After finishing the 2019-20 season ranked inside the Top 15, Louisville basketball finds themselves ranked outside of the 2020-21 Preseason AP Top 25 poll.
The Associated Press Top 25 preseason men’s college basketball poll for the upcoming 2020-21 season was released Monday morning as Louisville basketball is not ranked in the Top 25, but did receive 41 votes, “ranking” them around #31 in the country. In Ken Pomeroy’s 2020-21 KenPom preseason rankings, Louisville finds themselves ranked #14.
BREAKING: Gonzaga is No. 1 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll; Baylor, Villanova, Virginia and Iowa round out top five.
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) November 9, 2020
Full poll: https://t.co/ZJG5mgWrsa pic.twitter.com/pkFyH1yUfH
With injuries to both Malik Williams and Charles Minlend that are expected to keep them out for at least the first month or two of the season, it is no surprise that the Cards are not ranked inside the first AP Top 25 rankings. Louisville also lost 70.3% of their total scoring from a season ago, including four starters.
Chris Mack talked about Charles Minlend’s injury and when the Cards can expect to see him back:
"“Charles was having a good preseason. He has been a positive presence every day from the moment he arrived in June. We will miss him on the floor until mid-December. Knowing Charles, he will do everything needed to get back on the floor, ready to go.”"
Without Malik Williams and Charles Minlend, two guys that will have to step up big early on for the Cards are Carlik Jones and David Johnson.
After transferring from Radford, Jones joins Louisville after averaging 20.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, 5.1 RPG and shooting 48.8% from the floor. The graduate transfer is expected to be the starting point guard for Louisville this upcoming season and fill a role that Christian Cunningham had for Louisville in Chris Mack’s first season as the head coach.
David Johnson enters his sophomore season after a freshman season in which he missed some time due to a shoulder injury, but showed off his athleticism and NBA potential. Johnson averaged 6.3 PPG, 2.8 APG, 2.8 RPG and shot 49.3% from the floor in 27 games with the Cards.
Sophomores Josh Nickelberry, Sam Williamson, Aidan Igiehon and Quinn Slazinski also return for the Cards, but Nickelberry and Williamson have missed the last few weeks of practice due to differing knee injuries. It is uncertain if they will miss any time near the beginning of the season, but if they are to be held out for an extensive period of time, ESPN Top 100 recruit D’Andre Davis is expected to see a lot more playing time and have an impact early on.
The Cards open up their season in the ‘Wade Houston Tipoff Classic’ hosted by Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center against Southern Illinois on November 25.