Call it what you want. “Way-too-early” or “No-longer-way-too-early” as Eamonn Brennan calls it in his post on ESPN.com. Either way, it is a pretty early top 25 men’s college basketball poll. This poll does not include the Louisville Cardinals.
Let’s face it, we lost our big names. The country knew Harrell, Rozier, and Blackshear. On paper, almost all of our scoring is gone. We return a lot of youth and bring in a couple transfers. National media may overlook the Cards and not really look deep into things. How did Quentin Snider play down the stretch? What about Jaylen Johnson in his limited time? Will the freshmen have a big impact? Transfers from mid-major schools? All of these things can be overlooked when someone is trying to put together an early top 25, and that is fine.
I really don’t care if Louisville is on this list or not. We will find out a lot about the team next week when we get to see actual games in Puerto Rico, if you pay the $10 of course. This is a pretty new team. It will take some time to gel on the court. I love the chemistry of the team off the court, though. That could pay dividends.
When the real polls come out before the season, Louisville will probably be on there. They will climb up, get knocked down, struggle in January, fans jump off a cliff, improve in February, peak in March. Rinse, lather, repeat. I enjoy that cycle.
These companies help their coaching applications and Outreach
Training Course costs and administrative pursuits through tuition.