SPORTS

Q&A: Blakeney discusses U of L pledge

Steve Jones
@stevejones_cj

The University of Louisville basketball team received a major commitment on Thursday night from five-star shooting guard Antonio Blakeney of Orlando, Fla. Blakeney, who is rated No. 13 nationally by Rivals.com, discussed his decision in a phone interview with The Courier-Journal on Friday.

Anotnio Blakeney drives to the basket during the National Basketball Players Association Top 100 Camp at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville Virginia.

Why was Louisville a good choice for you?

I think Coach Pitino can push me to my full potential, and I feel like I'll be going into a good situation as a freshman.

When did you come to your conclusion that U of L was the school for you, or how long have you been leaning there?

I knew I wanted to commit to Louisville two or three months ago, but I've just been kind of holding it off to see what other schools had to offer just comparing it, and nothing was better.

Why do you think it will be a good situation as a freshman? What is Pitino looking for and hoping you can do in and do?

Coach wants me to just come in and work hard, be humble and most likely just come in and be able to score.

Are you thinking that Terry Rozier will probably have a chance to go pro next year?

That's what a lot of people are saying. That's what he's saying, I mean, that's what Coach is saying. So hopefully, but if not, we'll just play together.

What was Coach Pitino's reaction?

He was very happy. He called me right away. I didn't even tell any of the coaching staff. I just kind of tweeted it out there, and they saw it surprisingly. … Pitino was like, 'Dang, man, you got to tell me stuff like that.' He was excited. … They knew I wanted to come to their school. They didn't know when I was going to commit or anything, but they knew I wanted to be a Louisville Cardinal.

What do you think about the class Louisville has with yourself and the other three guys – Raymond Spalding, Deng Adel and Donovan Mitchell?

I think we have the best recruiting class in the country. We've got a good big man who's real versatile. We've got a good small forward and another guard. I know we have a real good class.

What do you like about Coach Pitino? What about the way he coaches impresses you?

Just the way he coaches his players and gets OK players to be great players and great players to be better. He just gets his players better. And from Day 1, he always was honest with me. He never lied to me in the recruiting process. He told me everything straightforward.

How does Louisville's style of play fit with your style of play?

I think I match it perfectly. Some of the stuff I do in high school and AAU is the same, with the defensive stuff. Then (Pitino) gives you a lot of freedom on offense. It really matches my game a lot.

What kind of impact do you think your class can make next year?

We're just going to do whatever we can to try to win a national championship for Coach P.

What do you think about playing with Donovan Mitchell in the backcourt?

I think he's really good. He's a real good defender and can score the ball, too, and he's a really good athlete.

If a Louisville fan has never seen you play, how would you describe yourself as a player?

Just an all-around competitor who never wants to lose, someone who can score a lot of points and do whatever it takes for my team to win.

I have noticed that you seem to be a player who wants the ball at the big moments. Do you consider yourself a crunch-time guy?

Yes, sir. I have been that way since I've been playing sports, period, not just basketball. I played football. I played other sports, and I've always been that way.

What has Coach Pitino said to you over, maybe even going back to last year when he made an offer, as to why he wanted to recruit you and what he thought you could be?

He said he wanted to recruit me because next year, with my class coming in, there's a need for what I do. I'm really going to have a good chance to come in and play early.

Which teams did it come down to? Did you have a top two or three?

My top two or three was probably Louisville, Kentucky, LSU and Missouri.

How closely did you consider Kentucky?

I definitely considered it a lot because it's another great program and another great coach. I had to do a lot of comparing between those two.

What between those two programs did you see that made Louisville stand out above Kentucky?

It was just the best situation for me. Kentucky has a good program, but it's just not the best situation for everybody.

How many years do you want to be in college? What would your hope be? Do you want to be a one-and-done?

I just want to be a pro, whenever it happens. Whenever the NBA calls me is when I want to leave.

What was your visit like this last week and going to the U of L-Miami football game?

The visit was good. I've been to Louisville a bunch of times, so there wasn't too much that I saw that I hadn't already seen. But the fans were great. It was a great visit.

How many people came up to you?

A lot, a lot. I had a lot of fans come up to me. I was surprised at how me people knew.

Did that make you feel good or give you a final sense of that's where you wanted to be?

Nah, it don't really let the fan stuff affect my decision.

How important was it that you've had a long relationship with Louisville, which has probably recruited you longer than most of the other teams on your list?

That did help because my relationship with the coaching staff was good. I real comfortable with Coach (Mike) Balado, Coach Kenny (Johnson) and Coach (Wyking) Jones and Coach Pitino. That did help because of how comfortable I was.

How many texts and calls and tweets did you get after your decision?

I got a whole bunch. I got like 190-something texts, and I had around 100 missed calls.

What is your outlook on Louisville's program for the next few years?

We're just going to try to get back-to-back national championships. I think they can win it this year with Montrezl (Harrell), Terry and Chris Jones leading them, then next year us coming in and doing whatever it takes to win another one.