Pat Kelsey received some bad news about the most recent addition to the 2025-26 Louisville roster on Wednesday. Vangelis Zougris, the 6-foot-8 Greek forward who signed with the Cardinals this summer, suffered an ankle injury while playing for his home nation in a friendly against Belgium.
Zougris was helped to the locker room, unable to put much weight on his injured leg, and was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain. The injury is unlikely to linger until Louisville’s season opener against Kentucky on November 11, but it could slow his assimilation into the program this fall and have a significant impact on his playing time once the meaningful games finally come around.
Vangelis Zougris underwent an MRI scan today, which revealed a mild injury to his right ankle (right ankle sprain).#hellas #greece #paobc #olympiacosbc pic.twitter.com/bmJZGzmYy0
— Basketballmaniacs_ (@bballmaniacs_) August 7, 2025
Aside from Zougris himself, this injury could have a significant impact on multiple members of Kelsey’s roster, but likely none more than these three players.
This spring, Aly Khalifa was finally deemed eligible for the 2025-26 season after a dispute with the NCAA over a medical hardship extension. The 7-foot center last played in the 2023-24 season for the BYU Cougars, averaging 5.7 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.7 rebounds before transferring to Louisville and missing all of last season with a knee injury.
Now, coming off that injury, Khalifa will be expected to shoulder a significant load in the Louisville frontcourt. The Cardinals don’t have tremendous depth at center, and while only 6-foot-8, Zougris is a candidate for significant minutes as a small-ball five because of his utility as a pick-and-roll screener and an off-ball cutter.
Louisville will have Kasean Pryor and Sananda Fru in the mix at both power forward and center, but if Zougris misses time, Khalifa could be overexposed early in the season as he returns to health.
The five-star freshman is slated to replace fifth-year senior Chucky Hepburn as Kelsey’s point guard next season, and if he’s healthy, Zougris should be an ideal pick-and-roll partner for the young ball-handler. Zougris is an elite screener, and though he’s not a high-flying rim-runner, he presents a big target in the short roll and loves getting into his floater game off the catch.
Zougris is comfortable in his play style and doesn’t over-extend himself. He knows the spots he wants to get to and has the touch to finish in the paint and bury push-shots from the mid-range. An outlet like that, who should be able to put the ball on the floor a bit and pass out of the short-roll, will be a point guard’s best friend if he’s healthy.
When Khalifa is off the floor, Zougris can provide defenses with a different look than the oversized pick-and-pop playmaker and top of the key offensive hub. If he’s out, Brown will have one fewer option and more playmaking responsibility on his shoulders.
Another underzied forward, the 6-foot-7 Hadley is built more like a wing, but is best at the four offensively. He and Zougris are fairly redundant players, though Zougris has enough size to slide down to the five, but ultimately, their shots come from the same places on the floor.
Zougris is a weapon out of the short roll with his floater game just inside the free-throw line, in the dunker spot, or at the rim as a cutter. Similarly, Hadley attempts nearly 60 percent of his field goals either from the paint or at the rim. The two likely won’t give Louisville enough floor spacing or rim protection to play together very often, so if Zougris misses anytime, that’s great news for Hadley, at least in terms of his individual minutes and shot attempts.