Where to start with the Cardinals… The fans in Louisville are surely rejoicing with the exit of head coach Kenny Payne, who led the dumpster fire which was the Louisville Cardinals over the past two seasons. They now have a new man at the helm, Pat Kelsey, and along with him is an entirely new roster, with 12 transfers and 1 incoming freshman. It can’t be worse than last year, so fans should be excited!

Returners:

Nothing to see here…

Transfers:

Well, this is going to be quite a long section. Get ready! We’ll start with the perceived starters, Terrence Edwards Jr., Chucky Hepburn, J’Vonne Hadley, Noah Waterman, and Kasean Pryor. Edwards is coming from James Madison, where he was the Sun Belt POY averaging 17.2 points per game. He is a crafty forward who can score in a variety of ways and should be an offensive leader on this team. Hepburn is a senior from Wisconsin, where he has established himself as a great distributor with 3.9 assists per game and in the 99th percentile in assist to turnover ratio (3.19/1). More importantly he is an elite perimeter defender, as he was in the 99th percentile in steals per game, and 97th in steal percentage. Hadley joins those two on the wing, after averaging 11.6 points and 6 rebounds per game last year at Colorado. J’Vonne can do a little bit of everything for the Cardinals, and is a great rebounder who can glue together all of the new pieces on this roster. Now to the frontcourt, which will likely be led by South Florida transfer Kasean Pryor. Pryor averaged 13 points and 7.9 rebounds last year, and was indispensable for USF. If his production remains the same at the higher level, he could be a make or break for Louisville. He can stretch the floor with 35% from three on high volume, and is a great athlete which can help him on the defensive end. Waterman should start at power forward, and is hailing from BYU. The 6’11 senior is an elite shooter, with 37% from three on almost 5 attempts per game. His size and ability to stretch the floor with Pryor will make this a tough offense to guard.

Joining those transfers are guards Koren Johnson and Reyne Smith. Johnson is a solid across the board guard, who will be huge off the bench as a backup guard, following Hepburn as another elite defender on the wing. Koren averaged 11.1 points at Washington last year, and will likely score less on this team, but that won’t describe his overall impact for the ‘Cards. Smith is following Pat Kelsey from Charleston, and is an absolute fireball from deep. He shot 39.5% from three on 8.3 attempts per game (the 99th percentile for attempts obviously). He will play a lesser role on a high major team, but can be a huge spark from deep playing under a system he knows very well. Those guards are joined by three forwards, Aboubacar Traore, James Scott, and Frank Anselem-Ibe. Traore is likely to have the biggest role of these three after averaging 12 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists at Long Beach State last season. He is an elite athlete who fills up the stat sheet, doing a bit of everything (except shooting). His athleticism comes into play on the defensive end, where he can be a difference maker and causer of chaos. Scott is a rising sophomore also following Kelsey from Charleston, who probably won’t have many minutes other than as a backup big, but is a name to keep an eye on for the next few seasons. Finally, Anselem-Ibe is a grad transfer from Georgia who has never really put it together (barely played last year and had 2.6 points per game), and at this point I don’t really see how he will, but maybe he can be a minutes filler for resting starters.

A little special section at the bottom of this section just so you all feel fully informed: The Cardinals also have two more transfers incoming, but both will be redshirting the upcoming season. Big man Aly Khalifa from BYU, who was a central cog in their offense with elite assist rate numbers (100th percentile) and could be very valuable for Kelsey in the upcoming seasons. He just had knee surgery, so will be sitting out the year., Alongside Khalifa is Kobe Rodgers, the third player following Kelsey from Charleston. Rodgers is an efficient role player off the wing who is redshirting to recover from an injury sustained last year.

Recruits:

The Cardinals have one incoming freshman, Khani Rooths. Rooths is a top 50 forward with great awareness and is an above average athlete, who in a 6’8 frame could be a 1-4 defender. He likely won’t play a ton on this team full of veterans, but expect him to have some impressive moments off the bench.

Season Outlook

A team built like this is very hard to project. On one hand, they have a LOT of talent. On the other hand, it’s a coach new to high major basketball and a completely new roster. Not to mention a fair few of the incoming players don’t have the high major experience you’d like. But, this roster is right in new coach Pat Kelsey’s wheelhouse, and although I’m sure the road will be bumpy, I don’t see why this team doesn’t at least make the tournament, and maybe even a round or two into it. On their finish in the ACC, I think they’ll need to be a top 8 team, and I think they should easily be able to do that. I don’t think they can win the ACC, but they can definitely make a push for the top 5.

P.C. The Courier- Journal