Louisville basketball had a few major changes this offseason as the Cardinals completely rebuilt their roster. Pat Kelsey didn’t get much sleep in the month of April and May as the Cardinals' head coach was constantly recruiting in the Transfer Portal, and it panned out well for him as he landed the No. 1 Transfer Portal class after landing six transfers.
One of those six transfers is former 5-star recruit out of high school and Arkansas transfer Karter Knox. The 4-star transfer was heavily recruited by Louisville out of high school, but he originally committed to Kentucky and later followed John Calipari to Arkansas. The last name Knox is familiar to Louisville and Kentucky fans as the Wildcats had Karter’s older brother on their roster back in 2017-18 before he was a first-round pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Now, Karter will go play against his older brother's biggest rival, and in a recent press conference, when Karter was asked if there is any rivalry or anger towards the decision, Karter laughed and emphasized that his older brother, Kevin, is happy for him.
Karter Knox embraces unique Louisville-Kentucky family connection
Louisville and Kentucky have one of the biggest rivalries in college basketball. These two fan bases have been going back and forth all offseason about which team is better, and now that the Cardinals have a younger brother of one of the Wildcats' recent first-round picks, some fans are wondering if maybe a rivalry is brewing in the Knox family.
“He wasn’t mad, he is always happy for me,” stated Knox on playing at his brother’s rival. “My family is always happy for me. Whatever decision I make. They are 100 percent confident it was the right decision for me. It definitley a little crazy.”
Kevin played for Kentucky in just one season, where the former Wildcat averaged 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. Knox helped lead Kentucky to the Sweet 16 in 2018, scoring 20 or more points in 10 games, including a collegiate high 34 against West Virginia.
Knox was held to just single-digit points in six games, including against Louisville, where the Cardinals shut him down to just eight points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field and 0-3 shooting from 3-point range.
Now, Karter joins Kevin’s alma mater’s biggest rival after playing his first two seasons at Arkansas. Karter transferred to Louisville after unanimously ranking as a 4-star transfer and as high as No. 59 overall in the portal and No. 7 among small forwards.
Louisville fans are excited to see Knox in a red and black uniform, as he was previously ranked as a 5-star recruit out of high school and is an athletic forward who can score at a high level and also be a key defender for Kelsey. A family rivalry is always fun, and the Knox family might have that brewing with Karter at Louisville and Kevin previously playing at Kentucky.
Louisville takes on Kentucky in Lexington on December 12.
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