Louisville basketball loses fifth player to NCAA Transfer Portal

Dre Davis – who was a sophomore guard for Louisville last season – has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per On3’s Matt Zenitz. Davis averaged 7.4 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for the Cardinals in 2021-2022 and joins four of his former teammates in the portal.

Davis leaves Louisville after playing in 50 total games and making 40 starts in two seasons for former Cardinals’ head coach Chris Mack, who was fired back in January. Davis’ best game from this past season came in a loss to Miami on Feb. 16, as he scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Davis is the fifth Louisville player to make the decision to enter their name into the NCAA Transfer Portal following the firing of Mack and hiring of new head coach Kenny Payne. He joins Noah Locke, Samuell Williamson, Matt Cross and Gabe Wiznitzer as former Cardinals’ players that are now looking for new schools to play at in 2022-2023.

Davis’ decision to enter the transfer portal comes after his younger brother, D’Ante, de-committed back in March.

Despite transfers, Kenny Payne has some Louisville players returning

Although Louisville has now had five players enter their names into the NCAA Transfer Portal, new head coach Kenny Payne has some Cardinals who have publicly announced their returns for the 2022-2023 season: forward Sydney Curry, guard/forward Mike James and guard El Ellis.

Curry, who transferred to Louisville from John A. Logan College at the JUCO level, averaged 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the Cardinals in 2021-22. He played in 28 games for Louisville while making 12 starts – with his best outing coming against Wake Forest on Feb. 26 as he put up 28 points with seven rebounds in a loss.

James – a highly-touted On3 Consensus four-star prospect coming out of Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Florida – was expected to play a big role for Louisville as a true freshman before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in practice on Oct. 6, 2021 that resulted in him missing the entire 2021-2022 season.

Ellis is coming off his first season at Louisville after transferring from Tallahassee (Florida) Community College. In 2021-22, he ranked third on Louisville’s roster with 8.7 points per game in 32 appearances, including nine starts. At the JUCO level, Ellis averaged 17.7 points and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 41.7% from the field as a sophomore.