Louisville basketball is making a push for some of the top recruits in the 2027 recruiting class, including 5-star forward DeMarcus Henry. For those who are keeping up with recruiting this offseason, Henry is one of the nation’s top overall prospects, as the elite forward ranks as high as No. 2 overall and No. 1 among small forwards.
Right now, Louisville is trending as a legitimate option for Henry, as the Cardinals not only landed his first official visit this past weekend, but Rivals Predictions also has the Cardinals as the frontrunner. Right now, Rivals gives Louisville a 40.5 percent chance of landing the 5-star, with the next closest team at 13.3 percent.
So, following the Cardinals hosting Henry for a visit, we wanted to break down the Cardinals and Pat Kelsey’s biggest threats so far. Louisville made Henry’s final eight, which is a step in the right direction, but this one is far from over. So, here are the three biggest threats for Louisville basketball to land the No. 2 overall recruit, DeMarcus Henry.
No. 3 UConn Huskies
This is a bit of a toss-up as it could be a few teams, but we ultimately landed on the UConn Huskies. Dan Hurley has proven he can win National Championships and develop college players into NBA players, and now he is in the mix for one of the top recruits in the 2027 cycle.
Following Henry’s visit to Louisville, he is quickly heading back on the road, as the 5-star will visit UConn this weekend. With UConn earning the second visit, they feel like a strong candidate in this race as well. UConn is also one of the finalists in Henry’s final eight.
No. 2: North Carolina Tar Heels
One ACC team emerging as a major threat to the Cardinals' chances of landing Henry is the North Carolina Tar Heels, led by Michael Malone. UNC made Henry’s final eight, and with the 5-star growing up in Charlotte, N.C., the Tar Heels are emerging as a major threat.
Recently, On3 Sports' Jamie Shaw predicted Henry would commit to one of two schools, and one of them was UNC. Shaw reported that North Carolina “carried momentum”, making it appear this could emerge as a major ACC recruiting battle between UNC and Louisville.
No. 1: Duke Blue Devils
Joining the race for Henry a bit late, but emerging as maybe the biggest threat, are the Duke Blue Devils. Duke extended their offer to the 5-star small forward in mid-August, a few weeks after he cut his list to 10.
However, Duke is making a lot of noise in this recruiting process, as the Blue Devils are reportedly a “program to watch”, according to Shaw. In his prediction for Henry, he said either Duke or UNC would land the elite small forward, as there is still a lot of recruiting to be done with him. Duke had the No. 1 class in 2026 after landing four 5-stars, and with Jon Scheyer entering the mix for the Cardinals' 5-star target, they are officially a threat in Kelsey’s hopes of landing the No. 2 overall recruit.
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