Louisville Basketball: Kicks Off Season vs. Bellarmine

With the IARP ruling behind the Louisville basketball program, Head Coach Kenny Payne can begin to move forward with this program without any lingering sanctions. The sense of levity over the program is fresh and the potential for the program to re-enter the elite college basketball programs conversation is within reach.

Louisville fans should not expect an immediate return to dominance because the turmoil the program has suffered for the past five years is not repairable overnight. However the dawn of a new era is upon the program.

Coach Kenny Payne is the face of the program moving forward and has already assembled an elite coaching staff and has made a splash in recruiting landing four-star 2024 guard TJ Robinson and 2023 four-star forward Curtis Williams Jr.

Four-star 2023 forward Kaleb Glennhas proved his loyalty to the Louisville program as he committed to the university when Chris Mack was still in charge and the IARP ruling was still in limbo, but his commitment never wavered despite the head coaching change.

Now, the basketball season is upon us and Louisville opens the season at home tonight against the Bellarmine Knights. The game can be found on the ACC Network with the tip-off set at 9 PM EST.

Coach Payne is not overlooking the Knights program despite the fact that the Knights are in the middle of a transition period from Division II basketball up to Division I. The NCAA rules in this regard specify that the program is unable to play in the NCAA Tournament for a minimum of four years. The 2023 Tournament will be the third of their four year purgatory sentence.

The Louisville basketball program got off to a rocky start losing their first exhibition game to Division II School Lenoir-Rhyne, but bounced back against the Chaminade Silverswords. In order for the Cardinals to have success this year, senior point guard El Ellis is going to have to stay on the floor for more than thirty minutes a night.

The ball movement becomes stagnant when Ellis is not on the floor and it seems as if the other players look out of sorts. The change from Mack’s pack-line defense to Payne’s man-to-man defense could also be a source of anxiety for the players because they have not learned where they are supposed to be on the floor and switch defenders off of pick-and-rolls.

The Cardinals have a chance to find their rhythm tonight against the Bellarmine Knights. Forwards JJ Traynor and Jae’Lyn WIthers look to help El Ellis in the scoring column this year, while Sydney Curry and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield look to add rebounds for the team.

Win or lose, the program is headed in the right direction and the joy associated with Louisville basketball will exude through the city once again.