Louisville basketball: Chris Mack and Cards officially on commitment watch

Louisville basketball may be close to picking up their second commitment in the class of 2020 from a player you may not be familiar with just yet.

Things for Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball staff have begun heating up on the recruiting trail over the last few days and it could culminate in the Cards picking up their second commitment in the class of 2020.

It’s been a disappointing series of events over the last few months as Louisville’s have watched their top targets commit elsewhere after looking like locks to be future Cardinals at some point in the recruiting process. But that hasn’t stopped the staff from continuing to fight to find what Chris Mack called “the right guy” to go along with future star Jay Scrubb, who continues to ridiculous things.

One option could be Jalen Terry, who we told you yesterday looked to be a new(ish) target for the Louisville basketball program after he backed off of a nearly six-month pledge to Tom Izzo and Michigan State.

Even with Louisville reportedly getting involved around with Terry, they continue to find new names to pursue including four-star forward De’Andre Davis.

Much like Terry, Davis recently backed off of a long-standing verbal commitment to a Big Ten, this one from Nebraska. Ranked as the 95th best player in the class of 2020, Davis had been committed to Nebraska for nearly a year now, committing back in October of 2018 and then head coach Tim Miles.

Since then a lot has changed, and after looking to be on-board with Nebraska and new head coach Fred Hoiberg, Davis decided he wanted to reopen his recruitment and take a look at other options before the Early Signing Period in December.

While I wouldn’t call Davis “local” he does hail from Indianapolis, IN which is about an hour and a half drive to Louisville and it’s a huge part of how the Cardinals were able to parlay an official visit to campus this weekend and could be on commitment watch. according to CardinalSports.com recruiting expert Jake Weingarten ($).

In college basketball recruiting things move quick. The recruits’ decision-making process, interests, thoughts, etc. are all different and literally can (and have) changed by the hour. So after decommitting from Nebraska on Monday and hearing from schools for a day and a half, Davis clearly liked enough of what he heard from Chris Mack to decide to spend a coveted official visit on Louisville.

Davis is an interesting player and could be a great fit for the Louisville basketball program. First off, he’s built in the same mold as current Cardinal Dwayne Sutton, who has proven to be a jack of all trades and the ultimate glue guy for the program over the last few seasons. At 6’5, 170-pounds Davis is a bit “undersized” comparative to what we are currently seeing in college basketball now, but plays with incredible physical nature and provides a little bit of everything on the court, on both offense and defense. (aka he’s a stat sheet stuffer)

However, where he stands out the most is his ability to score. Davis showed that throughout the entirety of the summer playing for the Indy Heat on the Nike EYBL circuit, dominating each and every weekend. During his biggest session which took place in his hometown, Davis averaged 19.5 points, 6 rebounds, and was 41 percent from three.

His coach Jason Delaney talked to D1 Circuit about Davis and what he brings to a team, saying:

"“D’Andre is a versatile threat who has accepted the challenge of not only being a force on offense but a lockdown defender as well. He’s a player that fills many different categories for us on the stat sheet.”"

Davis also fits a big need for Louisville on the wing with Dwayne Sutton graduating at the completion of the 2019-20 season and Jordan Nwora likely headed off to the NBA. While Samuel Williamson could return, and you’ll likely see Jae’Lyn Withers and Quinn Slazisnki back for their sophomore seasons, Davis would provide muscle to a group of extremely versatile wings as a freshman and could develop into a starter down the road for Mack and company as he rounds out his game.

The official visit could be just due diligence on Davis’ and his family’s part (as it should be), but if the crystal ball projections from 247 Sports point to any sort of trend, Louisville fans could be celebrating their program’s second commitment of the class this weekend.