Louisville basketball is still hitting the transfer portal in a wild offseason. A look at some of the more intriguing names available, and who the Cards could go after.
An unprecedented season for Louisville basketball now leads to an atypical offseason for Chris Mack and the Cardinals.
In a year where the NCAA is expected to pass a rule allowing one-time transfers to have immediate eligibility, more than 1,000 players have entered the portal already. Among that group is former Louisville big man Aidan Igiehon. Additionally, Louisville loses graduate transfer Charles Minlend and sophomore David Johnson is expected to bolt for the draft.
Senior Malik Williams has already decided to return. Joining Williams will be Miami Transfer Matt Cross and Marshall graduate transfer Jarrod West.
Related: Everything you need to know about Marshall transfer Jarrod West
In 2021, Louisville brings in freshmen Roosevelt Wheeler and Mike James as well as JUCO star El Ellis.
Still, it appears that Louisville is looking to add at least one more player via the transfer market.
Although the futures of senior leader Carlik Jones and rising juniors Quinn Slazinksi, Josh Nickelberry, and Samuell Williamson are up in the air, we still have a good idea of what Louisville basketball needs next season.
The Cardinals need a solid defender and above-average shooter at guard. Additionally, Louisville would probably like to add some experienced depth down low.
After scouring the transfer portal and taking note of players that Louisville has reached out to, let’s take a look at a preliminary list of players that may pique the coaching staff’s interest.
Guards
Rocket Watts, 2Y // Michigan State | 6’2,” 185
2021: 7.7 pts, 2.7 assists, 1.7 reb
This is the name currently on the market that most Louisville basketball fans will know. In fact, social media has been buzzing with excitement over his transfer announcement.
Watts, who was once thought to be a Louisville lean, has reportedly heard from LSU, Louisville, Florida, Florida State, Xavier, Baylor, UConn, Maryland.
At the outset, landing a highly-coveted recruit from the class of 2019 seems awesome. However, I don’t see Watts as a home run for Chris Mack and Louisville basketball. Watts does not fill any of the needs that Louisville has. He has not been a good three-point shooter, he is inefficient on offense, he’s not a great rebounder or passer, and he is not a pure scorer.
With that being said, perhaps a change of scenery is exactly what Watts needs. Look at recent Louisville players like Darius Perry, VJ King, and Lance Thomas. Sometimes moving on or going elsewhere can make all of the difference in the world.
For that reason, if the Louisville basketball staff sees potential in Watts, they know better than any outsiders what he could bring to the table.
Adam Miller, 1Y // Illinois | 6’3,” 180
2021: 8.3 pts, 2.8 reb, 0.8 assists
Illinois had one of the better tandems in the country this season. However, playing a steadying role in the starting lineup was freshman Adam Miller.
Miller reportedly wanted badly to land in Louisville during his recruitment but ultimately stuck with his local team in Champaigne.
Can and will Louisville basketball get a second chance at landing a solid shooter and one of the best defenders in the Big Ten? The staff saw him as a good fit heading into last year. There is little reason to think they wouldn’t now.
Noah Locke, 3Y // Florida | 6’3,” 205
2021: 10.6 pts, 2.4 reb, 0.7 assists
One of the key contributors for Florida over the last three seasons, Noah Locke is destined to play a major role at a top tier program.
According to Jeff Borzello, Locke has heard from UNC, Kansas, Louisville, Providence, UConn, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss State, UCLA, Clemson, Oregon, Virginia, NC State, St. John’s, Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Marquette, OK State, Alabama… among others.
Locke is exactly the type of guard that coaches are fawning over in this day and age. Louisville still has its DC area connection in Mike Pegues. Perhaps he can real in a starting caliber guard from the nation’s capital for the Cards.
Boogie Ellis, 2Y // Memphis | 6’3,” 180
2021: 10.2 pts, 2.1 reb, 1.5 assists
After winning the NIT Championship, Memphis basketball fans had to feel optimistic looking towards next season. Then, essentially, every experienced player on the team entered the transfer portal. Among those players leaving is rising junior Boogie Ellis.
Ellis seemed to be turning a corner as the Tigers wrapped up the season. He cemented himself as a starter in the final 12 games of the season and saw his rebounding and assist numbers increase while scoring in double-digits in 8 of those games. He finished the season as a 39 percent three-point shooter.
Although he is a west coast guy, Ellis feels like a player that every major program in the country will be after. Will Louisville be one of them? That remains to be seen. However, an Ellis and Ellis backcourt could be pretty fun.
Armaan Franklin, 2Y // Indiana | 6’4,” 195
2021: 11.4 pts, 4.1 reb, 2.1 assists
Based on a combination of sheer talent and what he has exhibited at the highest level, Armaan Franklin is probably among the top five players available. Louisville basketball was in on him for a long time before his commitment to Indiana.
Franklin brings size and toughness to the guard position. Additionally, he is easily the best defending guard in the portal. It’s likely that Louisville loses David Johnson to the league. If that happens, Franklin feels like a plug-and-play guy.
He shot better than 42 percent from three last season and averaged 1.2 steals per game. Franklin was among the top 25 defenders in the country in 2021 according to Evan Miya College Basketball Analytics.
If Louisville basketball wants Franklin- and our buddy Jake Weingarten says they do– the staff will have to contend with a long list of suitors. Weingarten said Xavier, Butler, Minnesota, Louisville, Penn State, Clemson, Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgia, Kansas State, Georgia Tech, and Virginia had reached out as of March 24th. There have sure been more since.
This is one of the names for Louisville basketball fans to watch.
Mason Faulkner, Grad // Western Carolina | 6’1,” 190
2021: 16.5 pts, 5.5 reb, 4.8 assists
One of the first players to enter the transfer portal this offseason, and one of the first players that Louisville basketball reportedly reached out to, Mason Faulkner could serve as a partial solution for the Cardinals. Faulkner shot just over 35 percent from three last season, and he is a practitioner when getting into the lane. Similar to Carlik Jones, Faulkner is a prober. He slices and dices into the lane and welcomes contact around the basket.
What Faulkner lacks is a knack for defending. At his size, Louisville basketball would likely depend on him in a Jones-esque role. This would be a decent fit, depending on who remains with the program and who leaves.
Wendell Green Jr., 1Y // Eastern Kentucky | 5’11,” 170
15.8 pts, 5.0 assists, 3,4 reb
Allow me to paint a picture for you. Another Louisville basketball backcourt commanded by two undersized, lightning quick guards.
That’s what you’d potentially have on your hands if Carlik Jones returned next season and EKU’s Wendell Green joined him. The All-OVC first-team guard out of Detroit was electric in his first season with the Colonels, demonstrating his knack to get hot whenever his team needed it.
Green is an excellent passer as well. He dropped 9 points and 7 assists in his first career start at Xavier. Later in the season, he dished out 15 assists in a single game.
As of a this past weekend, Green had heard from Auburn, LMU, Washington State, Mizzou, Mississippi State, and Maryland.
Bigs
John Harrar, Grad // Penn State | 6’9,” 240
2021: 8.8 pts, 8.8 reb, 1.3 assists
Multiple sources confirmed Louisville has been in contact with the reliable grad transfer.
Harrar became a true force in the middle for a solid Penn State squad in 2020-21. His teammate, Jamari Wheeler, landed at Ohio State and it has been speculated that Harrar could follow. However, this is a player that could come in and be a great fit for Louisville basketball. Harrar is the 2nd-best available player according to the Bayesian Performance Rating- An efficiency rating concocted by Evan Miya College Basketball Analytics. This rating is “the sum of a player’s OBPR (offensive rating) and DBPR (defensive rating). It is the ultimate measure of a player’s overall value to his team when he is on the floor.”
According to the BPR, Harrar was Penn State’s most efficient player this season, ranking among the top 50 in offensive efficiency, and 57th overall.
For reference, Louisville’s most efficient player in the BPR this season- Carlik Jones- finished 457th.
Michael Durr, 3Y // South Florida | 7’0″ 250
2021: 8.7 pts, 7.9 reb, 0.9 blks
My cohort, Jacob Lane, calls Michael Durr a “taller Steven Enoch,” and I like the comparison. Durr is a bit more raw than Enoch but he is certainly more battle-tested. In 87 career games, he has started 85. Durr has developed some more traditional back-to-the-basket post moves, but he also moves extremely well for his size.
No reports on Louisville reaching out to him yet, but Durr is a name I would love to see the staff get involved with.
Myles Johnson, 3Y // Rutgers | 6’11,” 255
2021: 8.0 pts, 8.5 reb, 2.7 blk
Myles Johnson is an engineer. No, not like he is an engineer of blocking shots or something corny. He’s literally an engineer. Johnson graduated from Rutgers in three years with an engineering degree while nearly leading his team to the Sweet 16 since 1979.
Johnson has quickly become one of my favorite players in the portal. He is one of the better two-way bigs in the country, and his personality and passion on the floor are evident.
Additionally, Johnson just feels like the perfect mesh with Malik Williams and Roosevelt Wheeler down low. An experienced, skilled big man who plays extremely smart and is a great leader off the court. The Rutgers fanbase loved the guy while he was in Piscataway, and he feels like a player the fans in Louisville would take in as their own as well.
The chance to snag Johnson seems like a long shot based on an exit interview he gave 247Sports:
“I’ve thought about the idea of leaving but I’m still thinking about the possibility of staying here,” (Johnson) said. “I’ve been accepted into Rutgers already so it’s definitely an option. (Johnson has) been here the whole time so it’s always on the table. If I were to leave, the Pac-12 is by my house with good engineering schools, so those would be the top locations. I was looking at UCLA, Stanford, and USC, which are the top engineering schools in the PAC-12 that are around me and are competitive.”
It sounds like Johnson wants to move toward the west coast and enroll in a great engineering program for grad school. But, how about somewhere in between, Myles? Say, a pretty solid engineering and basketball school in its own right?
Christian Bishop, 3Y // Creighton | 6’7,” 220
2021: 11 pts, 6.2 reb, 1.2 assists, 1 blk
Louisville basketball saw the positives and downsides of having an undersized center in 2020-21. But what about an undersized “big” who is used to playing that position. Meet Creighton’s Christian Bishop. Besides being a clergy member, Bishop spends his spare time stuffing stat sheets. He accounted for two double doubles and averaged 13 points and 10.3 rebounds in Creighton’s 3 NCAA Tournament games.
Bishop, reportedly, wants to find a situation where he can play his more natural position at the four. If that is the case, perhaps if Louisville saw JJ Traynor as more of a four or if Bishop was willing to be more of a utility player, the Cardinals could use the depth up front.
Also, this tape of Bishop showing and then slipping screens is sex.
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