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5 transfers who would be good fit for Louisville basketball

By Jacob Lane

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 25: Landers Nolley II #2 of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates a shot during a first round Maui Invitation game against the Michigan State Spartans at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 25, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 25: Landers Nolley II #2 of the Virginia Tech Hokies celebrates a shot during a first round Maui Invitation game against the Michigan State Spartans at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 25, 2019 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 23: D.J. Carton #3 of the Ohio State Buckeyes handles the ball during a game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Value City Arena on January 23, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota defeated Ohio State 62-59 (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – JANUARY 23: D.J. Carton #3 of the Ohio State Buckeyes handles the ball during a game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Value City Arena on January 23, 2020 in Columbus, Ohio. Minnesota defeated Ohio State 62-59 (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

DJ Carton – Guard

Ohio State, Freshman

2019-20 stats: 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists

Another major surprise on the transfer market this week was DJ Carton, a former-five star guard who looked poised to become a star for Ohio State last season. The 6’2 guard played in the teams first 20 games before stepping away from the program due to what was classified as “mental health issues.”

It looked like Carton would return initially, until earlier this week when he announced he would enter the transfer portal and look for a fresh start elsewhere. Louisville was one of many with hopes to be that place for Carton as they reached out within a few hours of his name being put into the portal to express interest.

The guard spots (both point and shooting guard) are massive areas of need for Louisville as we’ve now detailed on numerous occasions, and a player of Carton’s level would be a massive addition for the future. We saw just a glimpse of the player that the former five-star recruit could be before he had to step away from the game to take care of himself, as he showed an ability to score in a variety of ways as well as quarterback a college offense.

Although he’s considered a smaller guard, Carton has some of the qualities that Mack looks for in his lead guards. He’s a smart player who does a great job with taking care of the basketball and making others around him better, despite being a young player, does a great job defensively with eliminating dribble-penetration, and can score in a variety of ways. Carton shot nearly 53 percent from the field this season while hitting 40 percent of his shots from three, another trait that qualifies him to play in the lead guard spot for Louisville.

Pursuing a player as talented as Carton makes sense, especially if you believe he can be the point guard long-term for your team (after he sits out for one season). However, for two years we’ve heard that Mack prefers to have bigger guards who can use length and size advantages, especially in the packline defense.

For each of those two seasons, there’s been a ton of struggles by said-smaller guards (Louisville’s primary guards have been 6’2, 6’2, 5’10, 6’0, 6’0, and 6’5), enough to be called out by Coach Mack after a loss against Florida State.

Big guards. Big guards. Big guards. That’s what I keep hearing and if it’s truly something that is valuable to Mack’s system and can help improve Louisville’s long-term outlook than it may be time to find better fits.

Carton is going to go on somewhere and be a star, there’s no doubt about that. As much as I’d love to have him here, I think finding guards who are better fits makes more sense.

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