Louisville basketball’s eye-popping offseason continues to turn heads nationwide as the Cardinals are emerging as a real Final Four contender. Recently, Louisville was ranked No. 10 in the nation in FanSided’s way-too-early rankings following Milan Momcilovic’s commitment decision to Kentucky, and yesterday the Cards got more attention with The Athletic’s way-too-early rankings.
Louisville's lineup even without Milan Momcilovic should still have fans dreaming big
The Athletic’s CJ Moore recently updated his rankings after Momcilovic’s decision, and Louisville fans will be quite pleased with where the Cardinals fell. With Kelsey given the task of rebuilding his entire roster, the Cardinals appear to be right where they want to be, and Moore gives Louisville fans hope as he appears impressed with the roster Kelsey built, but he also raises one question.
The Athletic raises one concern about Pat Kelsey's Cardinals
The Cardinals are ranked No. 11 in Moore’s rankings, which would put them right where they were ranked in last year's rankings to start the season. Louisville continues to be a unanimous top-15 team in these way-too-early rankings, and while Moore admits he is a little shy to be high on Louisville because of last year's team, he also makes it clear this team has a lot of upside.
"I’m a little gun-shy about falling too hard for Louisville because last year’s team didn’t live up to what I believed it could be. Luckily for Pat Kelsey, he won enough in the first two years and did so much better than the staff that preceded him that he was gifted a huge budget to buy another contender. Similar to Texas, everything makes sense on paper. Kelsey got proven commodities at point guard and center. He took an upside swing on the wing in Karter Knox, who should benefit from a system that encourages letting it fly from deep. Alvaro Folgueiras is the kind of versatile, pass-happy big man who is ideal for Kelsey’s system."CJ Moore
The college basketball insider then mentions the Cardinals' biggest addition, Flory Bidunga, and, when discussing the Kansas transfer, he makes it clear that Bidunga has a dominant presence on defense but raises concerns about Louisville’s defense as a whole.
"Flory Bidunga raises the floor defensively, although I have some questions as to whether this team will be good enough on that end," stated Moore in his rankings article. "Kelsey is banking on Bidunga and a lot of size off the bench to give his team the paint protection it lacked last season.
Louisville’s defense was one of the Cardinals' flaws this past season, but, as Moore stated, the Cardinals are banking on Bidunga's ability to protect the rim, along with some size off the bench. One of Louisville’s most underrated additions this offseason is the Dayton transfer, De'Shayne Montgomery.
The Cardinals needed an on-ball defender like Chucky Hepburn, and Kelsey went out and got an elite two-way player. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard averaged 2.1 steals per game this past season, as he is an elite perimeter defender who likes to get a hand up on shots and play aggressive defense when he is on the floor.
Also coming off the bench are 5-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr and 7-foot-5 Gabe Dynes. Ekezie is the No. 1-ranked center in the 2026 recruiting class, and this past season he averaged 1.8 blocks per game. As for Dynes, he averaged 3.1 blocks per game two seasons ago and earned 104 total blocks that year, each ranking top three in Division I basketball.
So, Kelsey has a few guys off the bench who can really come in and impact the game on the defensive end, but the glaring X-factor here is Montgomery. Not many are talking about the 4-star transfer, but when Louisville needs a defensive stop, Montgomery is likely going to be a key player for Kelsey.
The Cardinals' defense should be much better this upcoming season. Kelsey made some huge adjustments this offseason and got big-time defenders, including Montgomery and Bidunga. Louisville being ranked No. 11 in these rankings is a good sign that this Cards team is getting the respect it deserves this offseason, and now Kelsey will try to snap the Cardinals' Elite 8 and Final Four drought.
Also read: Pat Kelsey solved a major Louisville basketball weakness with his most overlooked addition
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
Add us as a preferred source on Google