Louisville basketball has had the best offseason so far, according to 247Sports. The Cardinals addressed their glaring shooting guard concern by bringing in two elite combo guards, Ryan Conwell and Adrian Wooley.
These two elite shooters shot above 40 percent from downtown last season and will now play alongside Mikel Brown Jr. The Cardinals' backcourt will be one of the best in the nation, and it will be nearly impossible to slow down.
Pat Kelsey and his staff now shift gears and must address the elephant in the room and attack their height issue. The Cardinals' starting lineup will be smaller than most, and in the NCAA Tournament, Creighton exposed the Cardinals' height disadvantage.
Louisville must now go to the drawing board and focus on the forward position. The dream target just entered the transfer portal, and he is a familiar name as he is an ACC transfer.
Louisville basketball must swipe elite 4-star prospect from ACC rival
The Cardinals' height is becoming a concern, as the transfer portal has just under 20 days remaining. Louisville showed in the first couple of weeks that its primary concern was replacing its top three leading scorers from last season and addressing the guard position.
The Cardinals are expected to spend nearly $8-$10 million this offseason, so they should still have plenty of money to address the forward concern. J'Vonne Hadley played some power forward last season, but his height of 6-foot-5 makes him more comfortable playing the small forward position. Hadley was able to hold his ground last season, but it was clear against elite teams with a size advantage that the Cardinals had no answer.
Tae Davis recently entered the transfer portal out of the University of Notre Dame, and immediately, he should be on Kelsey's radar. This elite forward is 6-foot-9, 208 pounds, and is emerging as a perfect target for Louisville in the transfer portal.
247Sports ranks him as a 4-star prospect with a grading score of .9400, which makes him the No. 37 best overall player. Due to his ability to score on the offensive side, he is the No. 6 best small forward. When watching Davis' film, he plays a lot beyond the arc, as the lengthy forward utilizes his pump fake to explode off that first step, drive to the basket, and finish at the rim. The forward has a slim build, but his length allows him to finish through contact.
Davis has all the skills the Cardinals want in the power forward position. His quick first step allows him to attack the rim, and with the Cardinals' shooters on the perimeter, he would have the height and skill to find them on the court. The Notre Dame transfer can also shoot the ball well enough from beyond the arc to space out the floor for the Cardinals' lethal shooters. In his junior campaign with the Fighting Irish, he shot 47.6 percent from the field and 31 percent from downtown.
The Notre Dame transfer averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.8 assists last season and finished third for the ACC Most Improved award. Last season, Davis scored 20 points or more for the Irish in eight games, including two 27-point performances and one 26-point performance.
Davis is just the type of player Kelsey and the Cardinals need. He is a 4-star prospect with the build and skill set to play the stretch-four position, space the floor out, and be a legit threat on the offensive side.
Brown, Wooley, and Conwell will get most of the attention, but it would be the perfect fit if Kelsey could get Davis or a player like Davis. Davis would bring much-needed height to this Cardinals team and give Kelsey's frontcourt to play more freely.