Louisville basketball: 3 most intriguing things about 2020-21

Will Jay Scrubb be as good as advertised?

We are still a long way from being in the clear, but should he choose to leave his name out of the NBA draft, Jay Scrubb mania is about to ensue in Louisville.

Last fall, the hype began to build around the JUCO prospect when he returned home for a pair of unofficial visits, and wowed crowds at Louisville’s open runs.

The Trinity high school product played alongside Cardinals rising star point guard David Johnson in high school, but ultimately ended up going the junior college route to get his game and his grades in order. During the time between his senior year of high school and freshman year of college, Scrubb grew three inches, and his body began to round into that of a player with serious upside.

Scrubb proceeded to go nuclear in the JUCO ranks, blowing up stat sheets and rocking rims. He was the only freshman JUCO All-American last season and is now ranked as the No.1 JUCO player in his class.

During his open runs, Scrubb was clearly one of, if not the most athletic player on the court, and fans were salivating over the possibility of getting him in a Cardinal uniform.

He committed in September, signed in November, and proceeded to continue destroying the competition at John Logan College.

Assuming Scrubb winds up on campus and as a member of this team, the sky is the limit for the Cardinals at the guard position. Scrubb and Johnson would instantly become one of the best backcourts in college basketball.

Scrubb is an elite athlete, who should bring collegeiate-ready scoring to a team that will be looking to replace the majority of their offense in 2020-21. As a sophomore, Scrubb led his team in scoring at 21.9 points per game, while pitching in nearly seven rebounds per game on 50 percent from the field and 33 percent from deep.

It’s not often that a coach is capable of finding a plug-n-play starter and potential leading scorer in their first year from the junior college level, but that’s exactly what is in play with Scrubb.

Questions remain about whether or not he’ll ever end up playing at Louisville, despite saying all the right things throughout his JUCO experience. There’s no denying that the NBA has interest in the 6’6, 200-pound guard, as several teams have been out to watch him during the season, but will it be enough to make him a first-round pick?

That’s what we’ll have to wait and see about, and while this has an eerily similar feeling to Donta Smith, Sebastian Telfair, and Amir Johnson, the chances of Scrubb playing for Chris Mack may be more likely than we all think.

Louisville fans have widely turned into skeptics with everything that’s happened over the last 36 months, but one thing you shouldn’t doubt here is Scrubb’s ability. If he suits up for Louisville next season, he should and will have every opportunity to show he’s one of the best players in the class of 2020 and a potential 2021 first-rounder