Louisville basketball: One graduate-transfer who could be a good fit for 2020

Conference play is just beginning but one former Ivy League star’s announcement to transfer should spark interest from Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program.

There are a lot more pressing matters when it comes to the Louisville basketball program, considering their recent two-game slide which has brought up plenty of questions about what the season holds. But while Chris Mack is attempting to get the Cards to the Final Four for the first time since 2013, the world of recruiting and preparing for the future never stops.

The Early Signing Period for college basketball has come and gone and despite all of the ups and downs of the first half of the 2020 recruiting cycle, Chris Mack and the Louisville basketball program closed things out on a rather high note.

Three players put pen to paper declaring their intent to play college basketball at the University of Louisville, including the nation’s top junior college player and local product, Jay Scrubb, former Nebraska commitment, D’Andre Davis as well as JJ Traynor, the son of former Cardinal player Jason Osborne.

While the class may not have been what fans expected when Mack was in the thick of things with a handful of five-star players, it’s a more than solid start to the class and when completed should provide the Cards with several future stars.

Now with at least one more scholarship available (more than likely that number will be two or more) Chris Mack and staff still have more work to do. We’ve seen through the first two recruiting cycles, Mack isn’t afraid of transfers. In fact, out of the 10 players that have committed to Louisville, four of them have been graduate transfers.

2020 will be the first class where Mack won’t necessarily “need” a graduate-transfer, but with several needs still remaining it wouldn’t be shocking to see the Cards try and land a top player this summer.

Normally you wouldn’t see much movement during the season with graduate-transfers, but with the new “free agency” type trends becoming more and more popular, the window to land these players has become even larger. In fact, more and more players who could have graduate eligibility have begun to sit out the season or cut things short when injuries come to prepare for their final season.

That’s exactly the case for one graduate-transfer who could and should receive interest from Louisville.

Seth Towns was at one point a very highly pursued recruit coming out of Columbus, Ohio way back in the class of 2016. The 6’7 wing eventually would say no thanks to programs like Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan, Virginia Tech and Purdue to attend one of the top academic schools in the country and a recent threat in the Ivy League, Harvard.

The first two years of his career at Harvard led many to believe that he could become the next great Ivy League player to play in the NBA following in the footsteps of players like Jeremy Lin and Miye Oni.

Averaging 14.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game and shooting at 43 percent from the field and nearly percent from deep, Towns dominated at the wing position developing into a triple-level scorer and a player capable of leading an Ivy League team to the NCAA Tournament and potentially past the first round.

During his sophomore season (which would be his last full season playing for Harvard) Towns would go on to win the Ivy League Player of the Year after averaging 16 points and six rebounds per game, forever planting his name in Harvard history by becoming the first player to win the award since Wesley Saunders in the early 2010s and the first sophomore to win the award since 2007-08.

Towns looked nothing short of a future NBA first-rounder and was looking to prove that in what many thought might be his final season in 2018-19, before injuring his knee and missing the entire year. In 2019, he was set to return to the lineup around Christmas time but just this week the school announced he would once again miss the entire season.

With nothing left to prove in the Ivy League, Towns announced his intent to transfer as a graduate player and now will spend his final two seasons of eligibility at another program.

So, could Louisville get involved?

That remains to be seen, as the wing is one of the more loaded positions for Louisville. But considering what Mack is slated to lose this offseason in Jordan Nwora and Dwayne Sutton – leadership and experience will be crucial to the 2020-21 season. Sure Louisville will add D’Andre Davis & Jay Scrubb, two players who should be able to contribute right away, but as we’ve seen this year no incoming player is guaranteed any sort of role.

It’s not too often that you see a former conference player of the year on the open market, especially with two years of eligibility, which is why there will likely be a long line of power five suitors knocking on the door for Towns.

While Louisville was not involved in the recruitment of Towns back in 2016, there is a connection with Mack and Towns. Xavier was one of the very first programs to offer the Ohio native way back in 2014, which means it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think the Cards could get involved. Louisville has a need at the stretch four spot, which will be vacated by Nwora and Sutton, as well as a need for a new top scorer.

As of now there are no reports or signals connecting Louisville and Towns, but because of the turnover from ’19-’20 to ’20-’21 and the need for a proven leader, the Cards are a program to keep an eye on with the former Harvard star.

Towns would bring leadership, scoring, rebounding, and most importantly toughness to the Louisville lineup in 2020-21, and give them a legitimate, college-tested player to build around. Putting out a lineup that consists of Samuell Williamson (considering he returns next season), Jay Scrubb, and Seth Towns, along with returnees Darius Perry and Malik Williams could make Louisville a very dangerous team next season.