Louisville Basketball: 2018-19 Transfer Recruiting Update
By Jacob Lane
Chris Mack spent the entirety of this past weekend visiting with potential transfer targets for 2018-19. Could any of these players be impact makers for next years team?
Since coming on as the new Louisville Basketball Head Coach, Chris Mack and his staff have hit the recruiting trail extra hard, visiting with class of 2018 players, 2019 players, sit-out transfers, and the ever so popular graduate-transfers.
Mack has emphasized the need to add bodies to next years roster, as the team currently only has eight scholarship players, putting most of the focus on graduate-transfers who are able to come in and play right away.
We’ve touched on graduate-transfers that Chris Mack and his staff may be targeting, but now we have a much better idea of who is actually visiting with the program.
Over the weekend Chris Mack and his staff went on the road to meet with two or three targets for next year, as well as players for the 2019 season. Louisville Basketball will also have several prospects on campus this week, and over the coming weeks.
Here’s what we know.
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Joseph Chartouny – G – Fordham
Joseph Chartouny, a 6’3 205 pound guard out of Montreal, is an intrguiging player for the 2018-19 roster.
While he isn’t known to be a great scorer, averaging just 12.2 points per game while shooting 37% from the field (28% from 3PT) for Fordham, he is known for being an incredible passer and has earned several milestones during his time in the A-10.
Chartouny (CHAR-TOON-E) won the A-10 freshman of the year award back in 2015-16 after averaging 11 points, and 6 assists per game, breaking the Fordham freshman assist record along the way.
The Fordham guard is a graduate-transfer with one year of eligibility who would be available to play next season for Coach Chris Mack. He would provide the team with a great passer, another ball handler, as well as someone who takes care of the ball, all of which would be welcomed assets to next years roster.
Chartouny had an in-home visit with Chris Mack on Friday, and will visit with Marquette this week before making a decision.
Zach Johnson – G – Florida Gulf Coast
While plenty of Louisville basketball fans don’t necessarily follow recruiting, you’d likely have to be living under a rock to not have heard of the interest in senior guard Zach Johnson of Florida Gulf Coast, AKA Dunk City.
The 6’4 guard is an extremely athletic scorer, who is capable of dropping 20+ on any given night. He was the second leading scorer this past season for Joe Dooley at FGCU, and would instantly become one of Louisville’s best scorers.
Zach Johnson is reportedly on campus today visiting with Chris Mack and his staff, as well as getting tours of the Louisville Campus and seeing the Cards facilities.
Louisville will be up against the likes of Arizona, Miami, and Creighton to get the services of Johnson.
His final visit (as of now) will be with Arizona on the 22nd, and a decision should come shortly thereafter.
Mike Cunningham – G – South Carolina Upstate
We’ve already touched on Mike Cunningham and what he would bring to the team should he decide Louisville is the best place to continue his career.
Cunningham comes from USC Upstate, who has finished near the bottom of the Atlantic Sun conference over his three years on campus. The 6’0 guard averaged 13.7 points per game this last season, shooting 38% from three.
There’s no way to tell how a player like Cunningham, who comes from a small mid-major (not even) school will translate to an extremely talented conference like the ACC. But because of his ability to knock down three’s at a high rate and the fact that he’ll be playing with much better teammates, there’s the potential to play a nice role for the Cards in 2018-19.
Cunningham will visit with the coaching staff and see the campus April 26-28. He’s also being recruited by Tulane and Oklahoma.
Keyshawn Woods – G – Wake Forest
Keyshawn Woods is a name that Louisville basketball fans might know as he’s played for fellow ACC school Wake Forest for the last two seasons.
Woods, who started his career at Charlotte, transferred to Wake Forest two years ago and became an impact player for Head Coach Danny Manning right away, averaging a little over 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists per game.
It’s rare to see a player transfer for his final season in the same conference, but it is not unheard of. One thing you wouldn’t have to worry about with a player like Woods is his ability to adjust to playing in a new conference, especially one that’s a step up from where a player had played before.
The 6’3 guard out of Gastonia, North Carolina hadn’t been on the Louisville radar until this weekend, when CardinalAuthority.com’s Jody Demling reported that the senior guard would visit with Chris Mack on Saturday.
Woods is known for being a good shooter, hitting 86 three pointers over his two years at Wake Forest, and is a player who is capable of putting up double-digits on any given night. At 6’3, he fits right into the type of guard that Chris Mack looks for.
According to ACCsports.com, Woods was one of only seven ACC players to score better than 12 points per game on fewer than 10 field goal attempts – while also shooting better than 40% from three.
Woods is also expected to visit Virginia.
MaCio Teague – G – UNC Asheville
Out of all the players listed above, Teague is the only one who is not a graduate transfer, meaning he would have to sit out before taking the court for the Louisville basketball program.
Louisville has had success before recruiting transfers out of UNC Asheville, landing Louisville native Dwayne Sutton two years ago.
Teague is a bonafide bucket-getter, capable of scoring from just about anywhere. In his sophomore season, Teague averaged 16.2 points per game, following up a freshman season in which he won the Big South Freshman of the year. . He’s got good size for a point guard at 6’2, and hails from Cincinnati, an area Chris Mack knows well.
Louisville visited with Teague this past weekend, and is currently competing with the likes of Ohio State, Virginia, and Xavier to land the big-time scoring guard.
Next: Chris Mack Sets up Visit with Former Cardinal Commit
Chris Mack and his staff have hit on it time-and-time again that they are not letting any stone go unturned in their search for players to fill out next seasons roster. Many expect the staff to take 2-3 more players for next year, which will likely be a combination of transfers, graduate transfers, and players in the 2018 class.