First domino falls for Pat Kelsey and Louisville to land another 5-star transfer

Louisville basketball is off to a dominant start to the Transfer Portal, as the Cards saw a massive Sunday from Pat Kelsey. Louisville went on to land the 5-star transfer and No. 1 overall player in the portal, Flory Bidunga, and also saw the Cardinals land 4-star transfer and No. 16 overall player in the portal, Jackson Shelstad.

5 win-now players who could commit to Louisville after Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad

Louisville’s Sunday was a huge start to their offseason, as both recruits immediately put Louisville in the ACC Title race. However, Louisville isn’t even close to being done this offseason. The Cardinals have lost nine of their top 10 players from last season, including all five starters. So, when looking at the portal, Louisville fans are now circling Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell as their next target.

And Louisville just got huge news regarding his recruitment, as Illinois recently landed Providence transfer guard Stefan Vaaks, which means the Fighting Illini might be out on Blackwell.

Stefan Vaaks' commitment to Illinois could be good news for Louisville

Louisville fans saw this with Bidunga’s recruitment process. Michigan was one of the teams heavily involved in the Cards' 5-star commit, but the Wolverines landed J.P. Estrella, which put them out of the race for the 5-star center. Now, the Cardinals are seeing the same thing with Illinois, as they just landed the No. 13 overall transfer and the No. 2 shooting guard in the portal, which makes it feel like Illinois is pivoting away from Blackwell.

This is a huge update for the Cardinals, as now Louisville might just be in a race with the four other teams. The Cardinals made Blackwell’s final six, with UCLA, Illinois, Duke, Alabama, and Arizona all in the mix, but Kelsey and Louisville are reportedly making a strong push.

Illinois and Duke were the favorites to land Blackwell, as On3 Sports is giving the Fighting Illini a 53.3 percent chance of earning Blackwell’s commitment, and they are giving Duke a 46.7 percent chance. However, with Illinois landing Vaaks, it feels like a big portal domino is falling Louisville’s way, putting the Cardinals right in the mix and taking Illinois out.

Now, Illinois, of course, can stay in the race and try to land the top two shooting guards in the portal, but it feels like this one could come down between Duke and Louisville again, and hopefully, like the Bidunga recruiting process, the Cardinals come out with the commitment.

Blackwell ranks as the No. 2 overall transfer and No. 1 among shooting guards in the Transfer Portal. He is a 5-star transfer after averaging  19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.1 steals per game, and making 96 3’s on 39-percent shooting from beyond the arc.

If Louisville finds a way to land the top two transfers in the portal, and three of the top 16, then Kelsey isn’t just building an NCAA Title contender team, he is completely changing this program and is sending a loud message to the entire nation.

Related: Louisville's new No. 1 target is clear after Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad update

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