Louisville Basketball: 5 keys for a successful 2018-19 campaign
5. Transfers need to make immediate impacts
Considering Louisville does not have any recruits from the 2018 class, the program needs to hope for productive seasons from four incoming transfers in order to take the next step and reach the NCAA Tournament. These players all had solid, albeit not spectacular, seasons at their prior schools and should see minutes right away with the Cardinals. Whether they are placed in starting or reserve roles remains to be seen but they will all be a part of the rotation in 2018-19. (All shooting splits are done as FG%/3P%/FT%)
Christen Cunningham (Samford)
2016-17 stats (34.7 mpg): 11.4 ppg | 2.8 rpg | 6.3 apg on 42.2/35.4/81.7
A potential starter during his one year with the Cardinals, Christen Cunningham is a playmaking point guard who understands how to run an offense. Although he is coming from a mid-major school, he boasts a tremendous amount of career assists. Cunningham will bring plenty of experience to the backcourt either as the starting point guard or as an excellent sixth man option.
Akoy Agau (SMU)
2017-18 stats (16.1 mpg): 5.0 ppg | 3.6 rpg | 0.4 bpg on 51.2/33.3/70.0
Akoy Agau has had an interesting college career, to the say the least. After spending two years with Louisville, the 6-foot-8 forward elected to transfer to Georgetown. He then sat out a year and played one season there prior to transferring again, this time to SMU. He spent this past season with the Mustangs, starting nine games and playing a touch over 15 minutes per game. Now entering another college season, Agau is back with the Cardinals. He should provide some extra depth to the frontcourt.
Khwan Fore (Richmond)
2017-18 stats (32.1 mpg): 11.0 ppg | 3.2 rpg | 2.7 apg on 48.0/27.5/65.5
A four-year player for Richmond, Khwan Fore comes to Louisville as a graduate transfer. He was a full-time starter for the Spiders in both of the last two seasons and, although his numbers do not jump off of the computer screen, was a solid contributor. He is a high-IQ player who does not make too many mistakes with the ball and rarely forces anything offensively. Fore will bring more experience to the backcourt in Louisville along with Cunningham. These two veterans could play valuable roles in helping Perry develop.
Steven Enoch (UConn)
2016-17 stats (12.1 mpg): 3.4 ppg | 2.3 rpg | 0.6 bpg on 41.0/0.0/68.2
Lastly, Steven Enoch will finally suit up for Louisville after playing two seasons for UConn and sitting out this past season due to transfer rules. At 6-foot-11, Enoch will bring plenty of size to the frontcourt of UL and could be a starter. Even though he only played 12.1 minutes per game as a sophomore for the Huskies in 2016-17, he is a former top-100 recruit who had all of last season to practice with these teammates.
Next: Did UL make our preseason Bracketology?
Louisville, despite losing a lot of production from last year, returns a lot of youth while also bringing in a new head coach and plenty of talented transfers. If all goes according to plan, the Cardinals should definitely compete for an NCAA Tournament bid.