Louisville basketball: Most underrated players of the 21st century

Louisville basketball: The most underrated players of the 21st century

SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 20: Wayne Blackshear #25 of the Louisville Cardinals celebrates after defeating the UC Irvine Anteaters during the second round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at KeyArena on March 20, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images) /

7 of 9

LOUISVILLE, KY – JANUARY 7: Larry O’Bannon #34 of Louisville dribbles as Jarekus Singleton #20 of Southern Mississippi defends on January 7, 2004 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Larry O’Bannon

Career stats: 8.8 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.5 APG

The most underrated player in Louisville basketball history arguably could be Larry O’ Bannon. Now obviously you’d have to get your criteria in order for what qualifies as being “underrated” but O’Bannon did so much for Louisville and was a huge part of the Cards’s 2005 run to the Final Four.

Shoutout to this person for the pretty solid footage from their Nokia flip phone.

As a local product out of Male High School, O’Bannon was sort of an afterthought his first two years, but he really turned it on as an upperclassman.

As a senior, Larry O. averaged 15.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. However, his huge senior year was a bit overshadowed by the team’s stars Francisco Garcia and Taquan Dean.

Still, it can’t be understated how instrumental O’Bannon’s late surge was in helping the Cards to their first final four in nearly twenty years.

Home/Louisville Basketball