Louisville Basketball: Impact of departure of 5-star freshman Trentyn Flowers

Louisville Basketball is hoping for a bounce-back campaign after winning just four games last season. However, not having Trentyn Flowers will hurt.

It’s well-documented how bad the past season was for Louisville Basketball. They went 4-28 overall and had a number of embarrassing blowout losses. The roster went through a complete change after many departed and on paper, it looked as if the team improved. They were able to land several quality newcomers, including a pair of incoming five-star prospects in Dennis Evans and Trentyn Flowers.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Flowers won’t be attending the University anymore. He announced his decision to join the NBL in Australia and become a pro. A big reason is that he wants to go play as a point guard full-time, something that the 6’8 guard may not have been able to do at Louisville.

It’s ironic that the program is losing its highly-rated freshmen because of the point guard position, something they didn’t have outside of El Ellis last season. Now, Louisville will have to rely on a trio of guards left on the roster that don’t have much experience. Koron Davis comes from the Junior College ranks, while Skyy Clark is a transfer from Illinois that played just 13 games before leaving the team and ultimately transferring out.

And then there’s Ty-Laur Johnson, a four-star freshman prospect and former Memphis commit. However, there are reports that he hasn’t enrolled in the school yet due to academic concerns. So if he’s unable to play this season, that leaves just two players on the roster that can handle the ball at all, with just 13 D-I games of experience combined between them.

That’s why Flowers was set to be such a vital piece. He realistically could play and guard up to four positions on the court due to his size and mobility and on a roster with so many unproven parts besides USC transfer Tre White, Louisville could’ve used him in different ways, including as another ball-handler on the court. But now that’s not available and with classes starting soon and the transfer portal dried up, the Cardinals don’t have a viable replacement option for him.

It’s certainly a risk on Flowers end to make this move but maybe it’s a sign that Louisville Basketball is good when it comes to the PG position and that he was the odd man out. It also could mean that this was an unexpected roster subtraction that makes them even worse for next season. For Coach Kenny Payne’s sake, you hope that’s not the case.