Returners: Kobe Rodgers, J’Vonne Hadley, Kasean Pryor, Khani Rooths, Aly Khalifa

Transfers: Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely, Adrian Wooley,

Freshmen/International Recruits: Mikel Brown Jr., Mouhamed Camara, Sananda Fru (Junior), Vangelis Zougris (Junior)

This is the first of many team previews that will be in no particular order! I’m going to jump around from teams I like to teams I don’t like as the inspiration catches me. The team I’m starting with, Louisville, is a team I absolutely love.

The guard play is, in my opinion, the best of any team in the country. They’ll be led by Ryan Conwell, a transfer from Xavier who, despite being on a team that underperformed, scored 16.5 points per game, shooting 41% from three. Alongside him, they are adding the man I view as the best shooter in all of college basketball, Isaac McKneely. The Virginia transfer averaged 14.4 points last season, shooting 42% from three despite being constantly chased off the line, and will be a perfect fit in the Louisville system. Their third transfer is another guard, Adrian Wooley. As a freshman at Kennesaw State, Wooley scored 18.8 points, grabbed 5.2 rebounds, and dished out 3.6 assists, while also shooting 42% from three. Wooley might not even start for this team, which shows how deep they are. Alongside those three is Kobe Rodgers, who followed Pat Kelsey from Charleston but redshirted last season due to an injury. He averaged 9.7 points at CoC, and is a great depth piece as someone who makes an impact on both sides of the floor. The final, and possibly most important piece of the backcourt, is incoming #6 ranked freshman Mikel Brown Jr.. He just had a spectacular showing at the FIBA u19 tournament for team USA as an all around playmaker as well as adding another great shooter to this group.

While the guard play is what differentiates this team, they are solid all around. They are returning 4 key frontcourt pieces. One of which is Kasean Pryor, who transferred from USF to Louisville last year but a knee injury ended his season early on. However, he averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, along with 2.7 stocks (steals+blocks). J’Vonne Hadley is the most notable returner, scoring 12.2 points and grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game. Hadley is a great leader and his return will be great. Khani Rooths had a limited role in his freshman season, only scoring 3.3 points per game, but has tons of potential and will continue to grow. The last returnee is a redshirt from last season who I am a huge fan of, Aly Khalifa. Khalifa has undergone a serious transformation over the past year, and will be even more versatile of a player than he already is. At BYU in the 23-24 season, he averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists.

Alongside those returnees, the Cardinals brought in three international bigs. The best being Sananda Fru, a big from Germany who averaged 12.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game at his professional club. He will make a huge impact, and along with the guards, makes it hard for me to not see this as a team who can win it all. Alongside him is Vangelis Zougris, a top Greek prospect who  averaged 6.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in Greece. Finally, they signed a forward from Senegal, Mouhamed Camara, a big time athlete who last played at the NBA Academy in Africa.

On the whole, Louisville fans have a lot to be excited about, and I am excited to watch this team as well. Definitely my ACC preseason #1 team, and this will be the greatest test for Pat Kelsey’s coaching ability, as he has all the talent he needs to succeed. Let me know if there’s anything else you want included in these previews!

(P.C. AP News)