Louisville Basketball Recruiting: News and Notes

Louisville basketball recruiting has been a dominant story line this summer, and even with football set to begin that likely won’t change. We update you on everything you need to know.

Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball recruiting staff did a great job of getting around the country during the July evaluation period seeing the guys who they are after. Chris Mack, Dino Gaudio, Luke Murray, and Mike Pegues were everywhere from New York to Las Vegas watching guys like Aidan Igiehon, Rocket Watts, Samuell Williamson, David Johnson, Jaelyn Withers and several others, extending offers to new players and making sure their top priorities knew they were just that.

Since the end of AAU season a few players have cut their list, made commitments, and some have even received new offers. As it stands now, the Cards are recruiting about 20-25 guys, with a realistic chance to land a handful of their top targets.

We’re at the point where players who have cut their lists down to 8 or 10 will begin planning official visits for later in the fall, and those who haven’t cut their lists will do so shortly.

In the past 24-48 hours several pieces of worthy news have come out, and we’ve got an update for you.

Check it out.

5-star wing includes Louisville in top 8

If you’re not a big recruiting person, do yourself a favor and check out Khalil Whitney. The 6’9, 185 pound wing is a straight baller, and will be a program changer for one of the eight schools remaining on his list. Unfortunately many won’t be happy with where he’s projected to land.

Though many don’t necessarily believe the Cards have a real shot at Whitney, never rule anything out. Things can change extremely fast when coaches are able to get kids onto campus for official visits and spend more time with them. But to be honest, the fact that Louisville even made the cut is a big win in itself.

The five star forward is expected to visit Kentucky this weekend and many believe that a commitment is eminent. Again, you never know what can happen in recruiting.

https://twitter.com/KahlilWhitney/status/1024460766412451841

Louisville makes the cut for Drew Timme

https://twitter.com/drewtimme2/status/1025138179207258117

This is another big win for the Cards, seeing as how Chris Mack just extended an offer to Timme less than a month ago. The four star forward out of Richardson, Texas has been one of the hottest names on the AAU circuit this summer playing with The Drive (Nike EYBL) and it’s not hard to see while. When you look at Timme, athleticism and smooth aren’t two words you’d expect to come to mind, but that’s exactly what the 6’10, 215 pound forward/center is.

He has the ability to stretch the floor at an elite level as well as make plays all over the floor. Timme has a long list of serious suitors, and many believe he’s Arizona bound, however what Chris Mack has been able to do with this kid in less than a month speaks volumes to his recruiting abilities.

Louisville will attempt to get Timme on campus for an OV this fall, and who knows what might happen after that as Timme has yet to say anything about a commitment date. If you’re looking for some good news for Louisville aside from the quick turnaround from scholarship to list cutting, Timme plays alongside of Jahmius Ramsey, a 6’4 four-star combo guard, who many believe will ultimately end up at Louisville, for the Nike’s The Drive as well as another top Louisville target Samuell Williamson.

Samuell Williamson cuts his list to 10

Louisville made the cut this week for several big time prospects, but if you’re a betting man I’d say the odds of Samuel Williamson suiting for the Cards are higher than the others listed here.

The Texas product’s top 10 included the likes of Kansas, Michigan, Texas, Louisville and a few other big time programs. Chris Mack and the Louisville staff have been after Williamson for a few months now, picking up their relationship where it left off at Xavier. I’d be willing to say that Louisville has made the 4-star wing a top priority this summer and will have a good chance of landing him whenever he decides to commit.

Back in May, Rivals recruiting analayst, Eric Bossi, caught up with Williamson and talked with him about some of the schools high on his list. Here’s what he had tohttps://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/atlanta-eybl-samuell-williamson-has-big-time-potential say about Louisville:

"“I like the coaching staff, Coach Mack and coach Murray have been on me. They were on me at Xavier and then they took the job at Louisville and they’ve been talking to me quite a bit. I love the culture at Louisville and the fanbase.”"

Calipari bests Mack in their first real recruiting battle

There has not been a hotter name of the last three weeks in college basketball recruiting than Dontaie Allen. Even if you haven’t followed recruiting that closely you still make be familar with Allen, as he’s a local kid from Pendleton, Kentucky. After strong play playing for the MATT Mustangs on the Under Armour circuit, Allen has gone from around being a 3-star ranked in the 150-200 range, to a top 50 player in the class of 2019.

In a matter of two weeks Allen picked up around 15 scholarship offers from some of the nations top team, including our very own Louisville Cardinals. However, it seemed all along the one school Allen was holding out for was the Kentucky Wildcats, a school he grew up idolizing. No one was sure if an offer would come Allen’s way, especially with Tyrese Maxey and DJ Jeffries committed and several other five and four star players like Khalil Whitney, still considering the Cats.

But on an unofficial school visit this week after the decommitment of DJ Jeffries, Allen must’ve gotten the offer he was waiting for as he decided to shut down his recruitment and commit to the Cats,. In doing so be became the first in-state player to commit to Calipari in five years.

https://twitter.com/dontaieallen11/status/1025078488380911616

Don’t let this fool you though, Allen is not the typical recruit that plays for Kentucky. What I mean is, he’s not a five star, one and done player. Does that mean he may decommit down the road if he feels Coach Cal is over recruiting? Yeah, that’s sort of what I’m hinting at.. Just keep an eye out.

Cards extend offer to five star big man Will Baker

In the first five months of Chris Mack being the head coach of Louisville, the thing I have come to like the most is that he’s not afraid to shoot his shot. This late in the game, most five star kids have been hearing from programs for years, and while they may not have their list narrowed down, they certainly have an idea of who they like and who they don’t like.

Chris Mack is the kid who’s recently discovered his “good looks” and now decides he wants to start hollering at all the pretty girls that he really never had a shot with before,  just to see if any will give him a look. And what do you know, the pretty girls (5 star kids in this case) are definitely interested.

The latest offer extended by Chris Mack is to five star 2019 seven footer Will Baker, who is considered to be one of the best big men in this class. The 7’0, 240 pound center already has offers from Kansas, North Carolina, Arizona, Texas, UCLA and a plethora of others.

Baker is a string bean of a center, who has great abilities down low. He’s great with using his strength (he’s got a lot more than it looks) to create space and finish inside, while being able to shoot from the mid-range at an elite level.

The Austin native isn’t the big man we’ve become accustomed to seeing Chris Mack put out on the floor, but he does fit into that Malik Williams sort of prototype. Baker has yet to cut his list and it’ll be interesting to see if Mack and his staff can get heavily involved.

With early signing day just a few months away the Louisville basketball staff have done a great job, I mean a great job, positioning themselves in the mix for some of the nations top talent. Chris Mack has proven in such as short time, under some extenuating circumstances that he is able to recruit at an elite level.

With a commitment already from four star guard, Josh Nickelberry, the Cards could have as many as three to four players in the fold by November. Some players to watch out for in the coming months include, Aidan Ighiehon, Drew Timme, Tyrell Jones, Jahmius Ramsey Jaelyn Withers and David Johnson.

Stay locked into Big Red Louie for more recruiting updates throughout the fall!