As one of the first recruits of the Rick Pitino era at Louisville, a lot will be expected of 6-9 forward Kendall Dartez when he arrives on campus next fall.

Dartez showed flashes of brilliance in a recent 73-71 loss to Mineral Area C.C. at the Meramec JUCO Shootout. He scored 15 points in defeat, displaying tremendous natural athletic ability in the process.

"He has improved immensely since the start of the season," Vincennes Head Coach Dan Sparks said. "We are trying to work with him on playing defense."

"The biggest thing we have to do with him is teach him to get in the offense where he can score and we can get him the ball," Sparks continued. "It's hard for him to get involved in an offensive set."

In the loss to Mineral Area, Dartez had a penchant for playing on the wing. In fact, he canned a three pointer and a few jumpers on the afternoon, but generally shied away from rugged interior play. He's so long and graceful that he can erupt at a moment's notice for a spectacular dunk around the basket.

"He has to get stronger and more aggressive to play at the Division I level," Sparks said. "Once he gets in a good weight program where he can put on some weight and strength, then it's going to be harder for teams to play him."

Louisville Asst. Coach Mick Cronin was in to see Dartez late last month in a game against Kaskaskia C.C. of Illinois.

"He had a pretty good game for us," Sparks said. "He is playing better for us each game. The first couple of games, he was a little lost in terms of where to go, but he's getting better."

The 220 pound Dartez played last year at Lee J.C. in Baytown, Tex., where he averaged 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Running Rebels. The Cecilia, La., native transferred to Vincennes in August, and gave a commitment to Louisville shortly thereafter.

So far this year at Vincennes, Dartez has averaged 13.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. That's an upgrade so far from his numbers last year at Lee, but can a player who does not always dominate play at the junior college level make a significant impact in Conference USA next year?

"He's athletic and he can shoot the basketball," Sparks said. "He's a good three point shooter, so it was not a fluke that he hit that three, he can stroke it out there."

"With the way Pitino plays, when he gets a little stronger, he can handle the ball a little bit," Sparks continued. "He's not a post player. I am having to play him inside, but he's more of a floater around the perimeter where when he gets the ball, he can pop it."

Which is a bit surprising when you consider that Dartez played some football in high school (he was a quarterback).

"He can bump and bang, it just that he's got to have the mental concentration to do it," Sparks said. "And that's the one thing he lacks right now, when he gets a little physically fatigued, then mentally, he's fatigued too and that's when he quits thinking."