LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Louisville interim President Greg Postel doubled down on his belief that the Cardinals men’s basketball team can win this year despite his removal of coach Rick Pitino and the possible contributions of a prized recruit in the wake of a nationwide federal bribery investigation.
Postel’s said Thursday that he expects the Cardinals to have a “robust” season.
He placed the Hall of Fame coach on unpaid administrative leave Wednesday after Louisville acknowledged its involvement in the federal probe. Athletic director Tom Jurich was put on paid administrative leave.
The president hopes to have information on an interim coach before practice begins Friday, and remains upbeat about Louisville’s prospects on the court.
“We’re intending to have a robust men’s basketball season,” Postel said Thursday after testifying before a legislative budget subcommittee in Frankfort, Kentucky. “I don’t see why that would not be the case. We have an excellent group of players and they are the ones that play the games. So I don’t know why we wouldn’t have a basketball season.”