Pat Kelsey and Louisville should think twice before pursuing this former 4-star phenom

The Transfer Portal will officially open on Tuesday, April 7, and will remain open for just two weeks until April 21. With Louisville basketball’s 2025-26 season over and Pat Kelsey trying to reach the Cardinals fans standards and expectations, the Cardinals have to be heavily involved for the third straight season.

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Last year, Louisville gave Kelsey the support he needed, funding his roster with $8-10 million, and Louisville fans are hoping he will have a similar amount. The Cardinals will lose four starters from this season, including leading scorers Ryan Conwell and Mikel Brown Jr.

Some players have already announced they will enter the Transfer Portal, and just today, South Carolina guard Eli Ellis announced he will enter the portal, and it should be a name Louisville stays away from.

Louisville basketball should stay away from Eli Ellis

There are a couple of reasons why Ellis might stand out to Kelsey and the Cardinals, but the biggest reason Louisville might be drawn to recruit the South Carolina transfer is that he is the older brother of Isaac Ellis, the Cardinals' 2027 commitment.

Isaac is a 3-star commitment in the 2027 cycle and currently ranks No. 107 in the nation and No. 24 among point guards. Recruiting brothers is a popular trend in college sports, as many brothers play together. The obvious over in college basketball right now are the Boozer twins, Cameron and Cayden, who play for Duke.

However, if Louisville wants to go compete for an ACC Title and try to snap its Sweet Sixteen and Final Four drought, it should stay away from Eli. While South Carolina showed in high school that he is an elite scorer, at the college level, he has had a hard time scoring as he did then.

Ellis was a 4-star prospect out of high school and ranked as high as No. 69 in the 2025 recruiting class and No. 9 among point guards. He played for Moravian Prep and the YNG Dreamerz in Overtime Elite and went viral during his time at Overtime Elite. He won back-to-back MVPs after he averaged 32.1 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. In the 2023-24 season, he averaged 33.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.8 steals per game.

However, last year, the 4-star freshman struggled at South Carolina, shooting 38.6 percent from the field and 28.0 percent from beyond the arc. He averaged 8.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 turnovers per game. While the Cardinals will need to add depth for their backcourt, Ellis freshman season should keep Kelsey and the Cardinals away from the former 4-star and should have them looking elsewhere.

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