The Louisville Cardinals' 2024-25 season officially concluded with their loss against Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It is time to start looking ahead and see what areas the Cardinals need to improve this offseason.
Louisville over-performed all expectations entering this season, as the Cardinals were predicted to finish No. 9 in the ACC. The Cardinals shift their focus to next year and will have high expectations after this successful and historic season.
The Cardinals will still have some core pieces next year and will be set up for an even better year as they bring in 5-star recruit Mikel Brown Jr. The Cardinals are expected to be extremely aggressive in the spring transfer portal, which opens on Monday, March 24.
5 Louisville basketball players who definitely won’t be back next season
In just his lone offseason with Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey has shown that he is not afraid to shift the team around and search for that big splash through the transfer portal. The Cardinals team will be built around Brown and possibly Nate Ament. Ament will make his official decision on April 1st.
Multiple Cardinals players are losing eligibility and will either graduate or move on to play basketball professionally. So, here are five Louisville basketball players who will definitely be gone next season.
5. Noah Waterman
Louisville basketball brought in Noah Waterman as a 6-year senior last spring, a move that many expected would help the Cardinals' shooting.
Waterman showed flashes of reliability but also showed flashes of inconsistency. The Cardinals' 6-foot-11 forward averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 36.5 percent from the floor and 28.9 percent from beyond the arc. Waterman's rotational minutes were inconsistent throughout the year, as the Cardinals lineup wasn't healthy, so Louisville sometimes started him, and other times, he barely played.
Waterman battles a thumb injury, which caused him to miss a few games in late January and early February. The Cardinals forward stepped up big time in the postseason, as when his name was called, he provided 100 percent effort and even shot the ball better than his average.
He averaged nine points and 4.7 rebounds in the ACC Tournament while shooting 46 percent from the three-point line. Waterman was seen hustling, diving on loose balls, and stepping up for Pat Kelsey, which was a key reason they went to the ACC Tournament finals.
His best games of the season came against Indiana and Florida State. Waterman scored a season-high 16 points against Indiana while shooting 50 percent from the floor and adding four threes. Against FSU, he earned 15 points off four threes while shooting 63 percent from the floor.