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Ask Me Anything: Best U of L athlete interview?

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj
Louisville's Charles Gaines during a scrimmage game on Saturday at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. (By David Lee Hartlage, Special to the C-J) Aug. 16, 2014.

It's an odd week, with Louisville's season opener coming on Monday and it's next game coming just five days later, so we had to adjust the schedule and put out this week's Ask Me Anything on (gasp!) Thursday instead of Tuesday.

Please forgive me.

Here's my weekly explanation: If you are unfamiliar with AMA, at least with the ones we do here on the University of Louisville beat, why don't I try to explain 'em in 140 characters:

You ask me questions about anything, from Louisville and other sports-related topics to random, weird stuff, and I answer them.

The goal is to have fun and be informative at the same time, all while allowing us to communicate instead of just me pelting articles and blog posts at you. This is an exercise typically referred to as a "mailbag" or a "Q&A," but those titles are boring.

We'll do these every week on Tuesdays (barring exceptions like this one). Yes, through the basketball season. You can send me your questions on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj) or email me at jgreer@courier-journal.com.

Cool? Cool. A pint of questions, please, barkeep:

@DAHelderman: Who's the best Louisville athlete interview? Who's actually intriguing/thoughtful when answering questions?

Jeff: Ah, we start with a goodie. Russ Smith is in my top-three interview subjects of all-time (with Jim Calhoun and Jessie Hester up there, too). Smith's funny, engaging, thoughtful and always open. If he's upset, he tells you. If he's tired, he tells you. If he's happy, he tells you. If he has a funny story about something, he tells you. What else can you ask for from a college kid?

Now that Russ has moved on to the NBA, I am thinking the funny/intriguing/thoughtful interview duties can be spread out. For humor, I'd pick U of L cornerback Charles Gaines. He's a chatterbox and always has some quick jabs or witticisms. Dominique Brown's entertaining, too, though I've only chatted with him a few times.

For intriguing, I look at a few different hoops guys. Mangok Mathiang has a deep and interesting back story, and he is usually pretty thoughtful with his answers. Chris Jones and Terry Rozier are thoughtful guys, too. Montrezl Harrell is brutally honest and a smart guy. For football, I'd say Jake Smith is always sharp and straightforward. Will Gardner's from a town about 45 minutes from where my grandparents lived in Georgia, so he and I have some familiarity with life outside of football. And I'd be remiss to leave out Lorenzo Mauldin, who's lived in foster homes and never shies away from open and earnest discussion.

@geoffglaab: Would U of L be the first or the FIRST team to put a corporate logo on their jerseys if it were legal?

Jeff: If I'm reading this correctly, I think you're asking if college teams could wear jerseys similar to professional soccer clubs, with big corporate sponsorships on the chest and a smaller team crest to the side, would Louisville be the first to rock them?

Judging by the way teams work with their apparel deals, I'd guess Louisville would be among the first wave, sure. I honestly wonder how far American sports are from doing that. Can't that far off, right? As for college programs that might be on the forefront of that, I'd say Oregon and Maryland seem most willing to really go full bore on the jersey combinations and all that jazz. I'm thinking a big ol' Nike across the front of Oregon's jerseys, with a little "O" off to the side.

@Keith_Wynne: Any thoughts on football recruiting so far?

Jeff: It's picked up a bit in the past month or so. A top-40 recruiting class (it's 39th right now on 247's composite rankings) is probably fine for the first full recruiting cycle with Bobby Petrino at the helm. Louisville's got a great coaching staff in terms of player development, and I know that's always something U of L fans point to when recruiting chatter comes up.

Now, a few things come up whenever I research this kind of stuff. First of all, using those composite team rankings, Louisville's never really been more than a top-40/top-50 recruiting team. The best class in recent memory - 2011 - accounts for 14 starters on Louisville's team this year (if DeVante Parker and Jermaine Reve weren't hurt). That class also included Calvin Pryor and Teddy Bridgewater, two first-round NFL draft picks. That class was ranked 29th in the country.

Louisville's done a good job of finding solid three-star kids like Parker, Pryor, Gaines and Mauldin and turning them into standout college players. But I also think there has to be at least some mixture of blue-chip high school kids at some point. The leap into the big-time is a tough one to make, and teams like Alabama and Florida State got there through tireless recruiting and regular top-five classes.

So I guess my best answer is that Louisville's done very well with good-not-great recruiting classes (in terms of national rankings), but I think there's a need to be among the best in the country in the coming years.

OK, let's get through a rapid-fire round:

@MattHilton80: How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

Jeff: I wouldn't understand. That's science.

@dodoandthebrain: Have you worn a CCBM yet?

Jeff: I'll leave that one to the fans.

@Fischwick: Why did Taco Bell get rid of fire-roasted test sauce? Can we all agree it was more delicious than verde?

Jeff: I thought we all agreed Rule No. 1 of Taco Bell is that we don't talk about Taco Bell.

@Barbs_86: If you had to have a roommate for six months, would you rather it be Kramer or George Costanza? And why?

Jeff: Well, all my coworkers named Kyle Tucker and Steve Jones make fun of me for these Ask Me Anythings, and they make fun in particular of my doughnut and Seinfeld obsessions. But haters, quite frankly, will hate, and I would say probably Kramer. George is sort of a jerk. At least Kramer's a nice dude.

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@DSF456: What is your favorite place to eat doughnuts?

Jeff: Anywhere with doughnuts.

@wwpky: Sticking with the Murray State Racers theme this week, you think you could tackle a horse?

Jeff: I mean a horse could trample over me and maybe fall down, sure. But I wouldn't live to be able to hop up and unleash my tackle celebration, and that's everyone else's loss.

@ray_calhoun: if Michael Jordan faced LeBron James who would make the best sandwich?

Jeff: Do they make flop sandwiches? Yes? LeBron wins.

@CardChronicle: Did Mookie do the right thing?

Jeff: Jeez, who invited the serious guy?

@endmout: Is it possible to think U of L can be in the mix for running back Damien Harris?

Jeff: No. I also asked the CJ's recruiting writer Steve Jones to weigh in with more info: "It seems like it would take a big change of opinion from Harris for Louisville to get in the mix. Harris cut his list to a final five of Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio State and Texas A&M about a month ago, and before that, he had a final eight that didn't include Louisville. He visited UK last week and will take his first official visit to Ohio State this week. A decision's scheduled for Dec. 13."

@EvermanKelly: Hot seat - if you can only read one Cards fan site, which one is it? Card Chronicle, Inside The Ville, Cardinal Authority or Crunch Zone?

Jeff: I have to peruse all of them to stay up on what fans are talking about, but Card Chronicle is easily the best at making me laugh.

@white_sterling: Latest Antonio Blakeney news?

Jeff: As far as I know, he had an official visit this weekend and enjoyed it. The Crystal Ball predictions - yes, there are people in the world who predict where a teenager is going to go to college (guilty: I've done it in the past) - lean toward him going to Louisville. He'd fit in the Cards' recruiting class and fill a need for another guard.

@RobbieSherman77: Why did Petrino go with a "check with me" offense at times? Didn't do that first time here. Help young QB make good decisions?

Jeff: This is a really good question. I'd think your guess is probably part of it. I can ask about that tonight.

OK, let's wrap up with a hoops question ...

@ULhothot: If a #LouisvillePurge villain said your life depended on the answer, will any hoops players redshirt and, if so, which one(s)?

Jeff: Whoa, a Purge scenario! Last week I decided I'd eat all of the cookies and doughnuts and ice cream in Louisville and this week I am facing Purgeicide. What a life I lead. (Also, would Purge rules still apply if it took like 2-3 months to find out if any of these guys redshirt?)

Rick Pitino's answer about that last week was pretty telling. He told us he likes to be careful with redshirts because of the team's scholarship situation going forward. Seems like Louisville's running low on 'em in coming years.

I would guess that either Matz Stockman or Anas Mahmoud redshirts this year. There is the outside chance that both of them do, but I'd lean toward one. If I had to guess, it'd be Stockman. Mahmoud isn't 200 pounds, but the 7-footer is talented. Stockman is as raw as they come.

OK, see ya next Tuesday, my peoples.

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