The University of Louisville men’s basketball team is actively recruiting a bunch of prospects in the class of 2014 and according to Scoutsfocus’ Joe Davis, Rick Pitino is turning up the heat on 6’6, 170 lb forward Devin Robinson:

Robinson, who plays for Christ Church School in Churchview, Virginia is currently listed as a 4-star small forward by 247Sports.com. The Cards already have a commitment from 6’8 small forward Shaqquan Aaron so it will be interesting to see how things materialize with Robinson over the next few months. Rick Pitino likely won’t want to put all of his eggs in one basket and the departure of Luke Hancock following the 2013-2014 season will open up an immediate opportunity on the wing. Regardless, if Robinson were to commit to the Cards he would be a mismatch nightmare for opponents as he can score from inside-out and rebound the ball effectively. He also hits his free throws at a high clip and, as you can see in the video below, he’s not exactly vertically challenged.

Terry Rozier is the crown jewel of Louisville’s class

It appears that Louisville, for the second time in three years, will have another top-10 recruiting class. The Cards’ 2013 haul includes Terry Rozier, Chris Jones, Anton Gill and Akoy Agaua and finished 8th overall according to Scout.com’s final team rankings. Not surprisingly, Kentucky once again holds the top spot, followed by Kansas, Duke, Arizona, Memphis, Indiana, Florida, LSU and Marquette. Rozier’s final ranking of 15 makes him the highest rated recruit to commit to Louisville (at least according to Scout) since Samardo Samuels in 2009. Chris Jones is ineligible for a ranking number since he’s a junior college player, but he was a consensus top-50 player coming out of Memphis in 2010 when he originally pledged to Tennessee. Since then his stock has grown exponentially after being named the two-time Juco player of the year at Northwest Florida State. We asked Evan Daniels of Scout.com on our radio show a few months back where he would place Jones if he were eligible for a ranking and he said somewhere in the top 30. Anton Gill checks in at #48 and will bring another solid scoring option on the wing. Agau is still a bit raw judging by what we saw in the Derby Festival Classic, but his size and skill-set are undeniable. In two years he will be a huge presence on the blocks for Rick Pitino.

Photo – 247 Sports

Louisville native and highly-touted 2014 shooting guard D’Angelo Russell had quite the junior year. His Montverde (FL) Academy prep school won the National High School ESPN Invitational Tournament last season and his AAU squad, the Louisville Magic, had a nice little run of their own the previous spring and summer. The 6-4, 185 lb unanimous 5-star standout has recently picked up offers from Florida and North Carolina, and according to this piece from Adam Zagoria, the reigning National Champions are also still firmly in the mix to land his services.

“Coach [Roy] Williams is a winning coach,” Russell said of the Carolina coach. “His program is a winning program. It’s a big-time scholarship to have on the table. If it’s the right place for me to go, God will lead me that way.”

As for Florida, he said: “Talking about Billy Donovan, I haven’t watched Florida as much. I just know they are a winning school and Billy Donovan is great with his player development.”

Russell is a Louisville native and said he’s also being courted by the reigning NCAA champs.

“I mean, all the schools that are recruiting me, I’m high with now,” he said. “That they won the national tournament, I mean I felt like they were going to win it from the start. It was just a good group of guys and they were a family from the start. I don’t feel like that has raised them higher than any other school, honestly.”

Overall, Russell remains open and hasn’t trimmed his list as of yet.

Russell is apparently in no hurry to sign a letter of intent and reportedly will not make a decision until next spring. That will obviously put Louisville in a bit of a tough situation. The staff has made it crystal clear that Evansville (IN) combo guard JaQuan Lyle is also at the top of their list, and his decision should come this fall. So if Lyle were to hypothetically sign with Louisville first, would it have any impact on Russell’s ultimate decision? Not according to Fox Sports’ national recruiting analyst Evan Daniels who appeared on our radio show last week and said he believes that Rick Pitino will continue to aggressively pursue both players in hopes of landing the duo as a package.

The AAU season is heating up so there will be plenty more on Russell’s recruitment to come in the following weeks. As always, stay tuned tothe site for any potential updates.

The 2014 class commit is currently ranked a 5-star by Scout.com (26th overall); 4-star by 247sports.com (28th overall); and a 4-star by Rivals.com (29th overall).

Over the past week the 2014 UofL basketball recruiting class has really started taking shape. At this point there are two commitments, 6’8″ Shaqquan Aaron and 6’1″ Quentin Snider. Now, the focus has turned on the recruiting trail to finding a shooting guard to join Aaron and Snider in the backcourt. Here are a list of possibilities:

1.  Rashad Vaughn

2.  Jaquan Lyle

3.  D’Angelo Russell

4.  Brandone Francis

5.  Isaiah Whitehead

At this point I believe that three of these targets have emerged as the top candidates.

Brandone Francis

Francis, a 6’5″ 200lb guard from Jacksonville, Florida has really emerged as a top recruit from the hiring of assistant coach Mike Balado. The main competition to get Francis comes from Florida, who has been recruiting him for quite a while now. He is a bit of an unknown commodity but appears to be a very fluid athlete with a great looking jump shot. He brings a lot of size to the position and like so many Pitino recruited players, can be used at multiple positions.

Jaquan Lyle

Jaquan Lyle, a 6’5″ 190lb guard from Evansville, Indiana has been a target of Pitino for a while now. Lyle is capable of playing both on and off the ball. He is an excellent passer and can really create with the ball in his hands. With Snider coming in for 2014, Lyle would have to transition to more of an off-the-ball player. Lyle is also being targeted by Illinois, Florida, Indiana, and Ohio State.

D’Angelo Russell

Russell, a 6’4″ 180lb guard from Louisville has become a highly sought after recruit along with his former teammate, Quentin Snider. With having such a close relationship with Snider, it would seem possible Snider could convince Russell to join him at Louisville. Russell is an elite prospect in the 2014 class. He has a great shot and is known more as a scorer. Other schools to have offered Russell include North Carolina, Ohio State, N.C. State, and Missouri.

Photos – 24/7 Sports

If you look at the recruiting history and patterns of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, especially in recent years, you’ll see solid classes built around longevity. Having one-and-done players has never been his forte nor something he even seems remotely interested in pursuing. That said, Louisville’s classes are almost always in the top 10 nationally, and even the ones that aren’t (think 2010) end up producing huge results (Gorgui Dieng and Russ Smith, anyone?). For a multitude of reasons (a non-negotiable stance on learning his defensive schemes, loyalty to veterans, etc) Pitino rarely relies on his freshmen for a huge impact. His system is designed to have talented players in every class so there’s always the luxury of having experienced, talented guys at the top of the depth chart. Now there’s always the exceptions, guys like Chane Behanan or Samardo Samuels, guys that filled an immediate need and were simply the best option from day one. But for the most part, freshmen come off the bench (while still contributing) and are role players. However, next year, things should be much different.

If Russ Smith ends up going pro (the announcement is set for 1:00 today), both of Louisville’s starting backcourt positions will be open. And the Cards are bringing in a trio of scorers who more than adequately fit the bill. Chris Jones, the consensus #1 junior college player in the nation according to recruiting experts, averaged 22 ppg, 5.2 apg and 5.1 rpg this past season at Northwest Florida State. He was the Panhandle Conference player of the year for the second consecutive time, as well. But most importantly, he’s a proven winner as he helped guide NWFS to back-to-back league titles. He will step in for Peyton Siva and provide a similar skill-set right off the bat. Jones might not be quite the facilitator that Siva was, but that’s partially due to the fact that he was asked to be more of a scorer for NWFS and didn’t have as much talent surrounding him. Next year, with the likes of Behanan, Wayne Blackshear, Luke Hancock and a host of others, that certainly won’t be a problem.

Then there’s the prolific scoring duo from Hargrave Military Academy, Anton Gill and Terry Rozier. If Smith does end up leaving, unless Pitino decides to go with Hancock and Blackshear together at the 2 and 3 spots, that shooting guard spot will be filled by one of the Hargrave kids. Rozier, a physical guard for his size and build, has shot up all the recruiting rankings and looks poised to become a huge contributor for the Cards right out of the gates. We got to see, first hand, what he’s capable of doing when his team visited town for the annual Louisville Hoopfest back in January. All he did was pour in 68 points and dominate the game en route to a victory over Action Sports Academy. For the season, Rozier averaged 31 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds per game. He can play both guard spots, shoots the ball well, is unselfish and can also get in the lane and finish with abnormal strength. Rozier, whether a starter or not next year, will have an enormous impact on this team however he’s used.

As for Gill, he could be the best pure shooter that Louisville’s had in several years. A dead-eye lefty from Tobacco Road, Gill averaged 28 points and 8 rebounds at Hargrave this past season and was the perfect counter-punch to Rozier in the backcourt for head coach A.W. Hamilton. Also capable of scoring in bunches (he had 56 points in a game back in late December), Gill is a prototype 2-guard that will give the Cards much needed depth and a dependable scorer from the outside. I could possibly even see him playing both the 2 and 3 spots, depending on the match-up and the other team’s size. And one thing to consider when analyzing all three of these players, keep in mind that they didn’t play your normal, run-of-the-mill generic high school schedule. Jones was playing against college-level competition (Juco or not, it’s still ten times more competitive than high school ball) and Gill and Rozier played at one of the most prestigious prep schools in the nation that competes against all levels, including college.

Bottom line is this: Louisville’s bringing in perhaps its best recruiting class since Rick Pitino arrived here. The 2011 class with Behanan and Blackshear was strong, but I see more instant results from this trio on the horizon. All three can shoot, all three can distribute the ball and they’re not afraid to mix it up in the paint and hit the glass. It’s also worth noting that all three played for demanding, high-level coaches in Hamilton and NWFS’s Steve Forbes. Hamilton is a college coach in waiting and Forbes is a former Tennessee assistant and is making quite the name for himself in the junior college ranks. These kids have had to play defense and work hard, just a few more reasons why the transition should be a bit smoother than it is for most other incoming freshmen.

Louisville is fresh off a National Championship run, but next year’s blend of veterans and instant impact freshmen should have them right back in the thick of things.

We reported yesterday that Louisville head coach Rick Pitino will be hitting the road to Evansville (IN) tomorrow for an in-home visit with elite 2014 combo guard JaQuan Lyle, but it now appears he has a stop to make in Indianapolis first. Trey Lyles, a vastly skilled 6-10, 230 lb power forward from Arsenal Tech (Indianapolis, IN) tweeted out earlier that Pitino will pay him and his family a visit tonight.

Lyles, who was initially committed to Indiana, took two unofficial visits to Louisville this past season to take in a few home games and check out the campus. In February he cut his final list to Louisville, Kentucky, Florida, Butler, UCLA and Duke. Since the coaching change with Ben Howland at UCLA, word is that the Bruins might now be out of the picture. Lyles has mentioned that he doesn’t plan on making a decision until after his senior season, which would mean we’re looking at a year from now to find out where he’s going to end up. Lyles is ranked as the 8th overall player according to 24-7 sports and the #2 power forward in his class. He’s also an AAU teammate of JaQuan Lyle’s for Indy Spiece.

Now that the college basketball season is officially over, the spring football game is in the rearview mirror and my two week hangover has finally subsided, we’re stuck in the college sports dead period – or as I like to refer to it, recruiting season. An often-times frustrating and fruitless endeavor, following recruiting is akin to picking scabs, drinking cheap beer, gargling sodium peroxide or being a Kentucky football fan. It’s……..it’s just not fun. Nevertheless, we here at Louisville Sports Live will dive right in and try to keep everybody up to date on the latest and greatest in both basketball and football recruiting over the next several months. First up on the basketball side: huge news from the 2014 front. Elite Evansville (IN) combo guard Jaquan Lyle has tweeted out that Louisville head coach Rick Pitino will be paying him an in-home visit on Wednesday.

Lyle has been a prime Pitino target for two years now and has unofficially visited the school for games numerous times. As an added bonus, he’s also super-tight with Louisville native and 2014 Cardinal commit, Quentin Snider. Lyle’s recruitment is hot right now and he’s actually set to meet with Ohio State head coach Thad Matta later this afternoon. As the above tweet states, Tennessee’s Cuonzo Martin will also be in town tomorrow for an in-home visit. Rated as the 19th overall player in the 2014 class according to 24-7 Sports, Lyle possesses a rare combination of speed, athleticism, great touch from the outside and, perhaps most importantly, an ability to pass and see plays develop like a point guard. He’s essentially a point guard trapped in a two-guard’s body (6-5, 190 lbs). Which, of course, is a nice problem to have. Lyle’s top 6 are Louisville, Tennessee, Ohio State, Illinois, Indiana and Florida. We’ll keep an eye on this recruitment over the next few weeks and update the site as soon as we hear anything new.

Dante Exum, a 6’6 guard out of Canberra, Australia, listed his leaders on Sunday at the Nike Hoops Summit. According to sources, Exum’s leaders are Indiana, Louisville, LSU, and St. Mary’s. NBA insider Chad Ford had good things to say about Exum’s draft potential down the road as well as Louisville’s chances to land him.

Exum is extremely long for his position, which adds to his versatility. He can blow by defenders as well as crash the boards and rebound well for a guard. Exum also has a very smooth stroke. The 6’6 guard is ranked 18th in the 2014 class by Rivals.

After Terry Rozier’s 68 point domination in the Louisville HoopFest at Iriquois high school back in January, he has been getting most of the attention around these parts in regards to next season’s recruit class. Not that there is anything wrong with that (see highlight video below for any doubts about his game), but many have either forgotten or are unaware that there are analysts out there that consider Junior College point guard recruit Chris Jones better than Rozier. He is already considered the top JUCO player in the nation by most, and after an outstanding sophomore campaign, Jones has officially been deemed the #1 JUCO recruit by JucoRecruiting.com. Jones himself announced the news via Twitter.

top 100 player ranking blessing to be the #1 player in the country thanking god.. twitter.com/iAM_UNGUARDABL…

— Chris Jones (@iAM_UNGUARDABLE) March 13, 2013

He followed up an outstanding freshman year at Northwest Florida State College in which he was named a first-team All-American and Panhandle Conference Player of the Year (the first freshman to accomplish the latter in 15 years, per ESPN) by leading the team in scoring at 22.1 points per game, which is good enough for 4th in Division 1. In 28 games played, he had 16 games in which he scored 20 or more points, 4 games where he scored 30 or more and one monstrous 49-point performance. He also shot 42.1% from the field, 34.6 from three, grabbed 5.2 rebounds and dished out 4.1 assists per game. Congrats to Chris on the honor and check out the future Cards point guard in one of his signature highlights this season below: a 75-foot game winning heave.