It’s well-known how bad things got last season for Louisville Basketball. They finished with just four wins total and a 2-19 record against ACC opponents. And even worse, the team was mostly uncompetitive in many games.
Head coach Kenny Payne and the staff knew that plenty of roster changes needed to be made, especially once leading scorer El Ellis transferred down to Arkansas. To the program’s credit, they slowly but surely used many routes to fill out the roster, with eight newcomers joining them.
One comes from the JUCO route (Koron Davis), along with four incoming freshmen. Two of them were listed as five-star prospects in Dennis Evans and Trentyn Flowers, along with a pair of long-time forward commits, Kaleb Glenn and Curtis Williams Jr.
There are three D-I transfers on the roster as well, all of whom were true freshmen this past season. Skyy Clark played half of last season at Illinois, while Tre White was a key starter at USC. And forward Danilo Jovanovich redshirted this past year at Miami.
There are a lot of intriguing new pieces, along with a few returning rotation players for Louisville. Guys such as Mike James, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, and JJ Traynor had large roles last season but will that remain in 2023-24?
Here’s a look at the overall roster and predictions for who’ll start next season, as well as the projected minutes for all of the Cardinal players. Will this group be good enough to get back into the postseason?
Point guard
Projected starter: Skyy Clark (25 mpg)
Reserve: Ty-Laur Johnson (15 mpg)
Last season, Ellis was a scoring guard that ran the backcourt. It’s likely to be the same, this time with the younger Clark. He’s a former top-30 prospect in the 2022 class and at one point had a five-star destination. Clark lasted just 13 games at Illinois as a freshman, averaging 7.0 ppg. 3.7 rpg, and 2.1 apg in 25 mpg.
He had a couple of nice games, including 19 points on 8/9 shooting against Lindenwood, along with seven points and six assists versus Monmouth. Clark mentioned this offseason that he never fully recovered from injuries prior to his freshman season but feels better entering his sophomore campaign.
Louisville Basketball needs a big year from Clark to be good next season. He doesn’t have to be a 15+ ppg scorer like Ellis was but does need to be able to run the offense well. If he can’t, that presents an opportunity for the latest commit to the roster in Johnson. He’s a former Memphis commit and a top-100 incoming point guard.
Like Clark, Johnson is more of a scorer than pure facilitator but he’s a tremendous athlete and could be an impact player out of the gate. Still, this is more depth at the point guard position than the Cardinals had all of last season and the starter doesn’t have to play 35+ mpg just for the team to have a shot.
Shooting guard
Projected starter: Mike James (27 mpg)
Reserve: Koron Davis (13 mpg)
As good as Ellis was, James was a legit impact player for Louisville last season. The redshirt freshman started all 32 games and was second on the team with 10.1 ppg, shooting 45% from the field and 36% from three-point range. When he had a big game, the team was competitive and had a chance to win.
James had 24 points a couple of times, including one where he went 5/8 from three-point range in a loss to Wake Forest. The 6’6 guard is the best-returning player on the roster and proved he can play at the two-spot. With a better supporting cast, look for him to have an even larger role as a sophomore.
After the success with Ellis, Louisville went to the JUCO route again with Davis. He’s a 6’7 combo guard that at Los Angeles Southwest College, averaged a whopping 25.3 ppg and 7.2 rpg, shooting 34% from three-point range. His all-around offensive game and size make him a legit option at three different positions, giving Davis a shot at being part of the rotation.
There’s a dream lineup that Louisville can use with Davis at the 1 and be the shortest guy for the Cardinals. But they had plans of doing that a bit last season with the 6’6 James playing the two-spot. That didn’t work so expect measurements not to matter much next year.
Small forward/wing
Projected starter: Tre White (30 mpg)
Reserves: Trentyn Flowers/Kaleb Glenn/Curtis Williams (10 mpg combined)
The most accomplished newcomer of the group is White, a former top-40 prospect from the 2022 class. The 6’7 guard/wing averaged 9.0 ppg and 5.1 rpg on 47% shooting from the field, starting 29 games. He went for 20 points and five rebounds against Long Beach State, along with 22 points, eight rebounds, and four assists versus Washington.
White still has three years of eligibility and is likely going to go from being the 3rd/4th option on offense to being the focal point of Louisville Basketball. We’ll see if that ends up being a good thing for the team but he’s definitely a breakout candidate to watch.
Before White joined the team, Flowers was set to be a starter. He’s the same kind of player that White is, just one inch taller at 6’8. He’s a versatile combo guard/wing that reclassified from the 2024 class. Flowers is an all-around five-star prospect that can score and be a plus-defender. He’s likely best to come off the bench and can play three different positions on the court.
If that’s the case, there’s a chance for the two other wings to get some playing time. Both Glenn and Williams are top-100 prospects, listed at 6’6 and around 200 pounds each. They each have plenty of potential but there are now a lot of capable versatile wings on this roster that Coach Payne will be able to use. But if they’re good enough, others can be moved around to make it work.
Power forward
Projected starter: JJ Traynor (23 mpg)
Reserves: Trentyn Flowers (10 mpg), Glenn/Williams (7 mpg combined)
Traynor’s overall stats was 6.9 ppg and 3.8 rpg in 26 mpg last season. But after starting out as a bench player, the 6’8 forward was inserted into the starting lineup in the final 10 games and had some big games. That includes 16 points and nine rebounds in the win over Clemson, along with 16 points against Duke.
Traynor isn’t a quality three-point shooter but he’s capable of spacing the floor. He’s the most proven frontcourt player on the roster and played well at the end of last year. Look for Traynor to get the first crack as a starter but there’s going to be some competition.
Flowers has the ability to space the floor and if White takes full control of the wing, this is another spot where he can get minutes on the court. The same goes for the two incoming freshman forwards as well.
One other name to watch is Danilo Jovanovich. He’s a 6’8 forward that didn’t play all of last year at Miami due to an injury. So it’s unknown how good he is at the ACC level but assuming he’s ready to go, could give Louisville another frontcourt weapon.
Center
Projected starter: Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (20 mpg)
Reserve: Dennis Evans (10 mpg), Emmanuel Okorafor (10 mpg)
The position that’s most wide open for the Cardinals is at center. Huntley-Hatfield returns but the former Tennessee big man and five-star prospect out of high school was far from impressive. He started 21 games last season and averaged 6.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg on 47% shooting from the field in 26 mpg.
Huntley-Hatfield did have a couple of double-doubles, including 12 points and 12 rebounds against NC State. He struggled down the stretch outside of 13 points versus Boston College and didn’t do much to impact the team on defense. He’ll get the start most likely but he has a five-star prospect ready to take over.
Evans is a 7’1 true center that was originally a Minnesota commit. He projects to be a quality defender and that alone should afford him minutes. The concern is that he’s still fairly raw overall, especially on offense. That could limit how much he plays as a freshman.
And Okorafor is an interesting frontcourt player that joined the Cardinals midway through last season. He played five games but did have a solid impact, including six points and four blocks against Pittsburgh. The 6’9 big man is someone that with more experience can eventually end up as a consistent rotation player in the frontcourt.