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Louisville Basketball: Bryce Hopkins departure a blow to 2021 class

By Tristan Freeman

CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Chris Mack of the Xavier Musketeers looks on during a game against the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 84-74 to claim the Big East Conference regular season title. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - FEBRUARY 28: Head coach Chris Mack of the Xavier Musketeers looks on during a game against the Providence Friars at Cintas Center on February 28, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 84-74 to claim the Big East Conference regular season title. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Louisville Basketball received bad news with the de-commitment of top-40 forward Bryce Hopkins. Where do the Cardinals go from here in the 2021 recruiting class?

In an early rush of commitments in the 2021 recruiting class, Louisville Basketball was considered one of the biggest early winners. They landed four talented prospects, led by No. 1 JUCO guard El Ellis and Bryce Hopkins, a consensus top-50 forward recruit.

He committed nine months at the start of last season, around the height of the Cardinals under head coach Chris Mack. Hopkins had a tremendous junior campaign in high school and has since risen to No. 33 overall according to 247sportsComposite. The 6’7 power forward is a versatile athlete and offensive threat, with an NBA future down the road. He figured to be the ideal replacement for Jordan Nwora, a former All-ACC forward for the team.

With rising senior Malik Williams around for just one more season, and sophomore Samuell Williamson a potential 2021 NBA Draft candidate, there’s a need for Louisville to solidify its frontcourt for next season or risk having to rely on the transfer portal to fill holes. Unfortunately, the coaching staff will have to go back to the drawing board after Hopkins’ unexpected decision to re-open his recruitment process.

https://twitter.com/BryceHopkins/status/1292532583339884545

It’s always tough to hope that a player keeps their verbal commitments two years prior to ever coming onto campus. Plenty of things happen, such as programs getting into trouble with the NCAA over violations, as well as other commitments in the same class occurs. In Louisville’s case, Hopkins seemed to be concerned with the program and its past violations that are still being litigated with the NCAA today.

Having picked the Cardinals shortly after taking an official visit the first time, expect the process for Hopkins to take its time this time around. Look for programs such as Illinois, Xavier, and Wisconsin to make their pushes once again, now that the forward is available once again.

As for Louisville, this puts them into a position where they need to now land both a center and a power forward to wrap up the 2021 class. Four-star forward Trey Kaufman is the likely target for the program to make a huge push to replace Hopkins. At the five-spot, five-star prospect Efton Reid is being pursued by the staff, along with top-100 center Roosevelt Wheeler. That doesn’t even include five-star small forward Aminu Mohammed, who Louisville has a real shot at adding.

But even with Mohammed potentially coming on board, there still is a hole at the power forward spot that Louisville Basketball needs to fill. Bryce Hopkins was supposed to be that guy but things just didn’t work out.

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It’s far from a devastating blow to the program’s future but now the coaching staff has to work extra hard in the coming months to solidify this still promising class. Looking at what Florida State is currently doing, the Cardinals will have to keep up to stay near the top of the ACC.

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