Louisville Basketball Pursuing New Elite 2018 Target

After the transfer of forward Lance Thomas, the Cardinals once again have four open scholarships for the 2018-19 season. We now know of a new name that has emerged as a potential addition to the Louisville basketball roster.

Only a few names have emerged as potential targets for the class of 2018, amidst rumors of Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program expressing interest in a handful of players this spring.

After missing out on four star guard Courtney Ramey, who committed to Shaka Smart and the Texas Longhorns, and then pursuing graduate transfers for the 2018-19 roster, the Cards have had very little luck in getting the players they need for next season. We all know about Zach Johnson Jr. committing to Miami, Joseph Chartouny pledging to Marquette, Mike Cunningham landing with Oklahoma State, and so on and so fourth. No one needs reminding of the handful of misses.

Louisville did pick up a huge addition in Samford graduate transfer Christen Cunningham, a Kentucky native, but after the loss of forward Lance Thomas, there is once again a desperate need for more bodies for next season. The Cards currently have just eight scholarship players for 2018-19, and while that should be plenty to get them through the year, Chris Mack and his staff have said they want to add at least one or two more quality players.

Yesterday afternoon, reports indicated that the Cards had a new target. This one from from the class of 2018. After committing to Northwestern back in June of 2017, it appeared as though the Wildcats were getting a top 100 guard. However, a surprising announcement was made on Friday as word leaked that Jordan Lathon was denied admission to Northwestern and would once again be looking for a new home for 2018-19.

Chris Mack and staff didn’t waste anytime, and extended the four star guard out of Grandview, Missouri a scholarship on Saturday, and according to CardinalAuthority’s Jody Demling, Lathon told Demling;

"“I will definitely visit Louisville. It’s one of those programs, I like everything about it. The history of the program and what they have to offer me as far as playing time.”"

Lathon is expected to visit Louisville before making a decision. Along with Louisville, Lathon received scholarship offers from Oklahoma State, DePaul, and a handful of others. At this point, Lathon is the second highest rated player available in the class of 2018, behind recent NC State decommit Saddiq Bey.

The Cards have an immediate need at the guard position, as they only have Darius Perry, Ryan McMahon, and Christen Cunningham on the roster for next season. Keep in mind that Cunningham will graduate after the 18-19 season, and McMahon will be entering his senior season the following year.

The four star guard is listed as the 135th best player in the Rivals 150 for the class of 2018, Lathon, who was expected to be the point guard of the future at Northwestern, brings a lot to the table. First of all, he’s a big guard, standing at 6’4, and has the ability to play the one through the three (PG, SG, SF), which is something that new Head Coach Chris Mack values tremendously.

Secondly, Lathon is an incredible athlete, who has the ability to jump out of the gym and take defenders off the bounce with ease. He has great length, that he uses on both ends of the floor extremely well, but has been known for his knack to get to the rim as well as guard on the ball.

While Lathon’s scoring numbers don’t jump off the charts from his senior season at Grandview HS or compare to the big names in the class of 2018, what does show up as being significant is the fact that he led his team in four major statistical categories, including points, rebounds, steals and assists.

Many believed that Lathon could see significant playing time at Northwestern as a true freshman, and I have no reason to believe that would be the case at Louisville. Lathon’s offensive and defensive abilities, make him taylormade for Chris Mack’s system. Lathon would bring athleticism, competition, and most importantly toughness to the 2018-19 Louisville roster.

Lathon joins the list of two other class of 2018 players that the Cardinals have targeted over the last few weeks. Four star guard/forward Kevin McCullar, who plans to enroll in college for the 2019 spring semester and redshirt, recently included Louisville in his final four and plans to visit campus June 18th.

https://twitter.com/Kevin_McCullar/status/999810502590005249

Chris Mack and company have also recently offered  four star guard Aundre Hyatt, who currently is a member of the 2019 class but will be officially reclassifying to 2018. Hyatt would be a HUGE addition to next seasons roster.

Next: Louisville Looking to Add More Pieces

It’ll be interesting to see how the next few weeks play out with Lathon, who will no doubt be pursued by several big time programs. While many will look to recruit against the Cards and Chris Mack, I have faith that the our new head coach will be able to woo a big time prospect with immediate playing time, and playing at the best arena in college basketball.