Louisville Basketball: Building the Ideal First Recruiting Class for Chris Mack

The dead period has ended and college basketball recruiting is about to be kicked back up. Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball period have their sights set high, and landing a big class is on the horizon.

2019 recruiting for Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program has gotten of to a nice start thus far. The staff was already recruiting on behalf of the Cards before even “officially” accepting the job offer extended from Vince Tyra back in March. If you remember, Wave 3 sports reporter Kent Taylor indicated that Xavier coaches had reached out to a recruit, telling them “they are now actually recruiting for UofL.”

Fast forward to today and Chris Mack and company have recruited through the challenges that many thought might plague him when he took the Louisville job, and have landed their first commit in the class of 2019 in Josh Nickelberry.

The four star guard out of North Carolina, has been hard at work recruiting and evangelizing among his AAU peers telling them about what the Cards may be capable of with their talents on board. Now that the dead period has come to an end, the coaches from Louisville can now get back out on the road and join Nickelberry on the recruiting front.

With the Cards receiving visits from big-time, elite talents like Aidan Igiehon, Jason Jitoboh, Rocket Watts, Terrence Shannon, David Johnson, Jahmius Ramsey, and a handful of others, they are now in prime position to make their targets known.

When introducing his first full staff at the University of Louisville, Chris Mack spoke to the local media about recruiting and what he expected over the coming months. “We’re going to be all over the country trying to identify kids that can help this program win games, and represent the program,” Mack said.

We’ve already seen them at several big time camps, AAU tournaments, and even in Canada watching USA Basketball U-18’s team. This coaching staff has taken their challenge of putting together an incredible first class at Louisville in stride, and it’s already paying dividends.

Coach Mack met with the local media today to provide a summer update on the team, and was specifically asked about his recruiting efforts thus far. When talking about what he is looking for in recruits he had a lot to say. “They have to be tough, they have to be versatile, doing more than one thing,” Mack said, “They want to get better, and they have a humble approach to the game.”

He was also asked about the challenges he’s been met with on the recruiting trail and how he handles it. Mack said, “Just handle it (the questions) as honestly as I can. I talk about our vision, and my vision as a program.” He went on to say, “We have a lot of stability at Louisville, and feel confident with the direction of the program.”

Chris Mack looks to have roughly five to six open scholarships next season, which gives the Cards a lot of wiggle room to add 2019 recruits, graduate transfers who come available after the 2018-19 season, as well as sit-out transfers, and even JUCO transfers. I fully expect that recruiting will be a huge topic of conversation over the next two weeks, and Chris Mack could be ready to bring in the next crop of Louisville legends.

“We have a lot of stability at Louisville, and feel confident with the direction of the program.”

I am not a recruiting expert, nor do I claim to be, and this is not the site where you’re going to get insider information. Instead I look to provide fans with analysis and insightful opinions on what the Cards recruiting class should and could look like come 2019. There are several players that the coaches are after who fit perfectly into the system of Chris Mack, and with that in mind, I’ve taken a look at all the information available and put together my opinion of the “ideal class” for 2019.

It’d be a cop out for us to list the “top” players the Cards are pursuing for the sake of making the class look like it’s better than it actually might end up being. So instead we’ve compiled a list of who we believe would make the best fit with that we know about Chris Mack’s recruiting styles.

Nickelberry is the type of player you want to carry the flag for your program, similar to Jaden Johnson on the football side of things, due to his character and love for the school he committed to. His game will be a great fit under the Mack 4 in 1 out system and he’ll be a solid player for years to come.

Josh Nickelberry Highlights 

If you’re looking for a big, physical guard to play out on the wing for you look no further than Jahmius Ramsey. The IMG Academy product visited Louisville a few months back, and things went so well he claimed he may be interested in “speeding things up.” His recruitment is trending Louisville’s way, as just about every recruiting analyst has crystal ball’d him to the Cards. The high motor guard has played extremely well on the EYBL circuit, and is the perfect type of wing to fit Mack’s system. He can shoot, rebound, defend at a high level and most importantly is TOUGH as nails.

Jahmius Ramsey Highlights 

Size: 6’3, 180

Ranking: 50th (4-star)

Biggest Challenger: Michigan State, Michigan

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Rocket Watts Guard

Status:

Undecided

Position: Guard

Hometown: Detroit, MI

Size: 6’3, 180

Ranking: 50th (4-star)

Biggest Challenger: Michigan State, Michigan