CBB Insider looks ahead to highly-anticipated next season for Louisville

Louisville was back in college basketball in a big way last year by going 27-8 (18-2) in year one under Pat Kelsey. Year two of this tenure, though, is now even more awaited on for the Cardinals.

Jon Rothstein discussed next season for Louisville on his show at CBS Sports on Monday. He looks at this upcoming year for their program as their most-anticipated one since the turn of the decade and when the pandemic took place.

“I think you can say, unequivocally, that the upcoming college basketball season will be the most-anticipated college basketball season that Louisville’s program has had since the ’19-’20 season, when Chris Mack was the head coach and the Cards were in position to be a very high seed in the 2020 NCAA Tournament prior to COVID-19,” Rothstein stated.

That starts with the new roster for the Cards. Louisville will bring back J’Vonne Hadley, Kasean Pryor, Khani Rooths, and a healthy and now-eligible player in Aly Khalifa. They’ll now be paired with a trio of Top-20 transfers in Adrian Wooley, Ryan Conwell, and Isaac McKneely, who were all honored as all-conference last season and made a combined 8.3 three-pointers per game at a 41.9% clip, in a Top-25 portal class per On3. The program is also bringing in four in their recruiting class with three coming internationally.

“I, for one, am somebody who always proceeds with caution when certain programs do a number of good things via the transfer portal. And I admit that I acknowledged what Louisville was doing, I acknowledged the additions of Adrian Wooley from Kennesaw State, Ryan Conwell from Xavier, Isaac McKneely of Virginia. But I really felt that, over the last week or so, when Louisville got the news that Aly Khalifa, the transfer big man from BYU, was ruled eligible, we started to see Louisville have the type of frontcourt experience and depth needed to finally round out its roster,” said Rothstein.

“You look at the other elements of things for Louisville? I’ve stated about the perimeter and I’ll get to the perimeter a second. But, you know you have a veteran glue guy in J’Vonne Hadley, the hope is obviously to have Kasean Pryor back off the knee injury. Now you’re looking at a Louisville team that has depth, that has shot-making, and also has options up front as the Cardinals look to continue to build under Pat Kelsey,” Rothstein said. “The supporting cast is what you have to like if you’re Louisville. In fact, it’s what you have to love.”

However, Mikel Brown Jr., the top incoming freshman as a Five-Star+ prospect and a Top-10 recruit in the class, is what could be the difference for Louisville. That’s coming off of his high school career and what he’s currently doing for Team USA at FIBA U-19 World Cup, with him also already projected to be first-round pick, even as high as a lottery pick, in the 2026 NBA Draft.

“The person that may be solely responsible for changing that ceiling for Louisville is Mikel Brown…I have watched enough of Mikel Brown to know that, even though he’s a freshman point guard, he is going to have a major, major impact in college basketball next season,” added Rothstein. “I’m not comparing him to this player but, I’m watching Mikel Brown and Team USA and I’m watching his ability make outside shots, I’m watching his ability to rebound his position, I’m watching his ability to set the table for his teammates? And, again, I’m not comparing him to this player but I think there is a legitimate chance that Mikel Brown, as a freshman, could have the same type of impact for Louisville next season that Jeremiah Fears had for Oklahoma a year ago.”

Then, beyond the actual team is the schedule which the Cardinals will be playing. It’s a slate that features several top, brand programs in the sport before they get into conference play in the ACC.

“Another reason why Louisville’s season is so anticipated next season? The non-conference schedule that Kelsey has put together. Part of it is obviously having more flexibility because the ACC opted to go from 20 to 18 league games. Part of it is also the brands on the schedule that Louisville will play,” Rothstein noted. “Kentucky at home, at Arkansas in the ACC/SEC Challenge, Indiana in Indianapolis at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Memphis at home…you’re at Tennessee in the return game of a home-and-home series, you’re playing Cincinnati in downtown Cincinnati…and you’re also, on Valentine’s Day, going to take on Baylor.”

Louisville reestablished itself last season under Kelsey with one of the program’s better records all-time. That was still just step one with step two now, as a Top-25, if not Top-10 team, going into next season, to contend for the Atlantic Coast Conference and in the NCAA Tournament in a season that the Cardinals can’t wait for the tip-off of less than four months from now.

“Last season for Pat Kelsey was about changing the narrative surrounding the program. This season is about being in a situation where you can get a high seed on Selection Sunday and be in position to play very deep into the NCAA Tournament,” said Rothstein.

“I think right now, unequivocally, Louisville will enter next season as the top contender to Duke in the ACC. And Louisville will play it’s most-anticipated season, highlighted by its most-anticipated non-conference schedule in a long time? This is the most-anticipated season Louisville has had in five years.”