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Rick Pitino gets late signature, 2012 center Mangok Mathiang headed to Louisville

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Mike Miller

Louisville added Montrezl Harrell to bolster their frontcourt and the Cardinals have now added even more size, securing the signature of 6-10 center Mangok Mathiang from IMG Academy (Fla.), according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Mathiang, a member of the Class of 2012 and native of Sudan, averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks per game last season for IMG. Despite that, though, he may reportedly run into some eligibility issues with the NCAA.

“We think there’s some things we’ve got to take care of, but he’ll be there when school starts,” his high school coach, Loren Jackson, told the paper.

This late signing was made possible because 2012 commit Terry Rozier has decided to do a prep year at Hargrave Military Academy (Va.), opening up a scholarship for Pitino to use.

Before signing with Louisville, he was reportedly garnering interest from Kansas State, Georgia, Central Michigan, Auburn and Mississippi State, according to the paper.

The Cardinals are coming off a season in which they finished 30-10, including 10-8 in the Big East. Coach Rick Pitino led his team to the Final Four, where they fell to the eventual national champion Kentucky Wildcats.

For 2012-13, he returns three of the most important pieces from last year’s team, Peyton Siva, Chane Behanan, and Gorgui Dieng, along with guard Russ Smith. The aforementioned Harrell and now Mathiang, if he qualifies, will add depth.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_