Louisville basketball: 2021 recruiting big board 3.0
By Jacob Lane
An extended look at the 2021 recruiting big board for Louisville basketball.
All momentum was on Chris Mack’s side following a fantastic spring and summer recruiting push in the midst of a pandemic until it wasn’t. After being committed for nearly nine months, Louisville basketball’s premier recruit, Bryce Hopkins, announced his intent to walk away from the Cards due to ongoing worries over the NCAA’s impending punishment.
The blow back of losing Hopkins won’t be nearly as bad as it could have been with Mack landing several commitments from highly-sought after three and four star players including JUCO standout El Ellis and North Carolina rising senior’s Bobby Pettiford Jr. and Eric Van Der Heijden.
Louisville’s class has been rated as high as no. 2 in the 2021 team rankings, an impressive feat in itself, but now with as many as two spots open the staff will look to finish strong.
The comments from Hopkins are likely to cause some blow back, especially in conjunction with the Cards applying for an extension to respond to the NCAA, but as we’ve seen all year long adversity won’t stop Mack’s recruiting.
There are still a lot of talented players on the board for Louisville with the wing and big men spots being the biggest positions of need. With that being said, here’s our edition of the Louisville basketball recruiting big board.