June 23, 2000

Elsik High (Alief, Texas) senior-to-be Carlos Hurt, regarded as one of the top 10 prep basketball players in the nation, told SchoolSports.com Thursday that he will attend Louisville after he graduates from high school next year.

The 6-foot-3 point guard chose the Cardinals over Arizona and Texas Tech mainly because his family is from the area and many of his relatives still live in Louisville.

"My visit to Arizona went real well and I liked it a lot, but I decided to go to UL because of my family," said Hurt, who just returned from Tucson, Ariz., where he made an unofficial visit.

Hurt was originally planning on making the decision at the July 5-11 Nike Camp, but wanted to get it over with so he could relax for the rest of the summer.

"It took a big load off me," added Hurt, who averaged 16.8 points and 9.3 assists per game during his junior campaign at Elsik. "It was a tough decision, and it was very difficult to tell (Arizona coach) Lute Olson that I wouldn't be going there. Nobody gave me a reason not to go there."

It appeared that Hurt was leaning toward attending Arizona, especially when it was announced that his AAU coach, Josh Pastner, will become an assistant coach there when school begins in August. Hurt had publicly stated last season that he would follow Pastner wherever he ended up coaching.

"The hardest thing was telling Josh, but he understood," said Hurt, who recently was the MVP of the Great American Shoot-out after scoring 90 points in the final three games.

Hurt has the inside track to the starting point guard spot as a freshman at Louisville, while he may have had to come off the bench to begin his career at Arizona since the Wildcats have one of the top backcourt tandems in the country in Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas.

"I believe that Lute would have put us all in together if they stayed in college," said Hurt. "I want to come in my freshman year at Louisville and get them back where they once were as a national power."

Hurt had moved up many recruiters' lists and was considered the top point guard in the country. Pastner, who has coached more than 50 Division I players, including Seattle SuperSonics forward Rashard Lewis, doesn't disagree.

"He's the best player in high school I've ever seen," said Pastner recently. "He's such a scoring point guard. He plays a lot like (Denver Nuggets point guard) Nick Van Exel."