A final thank you to the Louisville basketball graduate transfers

Louisville basketball concludes a wild season on a down note, but their three graduate transfers will not soon be forgotten.

In April of 2018, freshly minted Louisville basketball head coach Chris Mack was searching for answers.

Weeks removed from an unexpected early exit from the NCAA tournament, and his subsequent stepping down from his position at Xavier, Mack took over a Louisville program with a lot more questions than answers.

Louisville was coming off of a wild year under interim head coach David Padgett, who narrowly missed the NCAA tournament in his first try. However, the program was down scholarships and down resources after having an unfortunate shadow cast upon it by NCAA and FBI scandals. Mack would have to begin his tenure taking over a team that lost four out of five of it’s starters, and only had six remaining scholarship players who had played a single second in a Louisville uniform.

Mack had a ton of work cut out for him, and had to quickly begin a search for players with immediate eligibility, who could also positively impact a team with less than ideal depth. His search was unsuccessful at first and he, admittedly, had to search online through lists of available grad transfers and do his research.

When Mack first reached out to Christen Cunningham, few knew what kind of impact he would have down the line, but the first-year coach taking a chance on the graduate transfer from Samford is one of the best moves he has made to date.

It’s hard to describe the value that Cunningham provided for the Cardinals in his lone season manning the point guard position, but it’s hard to believe that Louisville would have sniffed the NCAA tournament without him.

“CC” was voted team captain after only being with the team for a few weeks, and he started at point guard from day one. His play embodied what being a Louisville Cardinal is all about. He brought a blue collar attitude, and never once complained. He owned up to his mistakes, and bettered himself and his team daily.

Mack’s search also yielded a lock-down defender in Richmond graduate transfer Khwan Fore. Perhaps the least-talked about scholarship player on the team, Fore brought the attitude that Mack values so much. He was Louisville’s best on-ball defender, and as consistent of a player as you will find.

Like Cunningham, Fore’s value couldn’t just be found on the stat sheet. He often made the play before the play. He cut off driving defenders, had an incredible presence of mind on defense, anticipated passes, picked pockets, and used tremendous speed to his advantage. Though he was often overlooked, Fore took over as a starter in the first month of the season, and never relinquished his spot.

The last piece to Mack’s puzzle was finding one more body who could provide leadership and added depth. Louisville could not have found a more perfect fit in second year graduate transfer, and 3rd year senior Akoy Agau.

Agau started his career in Louisville, made his way to Georgetown and SMU, before ending up back in red and Black as a vocal leader for the Cards. He set the tone as an important piece, no matter how much playing time he got, by just being the life of the party everywhere he went. On a team with Cunningham, Fore, VJ King, and Dwayne Sutton, among others, Louisville was desperate for someone with a little flare.

Coming out at the first ever Louisville Live to Venessa Carlton’s “1000 Miles,” after the rest of the team entered to popular rap and hip-hop bops immediately set the tone for what Agau was all about. Agau’s near future is not in a basketball uniform. He was buying time on some newly constructed knees during the 2018-19 season, and it was known that his minutes would be limited going into the season.

Though Agau couldn’t bring as much as he probably wanted to on the court, it’s difficult to measure the impact that he made as a leader on the sideline. His charisma and impressive attitude helped Mack cultivate a winning culture at Louisville in his first season, and will help propel the Louisville program back to it’s traditional standard of excellence.

All of the efforts from Louisville’s triumvirate of grad transfers will pay dividends down the road, and help unfold success that most would not have imagined possible as recently as a year ago.

To the graduating 5th year transfers, thank you. My gratitude, and the gratitude from those close to the Louisville program cannot be understated.

You came to Louisville under some of the most difficult of circumstances, yet turned a season with not much hope into an incredible memory-filled five months. You delivered wins against four ranked teams, including two on the road. You brought leadership, toughness, and set a tremendous example for those following in your footsteps.

The finish to the season was probably not what you expected, but don’t let that dissuade you. Louisville basketball is forever better because of you. Because of the example you provided. Because of the way that you handled every tough circumstance. Because of your resiliency in losses, and humility in wins.

Thank you for taking a chance on this university, on the city of Louisville, and for embracing it with open arms.

Thank you for putting Louisville basketball back on the map again.