Louisville basketball: Are Cards in another recruiting battle with Florida State?

Louisville basketball has been in on an elite 2021 recruit for a while now, but the Cards will have to contend with a conference foe who has been a thorn in their side.

“It’s great to hate Florida State.” As someone raised by a Miami native, I remember living this mantra as a Louisville basketball and football fan dating all the way back to the Cards’ massive upset victory of the Seminoles in 2003.

When I say I hated Florida State, I don’t really mean I truly had hate in my heart for the Seminoles during my youth, but as a grown adult, FSU is really trying to change that.

I guess you could say my current bone to pick goes back to Louisville’s early years in the ACC and the thoroughly dominant wins the Seminoles had over the football Cards beginning in 2015. Granted, Florida State was coming off a 2014- Still, Louisville’s first two attempts in football were thwarted by the Noles with ease.

As the Cardinals have grown and become acclimate to their new ACC foes, Louisville has notched wins over nearly every team in every major sport. However, it’s been Florida State as a program that has been a thorn in Louisville’s side as an athletics program more than anyone else.

FSU, of recent, has notched some funky wins of the Cardinals even in some down years for the program, the men’s and women’s basketball teams have been the Cards’ kryptonite, and don’t even get me started on FSU on the recruiting trail.

Louisville lost quarterback Jordan Travis by transfer to Florida State prior to last season. Then, in this recruiting cycle, Louisville saw a late flip of QB of the future Chubba Purdy after he was committed for months, and Josh “Big Country” Griffis donned Louisville red all the way up to his signing until he flipped.

The Cardinals have had an unsuccessful run across the board against FSU. Most recently, the men’s basketball team suffered it’s a second extremely disappointing loss of the season at the hands of the Nole’s.

Now, it looks like the two foes are going to be going head to head for one of the nation’s best basketball recruits in the class of 2021.

Louisville extended an offer to rising senior Matthew Cleveland on July 1st of 2019, and the Cards have been going hard after him ever since.

On Friday, Louisville head coach Chris Mack was in town to watch as Cleveland led his team to a Georgia state championship.

If there’s a team that Louisville fans want their squad to have to battle for a recruit, it’s FSU. Head coach Leonard Hamilton is known for his long, athletic, slashing guards, and Cleveland is no exception.

Here’s what Jerry Meyer of 247Sports had to say on Cleveland:

"Good length for a wing scorer. An explosive athlete with top notch body control. Slasher who specializes in making tough shots. Can keep defense honest with long range shooting but needs to improve in that area. Handles well especially in half court. Not necessarily a playmaker for others. Great potential as a versatile defender. Top notch rebounder for his position."

What stands out in Cleveland’s game is his ability to use his 6’6″ frame and long strides to his advantage. He is a polished ball-handler and he gets to the basket with ease. His strengths are the exact qualities that Mack looks for. He is an above-average defender, blossoming shooter, slashes to the basket at an elite level, and crashes the boards hard.

How good of a chance do the Cards have of landing Cleveland?

It appears just about as good as any to this point.

The Cards have been in on Cleveland for a long time, and while plenty of big-name schools are after him, right now it may come down to Georgia Tech, Florida State, or Louisville.

Cardinals fans could use a big win over the Seminoles, and this seems like as good of a chance as any.