Louisville basketball: What addition of Brandon Huntley-Hatfield means for the Cards

Louisville basketball has secured its first commitment of the Kenny Payne era and it’s from a former 5-star and SEC transfer.

A month ago, it was rumored that the Louisville basketball camp extended feelers to Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl.

Soon after, Louisville hired its new head coach, Kenny Payne.

Now, in his first recruiting battle at UofL, Payne, and company have secured a pledge from a player who chose the Cards over Auburn.

Tennessee Transfer and former 5-star recruit Brandon Huntley-Hatfield publicly announced his commitment on Sunday after a campus visit during Thunder over Louisville weekend.

A 6’10”, 250-pound forward from Clarksville, Tennesse, Huntley-Hatfield played sparingly early before being thrust into a starting role for the Vols in 2021-22.

Out of high school, BHH was one of the top prospects in the nation who held offers from Kentucky, Kansas, Florida State, and Baylor among others.

Here’s what 247Sports analyst Jerry Meyer said about him his senior year:

“Has a quintessential power forward body with length, strength and density. Power based athlete. High level body control for a player his size. Can score from all three levels. Very comfortable with the ball. Has functional ball handling skills that produce buckets in scoring range. Can get to the basket efficiently. Loves to go left as a righty. Has ability to dominate his area as a rebounder. Improving as a defender is a proper area of focus.”

Examing fit at Louisville

Where Huntley-Hatfield fits on this Louisville basketball roster will be largely dependent on who else joins the fold in the offseason.

At Tennessee, Huntley-Hatfield saw the least amount of run among the Vols’ starters. However, as a true freshman, his athleticism and size were on full display.

Last season, he played primarily at the four, starting alongside UT big man Uros Plavsic. As one of the largest frontcourts in the country, Plavsic and Huntley-Hatfield were a problem on the boards, and as two bigs who can post up on the low block.

Huntley-Hatfield displayed the ability to get the ball at the elbow and get downhill in a hurry. It appears that he much prefers to be a face-up big and a spread-the-floor shooting threat than a banger down low. With that said, he consistently crashes the boards with a head full of steam on both sides of the ball and is a willing aggressor when needed in the post.

While he is a willing rebounder, I’d like to see BHH become a much more capable rebounder. He often gets his hands on the ball but fails to position himself correctly to grab the board.

In his first year in Louisville, it will be fascinating to watch who gets minutes at the four and five among a crowded frontcourt. The Cards have one “traditional” man in the middle in Rosevelt Wheeler. Outside of that, Sydney Curry, Jae’Lyn Withers, and JJ Traynor have all spent time anchoring the middle but have the ability to play with another big. With Huntley-Hatfield in the fold, there are four options of players 6’9″ and above who can be three-level scorers and defend the four and five.

Based on his style of play, it would be surprising if Huntley-Hatfield envisions himself being anything but a power forward on this team.

Still, the rest of the pieces added to this roster will determine the future for Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.