The most shocking news to come out of the 2015-16 college basketball season was when the Louisville Cardinals issued a self-imposed postseason ban on the basketball team. They were looking like one of the hottest teams in the country at the time and now they don’t get the chance to play for a national championship.
It seems that head coach Rick Pitino isn’t too worried about his team’s chances when it comes to next season, especially in the 2017 NCAA Tournament. He spoke with Mike Rutherford of CardChronicle.com and said that he thinks the team should be able to do something big next year.
"I'm not gonna let this program slip out of the top 10. Next year we're gonna be as good as ever." –Rick Pitino
— Mike Rutherford (@CardChronicle) February 17, 2016
The Cardinals will lose senior graduate transfers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis to graduation, but should return everyone else. They have already started a good-looking 2016 recruiting class in five-star forward V.J. King and three-star guard Frankie Hughes.
Pitino always has his team competing year in and year out, not matter what distractions may come. Barring any further punishment from the NCAA, expect to see this team compete next year as well as finishing this season strong, despite essentially having nothing to play for.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
