Louisville basketball’s offseason continues to just get better and better. The Cardinals fans circled two players they would have liked to bring back from last season who are still eligible, and Louisville fans just learned one will return. Adrian Wooley will officially remain a Cardinal, as the program announced Saturday afternoon that the combo guard will return.
3 Transfer Portal targets the Louisville Cardinals must be aggressive in landing
Wooley is a former top-10 player in the Transfer Portal and a former 5-star transfer. The Cardinals' lineup is slowly beginning to shape up as Pat Kelsey has worked his portal magic, with three transfer commitments and a commitment from Wooley, who is coming back.
So, with Wooley returning and given the three commitments so far, it is clear Louisville needs to address its frontcourt and get a power forward. One forward Louisville is currently trending with is the Iowa transfer, Alvaro Folgueiras.
Alvaro Folgueiras is Louisville basketball's next top target
The Cardinals' starting lineup is close to being done, but not yet. Kelsey has to go get his starting power forward, and there are a couple of transfers who Louisville is trending with, but the clear favorite as of now is Folgueiras.
The 4-star transfer is exactly what Kelsey is looking for as he is 6-foot-10, 230 pounds and is a stretch-four who can shoot it from beyond the arc. With Louisville adding Flory Bidunga, the Cardinals have an elite lob threat, so the dream would be to get a stretch four who can space the floor out and keep the paint open for Bidunga, and that is exactly what Folgueiras is.
He started his career at Robert Morris, where he made a career high 45 3’s in his sophomore season and shot 41.3 percent from 3-point range. He has made 101 3’s in his college career across three seasons, including 36 this past season. The 6-foot-10 forward was the Horizon League Player of the Year and All-Horizon League First-team that dominant sophomore season after averaging 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
He scored 20 or more points five times that sophomore season and was among the top-ranked power forwards in the Transfer Portal last offseason. He was a key piece off the bench for Iowa, especially in the NCAA Tournament. He scored 14 points in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, including the clutch game-winning 3-pointer to beat Florida. He also scored 16 points in the Sweet Sixteen to beat Nebraska and to help send Iowa to the Elite 8.
The Cardinals currently have a 100 percent chance of landing the Iowa transfer, according to On3 Sports, and with Wooley returning, the next clear target for Kelsey and Louisville appears to be Folgueiras. The 4-star transfer ranks as high as No.62 overall and No. 14 among power forwards.
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For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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