Andy Katz is giving Louisville basketball's backcourt the praise it deserves

Louisville basketball fans it is officially game week. The Cardinals fans have been waiting months for this week to arrive and it finally has, as the Cardinals will take on the No. 19 Kansas Jayhawks in their first preseason game.

The 2025-26 season is one of the most anticipated seasons for this program in a long time. The Cardinals have the second best odds to win the ACC and the No. 10 best odds to win the 2026 National Title. The main reason for all the hype is Pat Kelsey and his massive offseason additions from the Transfer Portal.

The Cardinals added three elite players from the Transfer Portal, and Mikel Brown Jr. from the 2025 recruiting class. With preseason games starting and the regular season quickly approaching college basketball analyst Andy Katz is releasing his top 10 for multiple categories and this Cardinals backcourt is getting plenty of love.

Louisville basketball's backcourt receives a lot of love leading up to Kansas showdown

The Cardinals backcourt is expected to be one of the best in the nation. Kelsey was able to land elite guard in both the Transfer Portal and the 2025 recruting class. This unit is going to be led by 5-star recruit and the No. 1 point guard, while also having elite 3-point shooters, and three guards who all ranked in the Transfer Portal top 25 rankings.

Brown is one of the most anticipated players entering the 2025-26 season. He is coming off a dominant gold medal run with Team USA and is now projected to be a top five pick in the NBA Draft. Katz released his top guards entering the season and by no surprise Brown made the top 10.

Playing alongside Brown will be the elite transfers. The Cardinals dominated the Transfer Portal and one of the top players they got was the Xavier transfer Ryan Conwel. The 6-foot-4 215 pound transfer is one of the biggest names in college basketball as he is a pure scorer. Last year he made the Big East All Second Team after averaging 16.5 points while shooting 45.0 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Conwell was a consensus top 15 transfer in the portal and ranked as high as No. 13 in the Transfer Portal. Katz thinks incredibly high of Conwell and ranks him as the No. 10 best transfer entering this upcoming season.

Finally, Isaac McKneely received some love from Katz as well. The lethal 3-point specialist enters the 2025 season ranked as the No. 9 best 3-point sharpshooter according to Katz.

McKneely is expected to start for Louisville at the shooting guard position for his ability to stroke it from beyond the arc. The Virginia transfer is coming off his best seasonw where he made 101 3-pointers on 42.1 percent. He is a lethal 3-point shooter off the catch and in transition, and is emerging as the fans favorite player entering this season. McKneely has splashed 233 3-pointers in his collegiate career which ranks No. 3 in UVA history. The 3-point shooter is going to fit perfectly next to Brown and company and the fans are expecting him to have his best season so far.

Adrian Wooley wasn't mentioned but it is worth shinning a light on him. The 5-star transfer was one of the best true freshmans last year after he averaged over 18 points a game and won the C-USA Freshman of the Year award. Wooley can shoot off the dribble, attack the rim, and guard incredbibly well.

This backcourt receiving high praise days before their first preseason game shows how elite this team is. Louisville's backcourt is one of the best in the nation and Katz shining a brigh light on these three individuals proves it.

Related: 5 key newcomers who could start for Louisville basketball this season

For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.