Fresh off a big time commitment from four star guard Josh Nickelberry, Chris Mack and his staff have things rolling for the Louisville basketball program. They’ll receive a visit from a rising three star center out of Chattanooga this weekend.
The commitment of elite guard Josh Nickelberry to the Louisville basketball program came as a big surprise to fans on Thursday evening. While if you follow recruitment, you likely knew that the Cards were hot on the trail of Nickelberry, a four star guard out of North Carolina, but there didn’t seem to be any word of him committing to the Cards right away.
After the commitment of Nickelberry, the Cards had three other recruits on campus this past weekend, including four star guard Jahmius Ramsey, according to recruiting expert Jake Weingarten.
During that time the Cards got another big commitment, coming in the form of graduate transfer Khwan Fore from Richmond, by way of Tennessee. The 6’0 guard, who averaged 11.0 points during his senior season, is expected to receive heavy minutes for Louisville this year.
With that in mind, the Cardinals look to keep things rolling this weekend when massive, rising center Jason Jitoboh out of Chattanooga, TN stops by the Louisville campus for his first unofficial visit. Jitoboh will be in town this weekend, according to Jake Weingarten, who broke the news on Saturday via Twitter.
Louisville is hosting 2019 Jason Jitoboh for an unofficial visit next Thursday, per source. Hosted three prospects this weekend. #Cards
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) June 3, 2018
After an extremely strong showing on the Nike EYBL circuit this summer with Woodz Elite, Chris Mack and staff extended Jitoboh an offer just a few weeks back. Though he’s currently unranked by Rivals, and considered a three star recruit by 247 Sports, Jitoboh holds offers from several big time programs. If Louisville is to land Jitoboh, they will have to do so over schools like Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Auburn, while plenty of other offers will come in throughout the rest of the year.
When it comes to what Jitoboh would bring to the table for Chris Mack and staff, there’s a lot to like, and I mean A LOT. First off, it’s hard not to be struck by his size. In a day and age where high school kids seem to be getting bigger and bigger every year, Jitoboh makes some of those kids look like just that.. kids.
Standing at 6’11, and 300 pounds, yes you read that right, 300 pounds, Jitoboh is a space maker, and has a very unique, yet athletic way of moving other defenders out of the way in order to get buckets inside. Even at 300 pounds, Jitoboh has very good athleticism, and footwork, which allows him to move very well and stay with more athletic and quicker players. You might expect a player of his size to be slow, or wear down quickly, but Jitoboh is a very active player, who seems to have fairly good stamina. This will absolutely be an area of focus and improvement however, wherever he lands.
Jitoboh has a nice touch around the rim, and can even extend out a bit and knock down an occasional jumper. It’s clear his game is still improving, which means he’s likely going to shoot up the rankings as the AAU season comes to an end, and the high school season picks up. While I can’t say that I’ve watched much of Jitoboh, what I have seen reminds me an awful lot of Kansas big man and former five star recruit Udoka Zzubuike.
Entering the 2019-20 season, the Cards will have still have limited depth inside, and Chris Mack will need some big time players for the years to come. Steven Enoch will be entering his senior season, and will be the only true “post player.” While Malik Williams, and Jordan Nwora will both enter into their junior seasons.
Next: Louisville’s Addition of Fore Shows Mack Isn’t Afraid to Play Small
Currently the Cards have one commitment for the 2019 class, but I fully expect that number to climb before the 2018-19 season gets underway.