To prepare Louisville’s men’s basketball team for a crucial 2023–24 campaign that will provide an answer to the question, “How much improvement has been made since last year’s 4-28 disaster?” Kenny Payne has 32 more days.
But in order to achieve his objective of developing long-term success at his alma university, Payne will also need to win key recruitment battles in the approaching 2024 cycle. There are 34 days left until the early signing period (Nov. 8–15).
Having signed a 2023 class that was in the top 10 on 247Sports’ national leaderboard, U of L carried that momentum into the summer. Two of those signings, Trentyn Flowers, a five-star wing, and Dennis Evans, a seven-foot-1 center, are among the six best to sign a National Letter of Intent with the Cardinals in the 2000s, according to the database. However, Flowers left the team in August to begin his professional career in Australia’s National Basketball League.
On July 28, Payne told reporters, “We won four games, and a lot of really talented kids chose us and trusted us to come here.” “That says a lot about this program.”
As of right now, T.J. Robinson, a top-25 point guard in the cycle on the 247Sports Composite from New Jersey, is the sole commitment Louisville has going into the early signing period. Robinson verbally committed to the Cards last Halloween over Georgetown, Kansas State, LSU, and Temple.
You can see that Payne and his staff have some work ahead of them when you compare it to the teams whose 2024 hauls are among the top 10 on 247Sports. Missouri leads the group with five commits, while no other top-10 class has fewer than three.
With the addition of Evans and Flowers in the 2023 cycle, U of L made the biggest impression since Payne’s first season ended in March. The only senior on the team, JJ Traynor, is eligible for a fifth year, so how Year 2 of his career plays out could determine if Flowers’ scholarship opening is the only one available to pair with Robinson.
Louisville, Kentucky, or the field?Karter Knox, a five-star recruit for 2024, considers his “tough” choice.”I would rather build a program and do it the right way,” Payne stated, “and get young people to have a good mixture of veteran guys so that you have some stability — not just for a year but over time, year after year, and do it the right way.”
In order to accomplish that, he and his staff must advance among the nation’s best high school players as the squad exhibits noticeable growth on the court this season. In the last month, five highly anticipated 2024 prospects—Ryan Jones from Virginia Tech, Kon Knueppel from Duke, Labaron Philon from Kansas, Jalen Shelley from Arkansas, and Rob Wright from Baylor—have all received offers from U of L. Trent Perry was another who did not name the Cards among his six finalists. Tuesdayj
