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Louisville opens season against winless Morehead State

Nov 22, 2008 - 11:15 AM Morehead State (0-3) at No. 3 Louisville 5:30 p.m. EST

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Ticker) -- Despite the departure of many of its key players, Louisville appears to have all the pieces in place to be one of the top teams in the country.

Third-ranked Louisville opens its season on Saturday when it hosts winless Morehead State in the Billy Minardi Classic.

The Cardinals will certainly look like a new team. Gone is David Padgett, whose loss is significant, as the center was the soul of the team, battling through his numerous knee injuries to supply the Cardinals with great defense, tough rebounding and deft passing.

Steady forward Juan Palacios is also gone and troubled big man Derrick Caracter left the program during the summer after being declared academically ineligible in May.

However, after nearly entering the NBA Draft in June, talented junior Earl Clark decided to return to school and is on the verge of becoming a superstar. A strong ballhandler, the 6-9 Clark can go inside or outside with equal effect. With freshman Samardo Samuels joining Clark in the low post, Louisville should have a good front line.

The Cardinals should have no problem against Morehead State, which has suffered double-digit losses in its last two games after opening the season with a 56-54 loss to Louisiana-Monroe.