Louisville basketball recruiting big board: Wings, forwards, and big men

Combo Forward

Jaemyn Brakefield

If you’ve been following Louisville basketball recruiting you are probably familar with the name Jaemyn Brakefield. Chris Mack and staff extended a scholarship offer to the Huntington, WV native and former teammate of freshman forward Quinn Slasiznki back in October of 2018 and have made him a top priority ever since.

Brakefield seems to be picking up what Chris Mack has been laying down, saying earlier this year that “Chris Mack is probably the coolest coach in college basketball,” something that every ready would 100 percent agree with.

He went on to tell Jody Demling, “He has a great personality and I love the way he coaches. I really like watching how he coaches his team and that’s why I like Louisville so much.”

Brakefield holds nearly 30 scholarship offers and is rated as 33rd player in the class of 2020 according to 247 Sports. His recruitment has blown up after a breakout junior season and a big summer on the Nike EYBL circuit where he averaged 16 points and six rebounds per game.

While he’s consistently labeled as a power forward, Brakefield is a perfect example of the prototype “combo forward” that we are seeing in the new look Chris Mack system.

He’s a smooth big man who shows the ability to be able to step out of the paint and knock down shots from mid-range and from the three-point line, while also being able to score inside, rebound, block shots, and even handle the ball at times.

When looking for the Jordan Nwora replacement, Brakefield is target number one.

His recruitment is wide open but Mack and the Cards are going to have to fight off the likes of Kansas, Arizona, Kentucky (who hasn’t offered yet but have a 100 percent crystal ball prediction), Memphis and Duke if they want to land his services

He’s likely going to be on campus at least one more time, hopefully for Louisville Live which could hopefully help close the deal like it did for Aidan Igiehon last year.

Fans, bring your best “We want Jaemyn” chants this September.

Josh Hall

One of the newest offers for Chris Mack and company is to Josh Hall, a four-star small forward out of Durham, NC who reclassified from the 2019 class back into 2020 late in 2018. The 6’9, 190-pound forward has had a big summer playing for Team Loaded and Team CP3 on the Nike EYBL circuit, earning himself numerous scholarship offers – including one from the Cards.

After averaging 25 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for Moravian Prep out of North Carolina, Hall became a fringe four-star player but after a big summer, he’s now flying up recruiting boards and has become a name to watch for Louisville fans.

Hall has gone from a player who specialty was being able to knock down open shots, to now being a multi-level scorer with game-changing playmaking abilities. At 6’9, Hall is very much like Jordan Nwora in the way that he can impact games with or without the ball, and he possesses the skills to handle the ball and get others involved.

Justin Byerly of Hoop Scene North Carolina has watched Hall’s recruitment go from only low-mid major offers to the now 32 plus scholarships up close in person, saying:

"“I don’t remember a kid that went from on a national scale not being mentioned much, to in my opinion, a player worthy of a top-25 ranking on that same scale in less than a year. He does so many positives on the court.”"

Hall is a perfect fit for Chris Mack’s system, comparing very similar to the game of Jordan Nwora. It’ll be interesting to see how quickly Louisville can get involved and how much interest the staff shows over the coming months. The next logical step would be trying to get the soon to be senior on campus for a visit before he cuts his list down.

Lance Ware

Lance Ware is another guy that recently caught the eye of Chris Mack and his staff at Peach Jam after averaging 14 points and six rebounds per game playing for Team Renaissance alongside fellow Louisville target RJ Davis.

While Ware doesn’t fit the new age “combo forward” specifics in terms of being able to stretch the floor, handle the ball, he’s a tweener 6’9, 205 pounds who has the versatility offensively and defensively to play both the three and four.

The New Jersey product is a highly skilled player who shows the ability to score at will on the interior due to his athleticism and mobility. He’s got a smooth touch around the basket and shows a lot of effort on the glass and blocking shots.

While Josh Hall translates to be a Jordan Nwora-Esque player for Chris Mack, I see Lance Ware playing more of a Dwayne Sutton type role and eventually evolving his game to score on the perimeter like we saw last season.

Rivals Eric Bossi labeled Ware as one of the “Summertime risers” saying he expects his recruitment to “go crazy” after his performance on the EYBL circuit this summer. Louisville, Michigan, Providence, Marquette, Georgetown, Maryland, Miami, and plenty of others have already offered, while Duke, Arizona, Kansas, and North Carolina could very well get involved down the road.

I think this is a position where Louisville is going to need to add at least two guys due to the expected loss of Jordan Nwora and with Dwayne Sutton graduating. There will likely be more offers extended over the coming months, so by no means is this a final big board.

Who will Louisville land?

I think the easy answer here is Jaemyn Brakefield as Chris Mack and Louisville have been all over him since his junior season. He’s expected to be on campus for Louisville Live (at least he’s hinted on it) which should be another big recruiting opportunity for Mack, and his relationship with former roommate and now Louisville wing Quinn Slasiznki will undoubtedly play a role.

However, I have my reservations.

Brakefield has a crystal ball prediction to Kentucky already from Jerry Meyer of 247 Sports and all things point to the fact that he is waiting on “other” offers. Mack will really have to play his cards right (yes, pun intended) in order to land the four-star forward, and I just don’t know if that is going to be possible against the likes of Duke and Kentucky with Mack only being in the Power Five for two seasons.

Everything points to Brakefield having a significant interest in the Cards and many around Louisville would tell you they think he ends up a Cardinal, but I am not convinced just yet. But since the other two recruits are new to the fold and haven’t had much time to develop relationships with the staff, I am going to land on Brakefield as the answer.