Quincy Miller could commit to Louisville this weekend

UPDATE: Apparently Chane Behanan, a Kentucky native and No. 36 in our consensus rankings, will also be on the visit next weekend.


To say the least, Rick Pitino has had a pretty rough offseason.

From losing underclassmen to the NBA Draft to losing not one, not two, but four highly regarded recruits to losing just about all of his dignity, Pitino has gotten himself into a situation where his Louisville program, just 18 months removed from being the 2009 NCAA Tournament's top overall seed, is getting dangerously close to rebuilding mode. And I'm sure that watching his in-state rival unabashedly dominate the world of recruiting cannot help matters.

Most believe that in order Pitino to rebuild his program, he needs to rebuild his image. In other words, he needs to remove the tarnish from his name. He needs people to conjure up memories of his 1996 national title and the Final Fours he has been to with three different programs (he's the only coach to do so). He needs to make people to forget about his 15 seconds of shame.

It is incredibly unlikely that he can make that happen.

But one way to get people off the subject is to make headlines somewhere else. Like in recruiting.

Could that happen as soon as this weekend?


Quincy Miller is one of the best players in the class of 2011. He is the consensus No. 3 recruit in our rankings, and is placed now lower than 5th by any of the major outlets. According to Evan Daniels, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com, Miller is no longer involved with Kentucky. He is taking an official visit to Louisville this weekend, and Daniels said on Matt Jones' radio show yesterday that there is a chance Miller could commit to the Cardinals then.

It gets better.

Miller and Deuce Bello are essentially attached at the hip. Most believe that the two are destined to end up playing college ball together. Bello is joining Miller at Louisville this weekend, and if Miller pops for the Cardinals, there is a real possibility that Bello, who is 45th overall in our rankings, would do the same.

And remember, Pitino already has a commitment from Wayne Blackshear, the No. 16 recruit in our rankings.

If you figure that Justin Coleman spends a year at Louisville getting eligible, and the Cardinals can also get Peyton Siva, Terrence Jennings, and Jared Swopshire back for 2011-2012, Louisville is going to once again be back at the top of the Big East rankings.

And getting back to the top of the Big East, proving that he can still coach a winner, is the best way for Pitino to move on from this summer.

But first, he needs to get that commitment.

Time to roll out the red carpet, Louisville.


Here's a mixtape of Miller for those that like that sort of thing: