Kenny Payne will likely look to the transfer portal to fill holes in the Louisville basketball roster. Who are the names he could target?
Louisville basketball and new head coach Kenny Payne are embarking on one of the most interesting offseason in program history. Following the first losing season since 2000-01, Payne will have his hands full rebuilding a program once considered one of the best in college basketball. Hiring a staff, constructing a support system, implementing a culture, re-recruiting current returnees, addressing potential NCAA violations and adding to a roster with four open scholarships are just a few of the important things currently on the to-do list of the first time head coach.
Roster construction has already begun taking place for Louisville. Three-star top 175 signee Tae Davis (the younger brother of current Cardinal Dre Davis) was released from his LOI, while sophomore center Gabe Wiznitzer and junior forward Sam Williamson have already thrown their names into the transfer portal. Payne should be able to look forward to the addition of four-star 2022 wing Kamari Lands as well as non-ranked, potential-dripping center Frederick King from the NBA Academy.
Without a staff in place, it’s hard to know who exactly Payne could target. There aren’t ties or connections to trace yet, outside of those of Payne, but that shouldn’t stop us from taking a look at who could be available and potentially a good fit. We know that Louisville basketball’s new head coach did offer five star guard Skyy Clark. The former UK signee was the first official offer from Louisville under Payne, which makes sense considering Payne & former UK assistant Joel Justus played a major role in his commitment.
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Louisville’s biggest needs are in the backcourt as they lose the entire back court, sans El Ellis, and nearly 1/3 of their total scoring last season. That shouldn’t be an issue as Payne will look to use open scholarships to upgrade the roster.
Even as things get going in the portal, it’s early. A lot of names have entered and will continue to enter over the coming weeks and months. Much like last year, we’ll see waves of players entering around dates like the NBA Draft declaration deadline, the deadline to return to school, and of course, the deadline to transfer. The roster is fluid and by the time this is published everything written could be wrong.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the transfer portal to see who is available and if they could be a fit for Louisville.
(Note: Louisville has yet to reach out to any transfer as of 3/27)
Tier 1 –
Fardaws Aimaq, F – Utah Valley
Jalen Bridges, F – West Virginia
Iverson Molinar, G- Mississippi State
Terrence Shannon, G/F – Texas Tech
- Fardaws Aimaq is a name you probably aren’t familiar with yet but should be in the coming weeks. After a year in which he won the WAC Player of the Year & Defensive Player of the Year, Aimaq is one of the hottest names on the board. He averaged 18.9 points and 13.6 rebounds per game in 2021-22 (averaged 13 & 15 in 2020-21), and was one of the top defensive players in the conference and country. Not only can he score around the rim at an efficient clip, but he’s more than capable of stretching the floor in the mid-range and from three. He’s being courted by the biggest names in basketball, but you likely won’t see Louisville in that mix. We don’t know what Kenny Payne is looking for just yet but it seems like a long shot to say he’d target Aimaq to play over Sydney Curry & Roosevelt Wheeler. He may not go on to be a conference player of the year wherever he lands, but some lucky program will inherit a double-double machine (finished with 27 double-doubles in ’21-’22) who can take games over without scoring.
- Jalen Bridges was a prized recruit for Bob Huggins (who has to be nearing the end of his run) but transferred after just two years. According to transfer portal guru Evan Miyakawa, Bridges is a five-star transfer and the 5th best transfer available currently. Bridges is an uber athletic wing, who has been extremely efficient in his role thus far. His numbers aren’t gaudy by any means, but Bridges impacts the game in a variety of ways. At 6’7, 225 Bridges already has three years under his belt, after enrolling early and redshirting – starting in a total of 52 games. Bridges defense is strong, as his is rebounding, but his offense needs work. Averaging only 9 points per game, Bridges did shoot over 35% and showed an ability to attack the basket. Long, athletic, defensive minded wings will forever be a need, especially in Payne’s system that will feature fast pace basketball. Bridges is a guy who could soon hear from Louisville.
- The newest entry to the portal (as of Friday) is Mississippi State standout Iverson Molinar. Without question, Molinar became the top available transfer after a season in which he averaged nearly 18 points per game and 4 assists, while shooting 45% from the field. Despite only shooting 25% from three, Molinar proved to be a strong scorer including a propensity for getting buckets around the rim. With slick handles and solid speed, he’s at his best when breaking down defenses off the dribble. Molinar also declared for the NBA Draft and may never play a minute of CBB but should he hold off on a pro career, Louisville could be an intriguing spot. While Molinar does a lot of the same things as El Ellis, Louisville desperately needs guards. Losing Jarrod West, Noah Locke, and Mason Faulkner with no incoming guards, leaves Payne in a difficult spot. Adding Molinar to a backcourt with Ellis would give Louisville two dynamic, athletic guards capable of scoring against anyone.
- Never have I seen a player on an NCAA Tournament team hit the transfer portal quicker than Terrence Shannon Jr. did last week. Just hours after Tech went down to Duke in the Sweet 16 reports surfaced of the sophomore hitting the portal. Within hours of that, just about every major program had reached out – including Kentucky. Shannon is a prototype 3&D wing who averaged nearly 11 points per game and shot 38% from three for Mark Adams’ squad this season. He dealt with injury issues but when he was on, it played a major factor in Tech being a top defensive team. Others are involved for the dynamic wing, and with the loss of Williamson that list should include Louisville. Shannon’s profile of being an athletic and rangy two-player with a proven track record is exactly the type of win that Payne needs under his belt. The offseason is a long one and by no means should Payne jump just to jump. But with Shannon, there is no reason to not at least see what type of interest could be there.
Tier 2 –
Camren Wynter, G – Drexel
Jaelin Llewllyn, G – Princeton
Cam Hayes, G – NC State
Xavier Pinson, G – LSU
- I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t know much about Camren Wynter considering I didn’t save much time for Drexel basketball. Between his statistical averages, individual accolades, basketball upbringing in New York, and the programs pursuing him, it’s clear to see he’ll be a major factor in the portal. Wynter was a four year starter at Drexel, three time All-CAA honoree (including first team in 2021-22), and averaged double figure points in four seasons. Not only did he score nearly 2,000 career points, but he averaged nearly 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game in 2021-22 and is a 34% career three point shooter. Wynter could be a nice complimentary piece for Louisville alongside of El Ellis. I’m not sure Wynter will be a star where ever he lands, but he could become an important contributor to a winning power conference team. The Drexel grad transfer route worked last time. Why not try again?
- I would normally be opposed to adding Ivy League players after what Louisville got out of Tony Hicks back in 2017. But in the words of the kids, Jaelin Llewellyn is different. The former top-100 four-star recruit chose Princeton over Florida, Stanford, Purdue, Virginia, and others back in 2018. Since then he’s averaged double-figures in three straight seasons (15.1 points per game this past season) and is a two-time consecutive All-Ivy League player including First Team in 2022. Llewellyn is a dynamic athlete who can jump out of the gym and is a capable scorer all over the court (he shot 38% from 3 this year). His style of play would fit what we would expect from Payne, knowing that he can play up-tempo and thrives attacking the basket. He is a smaller guard at 6’1 and only has a 6’4 wingspan, but he’s proven to be a more than capable defender and a solid three point shooter. He’s another guard in high demand who could find a desirable role and ample playing time at Louisville.
- Cam Hayes is a former highly touted recruit who nearly chose Louisville after reclassifying. Instead he ended up at NC State, where he played two years before hitting the portal. During that span Hayes was good but not great for a very very mediocre team. When he was at his best, Hayes was the primary ball handler in the pick & roll setting him up to display his scoring & knack for playmaking. At his worst, Hayes played off the ball and never was able to find a way to be effective. There’s a lot of potential in Hayes despite a sour sophomore campaign. He’s an athletic, scoring guard, who in the right role could thrive. Not sure he crosses the radar of Kenny Payne, but never say never.
- Xavier Pinson will play for his third team in three years next season where ever he suits up, but that doesn’t mean he’s not an attractive option. The veteran guard is a proven playmaker and scorer, doing both across the SEC each of the last three seasons. At LSU last year he played much more of a lead guard role, where he averaged a career high 4.8 assists a game to go along with 9.8 points. He’s likely looking to get back to his scoring roots in his final stop. He scored 13 points and 11 points per game respectively over 2020 and 2021 and shot a career high 33% from three as a junior. Pinson wouldn’t be my first choice but he would be an option worth looking into. Kentucky, Michigan State, and others have reached out already.
Tier 3 –
Dontaie Allen, G – UK
Max Agbonkpolo, F – USC
Dylan Penn, G – Bellarmine
Taylor Funk, F – St, Joseph’s
- Former Mr. Kentucky basketball Dontaie Allen hit the portal after two underwhelming years at Kentucky and could be a natural fit thanks to his KP connection. Allen is known for being a dead-eye shooter, something we only saw a few times during his stint as a Wildcat, most notably the 7/11 3PT performance against Mississippi State. Allen was never quite able to get over the hump and stick in the UK rotation thanks to guys like BJ Boston, TyTy Washington, Davion Mintz, Kellan Grady, and Sahvir Wheeler. On paper he doesn’t look to bring much to the fold for Louisville basketball after averaging 3.9 points and 1.4 rebounds at UK. But I think this could be worth a closer look. Should there be a few familiar faces (like KP and maybe Joel Justus) who could help Allen reach the potential he had as a four-star recruit, it may be a situation worth pursuing. You can never have too many shooters.
- Despite underachieving at USC, Agbonkpolo is an intriguing option in the transfer portal. He’s a versatile, defensive-minded wing who can impact the game in a variety of ways. He hasn’t improved the way many thought he would so maybe a fresh start will help reset his potential.
- If I was Kenny Payne, Dylan Penn would be on my team. Now, I may or may not be biased after watching the last two years of Bellarmine basketball, where I fell in love with the game of Penn. The Evansville, IN native averaged 13, 4, and 3 as a junior and 17,4, and 5 as a senior. he did so for a program that won 34 of its first 55 D1 games. You may doubt the level of competition that Penn played against, but that would be foolish. In 2022 against Purdue, Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, UCLA, Murray State, and Central Michigan he put up 17.2 points and 4.9 assists. He’s a guard who can score in a variety of ways, thrive in just about in any role, and plays basketball the right way. Getting to stay in the city and play at Louisville would be a great audition for the next level for Penn. Several notable programs have reached out including Ohio State, Memphis, Purdue, and Western Kentucky.
- Another intriguing player in the portal is stretch four, Taylor Funk. He recently entered after an 1,000 point career at St. Joseph’s. Funk is a modern four, capable of stretching defenses out far. When I say he has range, think Steve Carrell in Foxcatcher. Instead of jumping to the NBA or overseas, Funk is using his sixth year of eligibility to develop into a bigger, bulkier stretch 4, who can play with the big names in college basketball. Think Nate Sestina back in 2019 for Kentucky (came from Bucknell). He’s purely returning to boost his professional stock and Louisville could be an attractive option should they become interested. Funk is a career 35% three point shooter and 42% from the field overall. He is strong in the pick and pop and is also capable of facing up or playing with his back to the basket. I’d be shocked if he ended up anywhere other than Michigan (he played for Phil Martelli at St. Joe’s).
