other talent. He has no choice, not with the academic uncertainty of Terry Rozier and the recurring injuries to Rakeem Buckles and Stephan Van Treese that never seem to get any better.

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The U of L baseball team was thrashed by Arizona (16-3) for a second night in a row, ending Louisville’s fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament in the past five years.

Jeff Thompson, with nine wins during UofL’s 41-21 season, was still struggling to find the strike zone as the season concluded.  The bases-loaded home run in the third inning was inevitable.

Louisville had given up only one double-digit loss in 60 games prior to the 15 and 16 runs Arizona collected in two games.

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The big wigs of the Big 12 Conference had to be pleased with U of L’s 11-3 win over Missouri in the first game Sunday. That was Missouri’s final Big 12 outing before moving over to the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Maybe worth a couple of brownie points when it comes to conference realignment?

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The Major League Baseball draft begins Monday evening. Louisville has three players among the top 300 picks, according to Baseball America.  They are reliever Matt Koch projected as the 61st pick, Derek Self as 279th and Justin Amlung at 288th.  Interestingly, Arizona has only two — pitcher Kurt Heyer as 294th and outfielder Robert Refsnyer at 369th.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.