Balloon Glow Magic(TM) reached unprecedented heights on Thursday with the commitment of Wisconsin transfer point guard Chucky Hepburn.

For me, this is the addition that takes me from “there are some really nice pieces and this could be a surprisingly fun year” to “I am daydreaming in the middle of a late April Thursday about what this team might be capable of accomplishing next winter.”

Hepburn is a three-year starter at point guard for Wisconsin, where he was one of the biggest recruiting wins in program history. After three stellar seasons withe the Badgers, he’ll arrive in Louisville and instantly provide the Cardinals with an enormous boost on both ends of the floor.

Defensively, it’s simple: Hepburn is one of the best on-ball defenders in all of college basketball, and he has been for three years. Pat Kelsey loves to pressure the ball at the point of attack, a technique which only works if you have an absolute dog at the top of your defense. That’s precisely what Hepburn is.

Offensively, Hepburn is one of the best floor generals in the sport. He can score if need be, but he’s also an elite facilitator — posting an average of 3.9 assists against just 1.2 turnovers per game this past season.

Louisville had elite playmakers before the addition of Hepburn. What they didn’t have was a guy who, when things have gotten a little bit dicey and the opposing team has upped its pressure in the closing minutes of a game, a guy the Cards could hand the ball to in the backcourt and say, “ok everyone else get out of the way.”

Hepburn doesn’t rattle, and he has the skills to go hand-in-hand with that mindset.

This is a big, big addition for Kelsey and everyone who is desperate to see Louisville basketball back to looking like Louisville basketball as soon as humanly possible.

Let’s go.