1. Mikel Brown Jr., G
There are perhaps no bigger personal expectations on a single player of this Louisville Cardinals squad than those currently on the shoulders of Mikel Brown Jr. The 5-star freshman point guard was Kelsey’s first flashy recruiting win, showing that he can compete and recruit alongside more established coaches for high-end high school talent. Brown is not only anticipated to be a key contributor of this team, but is also on many NBA draft boards as a potential top 5 pick in next year’s draft.
With these lofty expectations, Brown’s play will be under a large microscope, more so than the other members of the team. Can Brown play up to the early NBA draft hype that he has been receiving to this point? Brown also has big shoes to fill with the departure of star point guard Chucky Hepburn, who was one of the key leaders of the “ReviVille” squad of Kelsey’s first season. This is a challenging and important position to be in, but if anyone can rise to the occasion for Pat Kelsey, it is Mikel Brown Jr.
The Cards fans are beaming with anticipation to see if one of Louisville’s highest-ranked recruits can continue the Cardinals down the winning road and bring glory back to the Louisville basketball program. Only a couple of short days until these questions start to be answered for the Louisville fan base.