Louisville basketball: Could Cards be closing in on second commitment?

One of Louisville basketball’s top targets in the class of 2020 announced his commitment date. Will the Cards be the choice?

There have been more wins than losses for Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program on the 2020 recruiting trail, but with a few more months before the early signing period, the Cards are hoping that the narrative changes for their class.

Though Mack and company landed arguably the biggest target on their big board for the class of 2020 in junior college star and NBA hopeful, Jay Scrubb, the program has swung and missed on a variety of their other top targets.

DJ Steward, Caleb Love, Deivon Smith, Zach Loveday, and Jaemyn Brakefield all looked like Louisville leans at some point in their recruitment, before ultimately deciding to commit elsewhere.

By no means did it have to deal with not trying. Chris Mack and staff have unfortunately for the first time experienced being on the losing side after going head-to-head for a player with the likes of Coach K at Duke and Roy Williams at UNC.

Despite the struggles, there have been no excuses. Sure, Chris Mack acknowledged some of the struggles they’ve faced this year with swinging and missing, but that hasn’t stopped the staff from continuing to build strong relationships with top talent in the class of 2020 (and 2021) while finding the right guys for their open scholarships.

One of the names that have recently emerged for Louisville into a top target is 6’10 four-star big man, Gethro Muscadin.

By way of Kansas, Muscadin now calls ASPIRE Academy in Louisville home presenting a very unique opportunity for Mack. Even with the likes of Kansas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, and multiple other Big 12 schools having a leg up on time spent recruiting Muscadin, Mack happens to be in the back yard of where Muscadin will play his final season of high school hoops conveniently allowing for more face-to-face time. That led me to believe that a commitment could soon be on the way.

After visiting Louisville Live and taking a few other unofficial visits to the campus, Chris Mack and staff will have to hope they’ve done enough to secure a commitment as the big man announced today that he’s ready to shut down his recruitment.

https://twitter.com/gethromuscadin/status/1184113419865219072

With no other big men on the board for the class of 2020, and Steven Enoch playing his final season in 2019-20, it goes without saying that Muscadin is the most important player left for Mack.

Though Louisville threw their hat into the ring later than most programs, the amount of time spent with Muscadin the last few weeks shows how important the staff sees him being to the 2020 class.

At 6’10, 215 pounds Muscadin is a perfect fit for what Chris Mack likes to do with the four-out-one-in scheme, according to his coach Richard Gatewood who joined the BRL podcast last week. He’s a strong rebounder, who possesses the ability to score around the rim as well as step out and hit face-up jumpers from mid-range and deep.

While he still has a ways to go in terms of development, the nation’s 16th best center would be a huge addition to the class for Louisville and provide another athletic big to go along with Malik Williams and Aidan Igiehon in 2020.

There’s no report at this point in time of how many schools Muscadin may be considering for his November 1st commitment date, but based off what we heard from Richard Gatewood during the podcast around his recruitment my guess would be that it’s Louisville, Texas Tech, Kansas, and Kansas State in no particular order.

The heavy favorite for Muscadin today seems to be Kansas, as they currently hold a 100 percent crystal ball prediction via 247 Sports, but keep in mind that the last projection logged was almost a month ago.

The advantage down the stretch of Muscadin’s recruitment will belong to Chris Mack and Louisville, as they’ll likely stop into practice or visit face-to-face as much as the recruiting rules allow for this point in the season.

Things could go either way, which to Louisville fans sounds like more let down is coming, but with the advantage the staff holds could be enough to swing in their direction on November 1st.