The hottest topic in the city of Louisville sports scene right now is the roster at the University of Louisville.
Who is coming in? Who is staying? And who wants to come back? Rick Pitino spoke with the media Wednesday to address Earl Clark's return to the team and the possibility of Derrick Caracter returning to the lineup.
Pitino said he was very pleased with Clark's return to Louisville for his junior season after a brief flirtation with the NBA Draft, and mentioned that Clark's return was a wise business move for Clark.
Clark's sophomore running mate - and best friend - Derrick Caracter was a different story. Pitino said Caracter told him early on that his sophomore season would be his last season in Louisville.
Pitino, who said Caracter had been "a thorn in my side all season", said Caracter wants to return to the Cardinal lineup, but that it would not be in Caracter's best interest.
"I doubt it (if he'll come back). We stand in the same place that we were," Pitino said. "That (coming back) is not in his best interest. His best interest is to procede forward with his plan of trying to become a second round draft pick and try to make it at the next level."
Pitino said Derrick was not invited to the professional combine in Orlando - the most active proving ground for top draft picks - and that Derrick would have to prove himself in a series of three-person mini-camps with NBA teams.
"The most important thing for him is to get into those camps and find out where he is at as a basketball player," Pitino said, noting that it may be a humbling experience. "That will give him a good measuring stick of his abilities versus other players who are all very hungry to try and make it."
Pitino was asked Wednesday if Caracter had asked to come back to the UofL team.
"Yeah, he has," Pitino said. "But that is not in the cards for him. That is not in his best interest as well our best interest.
"Our best interest and his best interest right now is for him to try and pursue being a second round draft pick. Too much has happened for him to turn around now and try to go back."
Pitino said Derrick believed that he was better than Padgett or at least as good and that the only reason he didn't play more is because Padgett was a senior.
"But that wasn't the case at all," Pitino noted.
Pitino confirmed that Derrick was on UofL's campus and was taking classes and hadn't hired an agent, but that just those things alone wouldn't be enough to convince the rest of the team that he's really committed to being a part of the team because of his actions in the previous two seasons.
When asked if after Derrick gets a dose of humility after the NBA camps, if he could return to UofL, Pitino said, "No, but he thinks he can. Judging by the text messages he sends me everyday he thinks I'm a softie." Then Pitino laughed at the notion that he was a softie.
Who is coming in? Who is staying? And who wants to come back? Rick Pitino spoke with the media Wednesday to address Earl Clark's return to the team and the possibility of Derrick Caracter returning to the lineup.
Pitino said he was very pleased with Clark's return to Louisville for his junior season after a brief flirtation with the NBA Draft, and mentioned that Clark's return was a wise business move for Clark.
Clark's sophomore running mate - and best friend - Derrick Caracter was a different story. Pitino said Caracter told him early on that his sophomore season would be his last season in Louisville.
Pitino, who said Caracter had been "a thorn in my side all season", said Caracter wants to return to the Cardinal lineup, but that it would not be in Caracter's best interest.
"I doubt it (if he'll come back). We stand in the same place that we were," Pitino said. "That (coming back) is not in his best interest. His best interest is to procede forward with his plan of trying to become a second round draft pick and try to make it at the next level."
Pitino said Derrick was not invited to the professional combine in Orlando - the most active proving ground for top draft picks - and that Derrick would have to prove himself in a series of three-person mini-camps with NBA teams.
"The most important thing for him is to get into those camps and find out where he is at as a basketball player," Pitino said, noting that it may be a humbling experience. "That will give him a good measuring stick of his abilities versus other players who are all very hungry to try and make it."
Pitino was asked Wednesday if Caracter had asked to come back to the UofL team.
"Yeah, he has," Pitino said. "But that is not in the cards for him. That is not in his best interest as well our best interest.
"Our best interest and his best interest right now is for him to try and pursue being a second round draft pick. Too much has happened for him to turn around now and try to go back."
Pitino said Derrick believed that he was better than Padgett or at least as good and that the only reason he didn't play more is because Padgett was a senior.
"But that wasn't the case at all," Pitino noted.
Pitino confirmed that Derrick was on UofL's campus and was taking classes and hadn't hired an agent, but that just those things alone wouldn't be enough to convince the rest of the team that he's really committed to being a part of the team because of his actions in the previous two seasons.
When asked if after Derrick gets a dose of humility after the NBA camps, if he could return to UofL, Pitino said, "No, but he thinks he can. Judging by the text messages he sends me everyday he thinks I'm a softie." Then Pitino laughed at the notion that he was a softie.
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