Louisville basketball: Three forwards who could replace Bryce Hopkins

Robbie Armbrester – Forward

6’6, 195-pounds – Atlanta, GA

We’ve looked at two players who are on the board for Chris Mack in 2021 that already have standing scholarship offers and have been on the radar of the program for at least several months at this point. The third name on the list is one of a player who many of you may not be familiar with and who doesn’t hold an offer or have any links to the Cardinals.

Robbie Armbrester is a 6’6 combo forward from Atlanta, GA who currently sits right outside of the top 100 players in the country who has caught the attention of multiple power five programs over the last several months.

As we’ve detailed several times over the offseason, the pandemic has made recruiting extremely difficult for coaches as they are having to evaluate players in a completely different way than they ever have before. Without AAU basketball and a summer long dead period, staff’s now are having to evaluate players strictly on film and conversations with others in the know.

Because of that, players like Armbrester haven’t gotten the usual opportunity to blow up as they normally could. Still, the 6’6 forward is ranked as a composite three-star player, ranking 145th overall according to 247 Sports and as the 27th best power forward in the country. He holds offers from Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, Xavier, and Clemson as well as others – all of whom value him for his toughness and versatility.

Though he falls below the “usual” player ranking threshold that Louisville usually targets, Armbrester is a perfect fit for Chris Mack’s system due to his versatility, competitive nature, high-motor, and ability to do a little bit of everything on the floor.

Much like how Mack has described Dwayne Sutton and most recently Charles Minlend, Armbrester is a guy who isn’t great at any one thing but is really good at a lot of different things. As an undersized four, who can also play the three, Armbrester thrives in the open court where he can rely on his speed and athleticism to get to the rim and make things happen.

Armbrester is a budding scorer who does most of his damage off the dribble and around the rim as well as a promising offensive rebounder and passer. Offensively his game is growing more and more as he takes on the go-to mentality but there’s still a ways to go. Shooting the ball isn’t the biggest strength of Armbrester’s game, at least as of now, and instead he focuses on using his motor and physique to do most of his damage from closer in.

It’s defensively where he shows the most promise thanks to great length and solid footwork, Armbrester is a nightmare on defense thanks to his ability to legitimately guard 1-5. In the packline system, Armbrester’s length and ability to move his feet would make him one of the most naturally talented players Mack has had.

It’ll be interesting to see if Mack extends any more offers over the next few weeks in order to refill the big board, and if he does I wouldn’t be shocked to see Armbrester be one of those guys.