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20 hours ago
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Louisville, Kentucky basketball already recruiting future transfers. Hear me out.
NORTH AUGUSTA, SC — It's never been easier for college basketball coaches to rebuild to win now thanks to immediate eligibility in the transfer portal. Louisville and Kentucky basketball fans had front-row seats to how Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope respectively flipped entire rosters and had breakthrough debuts. But recruiting high school players has never lasted so long. Coaches aren't just trying to establish a rapport out of high school; they're trying to keep it going in case of transfer. It's been said since name, image and likeness became legal that relationships no longer matter, or at least don't factor into the decision to commit as heavily as they once did. Money matters, and the highest amounts packaged together from NIL and the revenue-sharing created by the House v. NCAA settlement can be life-changing for some recruits and their families. The financial package is generally going to sway where a recruit goes. Coaches know and accept that part. The challenge has come not only identifying which of the few players will get offers from power conference schools but also in trying to anticipate two and three moves down the line. Coaches are not only recruiting for now, they are setting up for the future. The relationship that didn't matter when another school bid higher? Well, they matter as soon as that same player finished their season and entered the transfer portal. Travis Perry initially chose to stay in-state and play for the Wildcats. He stayed true to that commitment even when John Calipari left to take the Arkansas job and Pope was hired. But guess where Perry took an official visit the month before he committed to UK? Ole Miss and coach Chris Beard welcomed Perry to Oxford and was one of several other schools he considered. So it was no surprise when Perry announced he was entering the transfer portal in April that he ended up committing to Ole Miss. Coaches are careful to leave a good impression on guys they miss out on and those that they pursued — but didn't make a strong offer. Scanning through the crowd of coaches at Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League Peach Jam seemed more like watching a networking event than watching coaches scout their next prospects. Players have become hip to the process as well. That's why virtually the entire top 100 in the Class of 2026 has yet to make a commitment. They're playing the long game, too. It used to be only the elite recruits would wait for the spring to announce. Currently, only three of the top 25 in the 247Sports Top 150 have committed and a combined 11 of the top 100. Some recruits are no longer trying to hold out for a Power Five offer. They're deferring attending their dream school for now so that maybe they can get an offer a year or two later. The plan is to get experience on a lower level and in the best-case scenario create some bargaining leverage when they hit the transfer portal. It may seem unfair to smaller schools to be used effectively as a minor-league franchise. But those same lower-tier schools are now having a chance to recruit players who might not have gone there in years past, and it's really no different than the way up-and-coming coaches have used Murray State or Western Kentucky to establish and advance their careers by going to a bigger school. It worked out for Reece Potter, who didn't get much of a sniff from UK when he graduated from Lexington Catholic in 2023. But the 7-foot-2 center found himself on the opposite end of a Pope recruiting pitch when he entered the transfer portal after two seasons at Miami (Ohio) to come back home in the spring. Connections have always mattered in recruiting, it's just now, it makes more sense to connect the dots for the second and third recruitment that comes with the transfer portal. Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@ follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at to make sure you never miss one of his columns. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Pat Kelsey, Mark Pope recruiting transfers they missed on initially
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Sport
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Pat Kelsey has Louisville basketball recruiting at all-time high
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Pat Kelsey is the right coach at Louisville, at exactly the right time in college basketball history, to maximize the Cardinals' recruiting in a way that has never been done before. Kelsey doesn't have any more or less charisma or recruiting acumen than the coaches who came before him. But he arrived precisely when the program can wield its vast financial resources and its position among the traditionally great programs to win any recruiting battle. The Cardinals have never signed a player ranked in the top 10 in back-to-back classes this century. Kelsey has them positioned to make history. Freshman guard Mikel Brown Jr., the highest ranked recruit at Louisville since Samardo Samuels was No. 2 in 2008, was eighth in the 247Sports composite rankings for the Class of 2025. Kelsey is currently pursuing — and getting serious consideration from — several top-10 players in the Class of 2026, including Louisville native Tyran Stokes, a small forward who is No. 1 overall in the composite; Jordan Smith Jr., a guard who is third overall; and guard Dylan Mingo, who is eighth overall. Ikenna Alozie is a native of Nigeria who's been in the United States close to four years. He was a fan of Russell Westbrook and said the only college basketball program he originally knew was UCLA, because Westbrook played there. Alozie, who is also being recruited by Kentucky, knows all about Louisville now. He said Kelsey and his staff have had a consistent presence at his games. 'It's just eye-opening to me,' said Alozie, who is a 6-foot-2 guard ranked No. 10 in the 247Sports composite. If Kelsey is able to put it all together, he'll raise more than a few eyebrows nationally. Since 2000, the Cards haven't had a class with multiple top-10 players. The last time the Cards signed two players in the top 25 of a class was 2011 when Chane Behanan and Wayne Blackshear helped give them the nation's No. 3-ranked class. How much it will matter in producing a Final Four or national title run remains to be seen. There's something to be said about the shift in college basketball that began when transfers gained immediate eligibility. Coaches started to prefer putting together their rosters through the portal with experienced players instead of building through high school recruits. Elite freshmen are still highly coveted but national championships nowadays are won by veteran players, not an all-star roster of top-20 freshmen recruits. Duke made it to the 2025 Final Four with a freshman-heavy rotation led by Cooper Flagg and two other NBA lottery picks, but the Blue Devils' 2015 title team remains the last freshman-heavy team to win it all. Also keep in mind when Rick Pitino signed Russ Smith and Gorgui Dieng in 2010, neither were viewed as program-changing talents. Dieng was much more of a project than a player who would play in the NBA for a decade. Smith was a complete wildcard and certainly was not projected as someone who would have his jersey retired to the rafters of the KFC Yum! Center. Samuell Williamson, signed by Chris Mack in the Class of 2019, never developed into a star, despite being ranked 16th in the Class of 2019. His five-star rating by 247Sports remains U of L's fourth highest all-time since 2000. Higher rankings don't guarantee success just like lower rankings don't mean a program is doomed to fail. But all things being equal, coaches are going to take the best talent and take their chances. U of L is about to find out how that feels. Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@ follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at to make sure you never miss one of his columns. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball recruiting thriving under Pat Kelsey in NIL era
Yahoo
11-07-2025
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Scouting Louisville basketball's 2025-26 roster: Ryan Conwell
After leading Louisville basketball to one of the largest turnarounds in Division I history, Pat Kelsey built a 2025-26 roster that's garnering lofty expectations. This summer, The Courier Journal is taking a player-by-player look at the team, dissecting what each one will bring to the Cardinals. Up next: Ryan Conwell. To catch up on previous entries in the series, click here. Advertisement Ryan Conwell made quite the first impression on Louisville basketball fans. On April 2, the day after committing to Pat Kelsey via the NCAA transfer portal, Conwell shared a message to Cardinals supporters on Instagram. It reads, "New city. New family. Same mission. "This isn't just a commitment — it's a promise," the 6-foot-4 guard from Indianapolis wrote. "Louisville, I'm all in. Let's build something special!" Then, to his story, Conwell posted a photo from his childhood. It was of him and his late grandfather smiling outside the KFC Yum! Center. All in, indeed. Conwell was the second of Kelsey's three portal commitments this offseason. U of L is his fourth school in as many years, following stints at South Florida (2022-23), Indiana State (2023-24) and Xavier (2024-25) — all of which ended in coaching changes. He's started 83 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 29, 2023. Advertisement In a statement when Conwell signed with Louisville, Kelsey called him "one of the best all-around guards in the collegiate game." He also said Cards fans are going to love "his bravado and big-game, big-moment mentality." The latest projections from The Athletic and ESPN have Conwell as a second-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. "Ryan is a pro in every sense of the word on and off the court," Kelsey said in the statement. "One person that we spoke to that was around him for a long time told us he is one of the best humans they've ever worked with. That is powerful praise." In short, Conwell is exactly the type of player U of L needs at the forefront if Kelsey's Year 1 revival is to become an arrival in Year 2 — proven but still teeming with potential. Here's a look back at his junior season and a breakdown of what his role could be in 2025-26: Advertisement Scouting report: Recapping Ryan Conwell's 2024-25 season Xavier Musketeers guard Ryan Conwell (7) smiles as he picks up the ball in a timeout in the second half of the NCAA Men's Basketball game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Jackson State Tigers at the Cintas Center at Xavier University in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. Xavier won 94-57. Conwell's collegiate career has been one of steady growth. He worked his way into South Florida's starting lineup as a freshman, was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Newcomer of the Year as a sophomore at Indiana State and earned third-team All-Big East honors as a junior at Xavier. Conwell finished 2024-25 as the Musketeers' second-best scorer, averaging 16.5 points to go along with 2.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists against 1.6 turnovers and 1.3 steals across 33 minutes per game. The lefty led XU in made 3-pointers (99, eight shy of the program's single-season record) and attempts (240) — good for a career-high 41.3% clip from beyond the arc. Advertisement How's this for rare company? Conwell, per was one of only two high-major players who made 90 or more 3s and 100-plus free throws. He shot 50% or better from 2-point range last season. Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., a consensus first-team All-American and the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, was the other. In addition to his three-level scoring, Conwell offers Louisville solid facilitating abilities. As a junior, he assisted nearly 15% of his Xavier teammates' baskets when he was on the court and posted the lowest turnover rate (12.8) among Musketeers players with minute shares of 70% or more. Defensively, Conwell fits Kelsey's mold — experienced, versatile and accustomed to playing at a fast pace. He doesn't have an elite propensity for disruption like Chucky Hepburn but should be comfortable against tough assignments on the perimeter. Advertisement "He really doesn't have any weaknesses," said Evan Miyakawa, the analytics guru behind "He's going to be a do-it-all guy." Ryan Conwell's 2025-26 outlook with Louisville basketball Xavier Musketeers guard Ryan Conwell (7) jumps up for a layup in the first half of a NCAA men's basketball game between the Xavier Musketeers and DePaul Blue Demons, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, at Cintas Center in Cincinnati. Why did Conwell choose Louisville? In an interview with The Field of 68, he said Kelsey's scheme was a major factor. "The five-out offense — fast paced, shoot a lot of 3s and layups — was definitely something I was looking (for)," Conwell said. "(With) my ability to play different positions and being able to be on and off the ball, I can help Louisville; and Louisville can help me." The Cards' backcourt is loaded for 2025-26, with McDonald's All-American Mikel Brown Jr. expected to start at point guard and Conwell, Isaac McKneely, Kobe Rodgers and Adrian Wooley competing for minutes alongside him. In an ideal world for Kelsey, the group stays healthy and gives him one of the deepest rotations in the country to work with. Advertisement That said, it's really hard to picture Conwell taking much of a backseat to anyone. He's got 104 games at the Division I level under his belt — 71 of which he played in more than 80% of the available minutes — and rarely has an off night. lists three player projections for next season: balanced, optimistic and pessimistic. At his very best, Conwell has a projected net rating of 9.0 (in the 99th percentile), meaning he'd be nine points per 100 possessions better than the average DI player. At his worst, the number drops to 5.9 (in the 93rd percentile). Try keeping that off the court. Advertisement Fortunately, as Conwell alluded to, he has experience playing multiple positions. His best fit at U of L could be as a wing who can stretch defenses with his accuracy from deep and attack off the dribble — either finishing at the rim or dishing to other knockdown shooters such as McKneely and Wooley at the 2. Regardless of where he lines up, Conwell could prove to be one of the country's most impactful transfers. It's a great problem for Kelsey & Co. to have, figuring out how to maximize his game on a team with no shortage of weapons. Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@ and follow him on X at @brooksHolton. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball roster 2025-26: Ryan Conwell scouting report
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Louisville basketball, Baylor schedule neutral-site game in 2025-26 season
Louisville basketball added to its 2025-26 nonconference schedule Thursday. Pat Kelsey's squad is set to play Baylor on Feb. 14 in a neutral-site game at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The game will be shown on ESPN platforms, with game time, programming and ticket information to be released later. Advertisement It is the Cardinals' second scheduled neutral-site contest of the 2025-26 season. Louisville will play Indiana on Dec. 6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Louisville and Baylor are working on scheduling a return neutral-site game for the 2026-2027 season, according to Jon Rothstein. Louisville and Baylor have met once. The Cardinals and Bears played in the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game Nov. 25, 2016. The Bears won, 66-63. Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@ and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Pat Kelsey squad to play Baylor at neutral site
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
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Louisville basketball draws Arkansas road trip in 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge
Louisville basketball drew a juicy matchup in this year's ACC/SEC Challenge. It'll be Pat Kelsey's Cardinals against John Calipari and Kenny Payne's Arkansas Razorbacks on Dec. 3 at Bud Walton Arena. Calipari lost to U of L only three times during his 15 seasons at archrival Kentucky. When he took over the Razorbacks last spring, he hired Payne as his associate head coach. The Cards fired Payne after going 12-52 across his two seasons at the helm. Advertisement This will be Louisville's second appearance in the annual showdown between the ACC and the SEC. In Year 1 of the Kelsey era, it lost to Ole Miss, 86-63, at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cards' lopsided defeat was one of 14 the ACC suffered in last year's event. If the conference is to make a return to form in 2025-26, it needs to fare much better than that. Here's a look at the full 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge field: Tuesday, Dec. 2 Florida at Duke Georgia at Florida State Miami at Ole Miss North Carolina at Kentucky Missouri at Notre Dame Texas A&M at Pitt Tennessee at Syracuse Virginia Tech at South Carolina Oklahoma at Wake Forest Wednesday, Dec. 3 LSU at Boston College Clemson at Alabama Mississippi State at Georgia Tech Louisville at Arkansas N.C. State at Auburn SMU at Vanderbilt Virginia at Texas Arkansas finished 22-14 in Year 1 under Calipari. The Razorbacks earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament and, after pulling off upsets of No. 7 Kansas and No. 2 St. John's, fell to No. 3 Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. Advertisement Calipari lost a lot of talent from his 2024-25 roster, including Jonas Aidoo, Boogie Fland, Johnell Davis, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivišić. But his incoming high school recruiting class, headlined by guards Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas, ranks sixth in the country on Key returners include Trevon Brazile, Karter Knox, Billy Richmond lll and DJ Wagner. As of Wednesday, Arkansas was 11th in ESPN's way-too-early rankings for the 2025-26 season. Louisville was seventh. The Cards and Razorbacks have split their eight meetings dating back to 1979. The programs last played Nov. 21, 2022, in the first round of the Maui Invitational; Arkansas won, 80-54. U of L hasn't visited Fayetteville since Dec. 21, 1996, when it walked out of Bud Walton Arena with a 91-88 overtime victory. Louisville has confirmed the dates of the following 2025-26 nonconference games: Advertisement The Cards will also host Ohio at the Yum! Center, according to a copy of a signed contract between the two schools obtained via an open records request. A date has not yet been finalized. U of L also reportedly has another neutral-site game on the books: against cross-state rival Cincinnati. It'll square off against the Bearcats at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati; a date has not yet been announced. The 2025-26 season will tip off with exhibitions against Kansas (Oct. 24) and Bucknell (TBD) at the Yum! Center. Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@ and follow him on X at @brooksHolton. Advertisement This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball schedule: UofL vs Arkansas in ACC/SEC Challenge
