Louisville Basketball: Cardinals add backcourt depth with Fabio Basili
In a backcourt without much depth, Louisville Basketball was able to add to the roster with three-star point guard Fabio Basili. Will he contribute to the team?
It’s been a well-known storyline all offseason long with Louisville Basketball when it comes to its depth chart. Mort importantly, the lack of depth in the backcourt. El Ellis was the lone returning perimeter player that can play either the point guard or shooting guard positions. They have a pair of freshmen wings in Devin Ree and Kamari Lands that likely will get minutes at the two-spot but the current plan looks for Ellis to play 40 minutes a game in the backcourt.
The Cardinals did add some immediate depth with the pickup of Fabio Basili, a three-star point guard that was in the 2023 recruiting class before opting to reclassify and play this upcoming season. The 6’3 playmaker hails from Orlando and reportedly was locked onto the ACC program, despite having offers from the likes of TCU, DePaul, and Kansas State.
Basili was an effective player in high school, averaging around 20 ppg and 5.0 apg as a senior at Oak Ridge, where he was teammates with current Louisville forward Mike James. He’s someone who needs the ball in his hands to set up others and is a solid shooter and scorer. How it translates to the ACC level is the big question but at bare minimum, is someone that can contribute at Louisville.
The addition of Basili is an immediate boost to Ellis, allowing him to play off the ball at times and not have to run the Cardinal offense 24/7. The incoming freshman can play 8-10 minutes off the bench to run the offense and if he ends up being an impact contributor, can go up towards 15-20.
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If this is indeed the last roster addition for Louisville, depth in the backcourt certainly will remain a question. Basili has potential but he’s a three-star prospect, not a top-30 overall player. The program will have to make the current situation work but at least they have another ball-handler to use and take pressure off of Ellis.