Thursday Open Thread: Rick Pitino Waiver Wire

I have good news -- for the first time in three days, it's sunny here on the beach. About time.

Oh, you want Kentucky-related stuff. Well, I have some Louisville Cardinals-related stuff, will that do? John Clay is reporting that Rick Pitino has put Stephan Van Tresse on waivers:

On Monday, Montrezl Harrell commits to an already overstocked Louisville basketball roster. On Wednesday, Louisville announces that Stephan Van Tresse is transferring and has been granted his release. How convenient.

As much as I'd like to get into high dudgeon on this, I'm in too good a mood. Also, I recall that Calipari did something similar when he came to Kentucky.

I point out that it was "similar" because there is a significant difference -- Coach Cal did not recruit any of the players affected by his takeover purge. Pitino actively recruited all of his. And one thing nobody can accuse Calipari of is oversigning, that's for sure.

Rob Dauster at NBC Sports has more:

Pitino is going to be ripped for this, especially considering the fact that it is coming on the heels of his decision to force George Goode out last season. It doesn’t help matters that, prior to the season, Pitino was already talking about how this would be Swopshire’s last season at Louisville. Or that last season, he needed three scholarship players — Elisha Justice, Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith — to become walk-ons.

This is, quite literally, the definition of oversigning.

And what makes the issue even more troublesome is the fact that the players Pitino is running off are getting "cut" due to injuries they’ve sustained. Swopshire nearly had his career ended by a gruesome groin injury he suffered after spending the 2009-2010 season as a Louisville starter. After a reasonably successful 2010-2011 campaign, there was reason to believe that Van Treese could have become a solid contributor in his final two years in the program. He played just three games this past season due to knee issues.

Well, don't disappoint the man -- rip away!

In actual Kentucky-related news, we have more IU-related stuff just to torture those tired of hearing about it:

"What I told Tommy (was) ‘Tommy — move on, we have our schedule and you have your schedule and our schedule is tough," Calipari said.

But Crean gave a somewhat different rendition of the conversation.

"I saw where he said that he told me to move on," said Crean, whose Hoosiers beat the Wildcats last year at Assembly Hall (73-72) and then lost to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament (102-90). "But I remember us talking about that we should all move on. But I also said to him, ‘Let it go. Pick your next fight.’ It’s interesting reading and I’m sure it’s interesting for you guys to cover. But I don’t have much more to add to that.

"It’s obviously not going to happen. In my opinion, I don’t think he wants to come to Bloomington anymore. I don’t think that’s a secret. But it is what it is."

Neither side is apparently taking their own advice. This could go on all summer. Could this relationship go the way of Pitino-Calipari?

Oh, wait, you wanted some actual UK news? Well, there's this:

It appears that Kentucky has added another former Alcoa, TN standout in WR/DB Cody Lewis (6′, 180).

You remember, of course, that it was Alcoa that produced Randall Cobb.

And also this, which is surely leading to a few more groans of dismay from Louisville fans:

"I have so much respect for Coach Cal," Sosa said. "Throughout the whole year, he called me at least once a week, telling me that he was praying for me every day. That’s something that I really appreciated."

Sosa said a lot of people didn’t call him while he recovered, and yet, here was the coach of the No. 1 team in the country – a rival coach he never played for in college – dialing his number on a weekly basis.

"They’re rolling, and for him to take time out of his schedule to just give me a call and make sure rehab is going well is just something that I took to heart and my family took to heart as well," Sosa said. "He’s such a great guy and a great coach and I’m just excited that I’m able to play for him again this summer."

Rick Pitino, Edgar Sosa on line 1. Oh, too busy oversigning, I see ...

Comment away.