Louisville basketball recruiting: Early National Signing Day updates

Today marks the first day of the early signing period for Louisville basketball. How many commits will sign on the dotted line? We provide updates as they become available.

Today is big day for Louisville basketball. Yes the team picked up a much needed blow out win last night over Southern, helping them move to 2-0 on the young season. However, today has more to do with the bright future of Louisville basketball, as the early national signing period begins for high school seniors.

Many believed that when Chris Mack took the Louisville job back in March that it could take years to get the program back to where it had been in previous season under Hall of Famer Rick Pitino. With a scandal that resulted in the 2013 National Championship being vacated, and multiple scholarships being taken away already hovering over the program. Not to mention a new FBI investigation that could take years to figure out. All of this had people believing Louisville was done for on the recruiting trail.

But then came the super six.

Josh Nickelberry was first. Second was Jaelyn Withers. Third was Samuell Williamson. Fourth came David Johnson. Fifth was Quinn Slazinski.. and then finally came the cherry on top of one of the best recruiting classes in program history, five star big man, Aidan Igiehon.

Now after months of every player being committed (for the most part) today comes the day where it becomes official and the verbal commit turns into a signed dotted line on a letter of intent.

Currently Louisville has one of the top recruiting classes in the country according to every recruiting service out there. Here’s how the class ranks:

ESPN – #1

Rivals – #3

247 Sports – #4

We will keep you updated throughout the coming days as the early signing period spans from November 14th through November 21st.

11/14 – 9:01 AM – Louisville and Chris Mack received their first signed player in the class of 2019, Samuell Williamson.

To think of the future that lies ahead for the Louisville basketball program gives me chills. With a special core already on campus with guys like Jordan Nwora, Steven Enoch, VJ King, Darius Perry, and Dwayne Sutton, adding guys like Aidan Igiehon, David Johnson, and Josh Nickelberry could make Louisville a contending team a lot sooner than anyone expected.

11/14 – 9:30 AM – The first commit of the Chris Mack era has officially signed his letter of intent according to Jake Weingarten.

Thoughts: Josh Nickelberry will be a guy that goes down in Louisville history as being one of the most beloved players. His decision to commit to Coach Mack and the vision he had for the program even amidst an FBI investigation says a lot about the character and trust of Nickelberry. Even though he dropped in the rankings this summer Louisville fans should be extremely excited about the potential of the four star guard. His ability to score at a high level and play both guard positions will be a big boost for the years to come.

11/14 – 10:33 AM – According to Jeff Greer of the Athletic, David Johnson is set to sign his letter of intent this afternoon in a celebration at Trinity High School here in Louisville. Quinn Slazisnky will be signing his LOI on Friday.

11/14 – 1:10 PM – The third LOI of the day is in as Huntington Prep forward, Quinn Slazinski, officially signed with the Cards.

Thoughts: Slazinksi was a late riser in the recruiting process and all reports thus far indicate that he will redshirt in 2019-2020. But all that aside the Cards and Coach Chris Mack absoultely got a STUD with their fifth commitment. At 6’8, 205 pounds Slazinski can score from just about everywhere on the floor. Whether it’s getting to the basket off the dribble, or knocking down three’s, the Huntington Prep forward is a true scorer, in the mold of a Luke Hancock or Sam Dekker.

Need proof? Just a few days ago Slazinsky dropped 33 points and grabbed 10 boards. Get ready Cards, Chris Mack and his staff landed the steal of 2019.

11/14 – 3:40 PM – Chris Mack and the Cards can now officially announce their fourth member of the 2019 recruiting class, as David Johnson put pen to paper this afternoon.

Thoughts: To me personally, there is no bigger signee in this class than David Johnson. Ranked as just the 72nd recruit nationally, it has more to do with the message it sends to any recruit who might question the status of Louisville in regards to punishment from the NCAA. As we all know, David Johnson committed to the Cards as a junior while Rick Pitino and his staff were still employed by the University. After the FBI Investigation became a national story and Rick Pitino was let go, Johnson decided to back off his commitment and let things cool off. Once Mack took over as head coach, he made Johnson a priority, and was able to convince him that staying home to play was the best choice. Johnson chose the Cards over Xavier and Georgia.

Stay tuned to BRL for updates and analysis as they come available.