Louisville basketball made its long-awaited debut last night against the Kansas Jayhawks in a highly anticipated exhibition game. The Cards fell 90-82 in this thrilling preseason matchup, but it's worth noting that Louisville wasn't at full strength.
The Cards were without a couple of players, as Kasean Pryor is still recovering from his torn ACL injury from last season, and newcomer Mouhamed Camara was sidelined for redshirt reasons. After the game, Kelsey expressed that he loves Camara and that he has unlimited potential, but with veteran players at his position himself and Camara's camp, he it is best for him to be redshirted and to keep his year of eligibility.
As for Pryor, Kelsey gave an update on the returning star that the fans are excited about. While the timeline for his return remains unclear, they got some good news on Pryor, which makes it seem like he should be ready for the Cardinals' regular-season opener.
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Pat Kelsey gives major Kasean Pryor injury update
Pryor played in just six full games last season and showed a lot of potential for the Cards, but unfortunately suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Now, he returns for a much-anticipated season, and while he missed last night's exhibition game, he was seen in a full workout with assistant coach Jermaine Ukegbu.
Louisville’s Kasean Pryor doing a pregame workout before the Cards take on Kansas. @WHAS11 pic.twitter.com/RpXdrp7bgX
— Kent Spencer (@WHAS11Kent) October 24, 2025
When Kelsey was asked about his power forward's injury update, the Cardinals fans certainly got some good news regarding where Pryor is with his injury.
"With Kasean, he is getting stronger and stronger and better and better," Kelsey stated after Louisville's loss to Kansas. "He is on track with rehab. He was cleared medically relatively recently, but there are a lot of steps and there is a process to gain the confidence in it again, being able to play full speed, trust that, and then it's getting back to your basketball shape and your basketball rhythm and things like that. When the time is right, we're going to put him back out there."
Kelsey doesn't state when he will return or whether he is cleared for the opening game, but stating that he was medically cleared is an excellent sign of Pryor's progress. Louisville fans are keeping a close eye on this as the Cardinals' frontcourt had an underwhelming debut against Kansas, and hopefully, when Pryor returns, he adds physicality and interior defense.
Pryor is an elite two-way player after averaging 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game last season in his seven games with Louisville. And before transferring to the Cards, he averaged 13.0 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game, shooting 44.7 percent from the floor with the USF Bulls.
It remains unclear when Pryor will return and whether he will be available for the Cardinals' final preseason game against Bucknell on Oct. 28, but after Kelsey's update, Louisville fans feel he should return sooner rather than later.
Related: Louisville's Kasean Pryor drops major injury update with eye-popping dunk video
The regular season for the Cardinals will start Nov. 3 at the KFC Yum! Center, when they take on South Carolina State. For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.