Cards tip off season against Arkansas

RESERVES: Nick Mason, G, 5-10, So.; Courtney Fortson, G, 5-11, So.; Glenn Bryant, F, 6-7, Fr.; Marcus Britt, G, 6-3, Jr.; Stefan Welsh, G, 6-3, Sr.; Delvon Johnson, F, 6-9, Jr.; Stephen Cox, G, 6-3, Sr.; Jeff Peterson, G, 6-0, Jr.;Michael Sanchez, F, 6-8, So.

HEAD COACH: John Pelphrey (Kentucky ’92) 38-28 in 3rd yr. at Arkansas, 118-95 in 8th yr. overall.

RESERVES: Reginald Delk, 6-5, Sr.; Chris Brickley, G, 6-4, Sr.; Rakeem Buckles; F; 6-8; Fr.; George Goode, F, 6-8, So; Terrence Jennings, F, 6-9, So.; Preston Knowles, G, 6-1, Jr.; Kyle Kuric, G, 6-4, So.; Mike Marra, G, 6-4, Fr.; Peyton Siva, G, 5-11, Fr.; Stephan Van Treese, F, 6-9, Fr.

HEAD COACH: Rick Pitino (UMass ’74) 200-73 in 9th yr. at Louisville, 552-197 in 24th yr. overall.

Cards by the Numbers
750- Number of collegiate games coached by Rick Pitino when the Cardinals face Arkansas. His .737 winning percentage (552-197 record entering his 24th season) is 10th among active coaches.

14- Victories in its last 16 season openers for the
Cardinals, including winning the last five straight.

4- Position Louisville is ranked in the BIG EAST Conference preseason coaches’ poll.

19- Percentage of points and minutes played returning from last season’s 31-6 squad which won the BIG EAST Conference and reached the NCAA Elite Eight for the second straight year. U of L returns 42 percent of its rebounding and 40 percent of its assists from last year’s personnel.

12- Number of games this season that the Cardinals will play against teams that reached postseason competition in 2009, including a dozen in the NCAA Tournament.

13- Highest ranking U of L has attained among preseason publications and polls, by Dick Vitale. The Cards are among the nation’s top 25 in at least 10 different listings (19th AP, 23rd USA Today).

54- Games in Freedom Hall among the Cardinals’ first 15 games, including U of L’s two exhibition games.

55- Points needed by Jerry Smith to reach 1,000 in his career. Edgar Sosa needs 70 points to also reach that mark.

About Arkansas
Louisville will open its 2009- 10 season on Nov. 17 as the Cardinals face Arkansas in the first game of the Hall of Fame Showcase at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, Mo. The Razorbacks return several key players from last season’s team that started the season with a 12-1 record, produced upset victories over No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas, and ended the year with a 14-16 record.

Senior Michael Washington was the SEC’s leading rebounder a year ago with 9.8 rebounds per game while sophomore guard Rotnei Clarke was the nation’s top freshman three-point shooter in 2008-09 as he hit 39.3 percent of treys. Sophomore Courtney Fortson led the Razorbacks in assists (5.9).

Clarke scored a school-record 51 points, including a school and SEC record 13-of-17 three point goals, and was one of four Arkansas players in double figures as the Razorbacks pounded Alcorn State 130-68 to open its regular season at home on Nov. 13. Arkansas is No. 64 in the early Sagarin Ratings through games of Nov. 13.

Card File

Pitino Coached Pelphrey at Kentucky
The Hall of Fame Showcase matches U of L Coach Rick Pitino’s team against John Pelphrey’s, the Razorbacks’ coach who played under Pitino at Kentucky. Pelphrey played his final three years at Kentucky under Pitino when the Wilcats produced a collective 65-27 record, including a 29-7 season as a senior in 1991-92 when UK fell to Duke 104-103 in the NCAA East Region final. Pitino has faced Pelphrey once previously as a coach, as the Cardinals beat Pelphrey’s South Alabama team 90-79 on Dec. 7, 2002 in Freedom Hall.

Hall of Fame Showcase
Louisville is making its first appearance in the Hall of Fame Showcase. The doubleheader, televised by ESPN2, will also include Memphis facing Kansas in the second game of the evening. The Showcase is an annual benefit for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. The doubleheader has previously been staged in Phoenix (2006), Boston (2007) and Indianapolis (2008). The event will continue for the Cardinals with three games in Freedom Hall against East Tennessee State (Nov. 21), Morgan State (Nov. 22), and Appalachian State (Nov. 23). Arkansas will face the same three schools between Nov. 20-27.

Samuels Off to Good Start in Preseason
Samardo Samuels was named to the FoxSports.com preseason All-America fifth team, ranking him among the nation’s top 25 players. In a pair of intrasquad scrimmage and two exhibition games, Samuels scored at least 18 points and was a double figure rebounder in each outing, averaging a collective 21 points and 13 rebounds. Samuels switched from No. 24 to No. 15 this season because he wore that number in high school.

Two Cardinals Approach 1,000 Points
Jerry Smith (946 career points) and Edgar Sosa (930 points) enter the season within close reach of scoring 1,000 career points. The Cardinals have 60 career 1,000 point scorers, second nationally to North Carolina’s 62. Two members of last year’s team were among that group: Terrence Williams (1564 points, No. 18 all-time) and Earl Clark (1,104), the last Cardinal to reach that plateau.

Swopshire Returns Home
Sophomore forward Jared Swopshire will return to his home city when the Cardinals play Arkansas in St. Louis, Mo. on Tuesday. Swopshire played his freshman and sophomore years of high school at Fort Zumwalt West High School in O’Fallon, Mo.—the second largest high school in the St. Louis area—before finishing his prep career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He is projected as a major contributor to the Cardinals this season. He averaged seven points and seven rebounds in U of L’s two exhibition games in a total of 35 minutes on the court.

Season Openers
U of L opens its 2009-10 campaign Nov. 17 against Arkansas in the Hall of Fame Showcase. It is the 22nd time in the last 30 years that the Cardinals have opened away from home. U of L Coach Rick Pitino has a 20-3 record in opening games collectively at his four collegiate coaching stops. The Cards have posted a 63-31 record in all-time season openers (43-12 home, 10-12 away, 10-7 neutral). U of L has won 14 of its last 16 openers, winning 79-41 over Morehead State in last year’s opener (11-22-08).

Series vs. Arkansas