Louisville basketball: 3 most intriguing things about 2020-21
New names and new faces
We still don’t know who will be on the roster next season as Chris Mack and staff will look to add at least two more players this summer and potentially more, depending upon what happens with the current roster.
Currently, D’Andre Davis, JJ Traynor, Jay Scrubb, and Jae’Lyn Withers will all be new additions to the roster for 2020-21, with there potentially being room for 2-3 more players.
At this juncture- again, assuming Scrubb is on campus- Louisville will be looking to a trio of Johnson, Scrubb, and Williams as the leaders, go-to scorers, and best all-around players on the team. Closely behind those three players, and perhaps a dark horse as a go-to guy himself is rising sophomore Samuell Williamson.
Outside of the top four projected players, Louisville will be looking for a couple of other players to be key contributors. Josh Nickelberry will be in the conversation as this guy. He is likely the sixth man with lethal scoring ability. However, Cards fans should keep a close eye on redshirt freshman Jae’lyn Withers.
We wrote over last offseason that Withers felt like a one or two-year guy coming out of high school, and he feels like a player who probably benefited a ton by sitting out a year and getting acclimated with the speed of the game. He’ll have every opportunity to earn a big role next season with combo forwards Jordan Nwora and Dwayne Sutton moving on, and he could arguably be the most improved player by seasons end.
Outside of Nickelberry and Withers, Aidan Igiehon will look to live up to his “Irish Hulk” billing as Williams’ likely primary back-up and of Traynor and Davis, it feels like D’Andre Davis will be the incoming forward to earn the most minutes as a freshman.
The most intriguing thing of all may be who is entering the transfer portal, and who the Cards can land in the offseason. This time of year is a mess as it is these days with players across the country search for a new home to finish up their careers. Louisville could cash in in a major way with a ton of minutes at point guard and center potentially up for grabs.