Louisville basketball recruiting: Examining the big board for 2020

Combo Guard

Nimari Burnett

Like Caleb Love, the Cards have been after Nimari Burnett, a lethal scoring guard out of Prolific Prep. He visited campus back in 2018, and has been hearing from the Cards staff ever since.

He is one of the best pure scorers in the class of 2020 but he also has the ability to handle the ball and make plays for others at the point guard spot. Mack likes big guards, so with Burnett being 6’3″ you could see him being paired with Askew or playing alongside of a guy like David Johnson or Josh Nickelberry down the road.

I think he’s the top target for the Cards, and him saying he wants to take another visit to Louisville proves that. However, even with that being said, there’s a lot of competition for him and it seems by all accounts that Alabama is the school to beat at this point in time.

DJ Steward

DJ Steward is another combo guard that Louisville is putting a lot of attention on this summer. He has without question been one of the top players on the Nike EYBL circuit and put on a show at Peach Jam averaging 20 points per game. At 6’3″ he’s a guy who can play both the one and the two at the next level, but what makes him dangerous right away is his ability to be a pure scorer.

Steward holds offers from several of the elite crop of schools in the Power Five, including Louisville, Duke, Arizona, Florida, and North Carolina – but in his mind, Louisville is the one right now making him a priority.

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Now with Duke, North Carolina, and potentially Kentucky in the mix it’ll be interesting to see where Louisville stands. He’s had a relationship with Coach Mack since his days at Xavier, and has already taken an unofficial visit to Louisville.

Mack has done well with landing guys that he had previous connections and relationships with at Xavier, and I would hope that trend continues with Steward.

RJ Davis

RJ Davis is a new name for Louisville basketball, as he picked up a scholarship offer from Chris Mack after being one of the biggest performers at Peach Jam.

Davis showed out averaging nearly 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists per game while shooting 39 percent from three for Team Renaissance, showing enough to catch the eye of Mack and his staff in Atlanta.

At 5’11, Davis is smaller than most combo guards but still has the athleticism and speed necessary to score at such a high level. He currently holds offers from Indiana, Georgetown, UCLA, Illinois as well as North Carolina.

Being a smaller guard, it’s likely that Davis will have to play the one in college which means that he’ll need to develop a more all-around game, something he’s capable of doing.

His fit is a question mark for what Chris Mack does, but there is no denying his scoring ability. After receiving offers from Louisville and UNC over the last week, it’s likely that Davis will take things slow on the recruiting trail as more offers are probable to follow.

Who does Louisville add?

There are probably going to be several more offers extended at the combo guard spot, but once again I think Louisville will just take one with David Johnson and Josh Nickelberry on the roster.

Right now I think Steward is the guy that the Cards are most likely to land, as Mack has had a relationship with him for years and has made him a top priority this summer. There will be a lot of competition and Mack will have to beat out big-time programs, but I think we’ll start seeing that take place more often starting with Steward.