Pat Kelsey’s revamped Louisville roster is getting some serious national respect

Fall arrived quickly, meaning Louisville Cardinals fans are one step closer to seeing this highly anticipated Pat Kelsey squad in action. Cards fans are eager to see this team for the first time; Louisville played an exhibition game in the Bahamas, but it wasn’t televised, so UofL fans still haven't seen what this unit looks like.

Flory Bidunga’s latest highlight could be a scary sign for the rest of college basketball

The Cardinals made major offseason changes, with Kelsey making key adjustments to how he builds his roster. The Cardinals attacked the Transfer Portal hard, adding eight transfers and earning one of the nation's best portal classes. Louisville added 11 players this offseason, including multiple 5- and 4-stars, and UofL fans hope this is the year they end their Final Four drought.

Fox Sports analyst Casey Jacobsen recently released his preseason top 25 as the season approaches, and Cardinals fans will be pleased with where he has Louisville.

Louisville basketball ranked inside Fox Sports' Top 10

Most reporters and media outlets rank the Cardinals inside the top 15, but when you look at this roster from top to bottom, Kelsey truly has what we believe is a top-10 team in the nation. The Cardinals' major flaw under Kelsey has been physicality and the frontcourt, but this offseason he addressed both and built a top-10 roster, and Jacobsen agrees, ranking them No. 8.

Kelsey added much-needed frontcourt presence with two 5-stars, Flory Bidunga and Obinna Ekezie Jr. Both 5-stars can make their presence known at the rim, with Bidunga averaging 2.6 blocks per game at Kansas and Ekezie averaging 1.8 blocks per game in his junior season last year. On top of the two centers, Kelsey added 4-star transfer Karter Knox, a former 5-star who could emerge as one of Kelsey’s best defenders.

On top of those three key additions, Kelsey replaced Mikel Brown Jr. with former 5-star and No. 18 overall transfer Jackson Shelstad. The Oregon transfer was trending toward having his best season last year before he got hurt, averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game. Joining Shelstad in the backcourt are UNC transfer Seth Trimble (hopefully) and Kelsy’s biggest return, former 5-star Adrian Wooley.

Another big reason this Cardinals team is truly a top-ten team is its depth. Kelsey added 4-star transfer Alvaro Folgueiras, a stretch forward who will space the floor for Bidunga and this offense. Along with 4-star transfer De'Shayne Montgomery, who may be Kelsey’s biggest sleeper addition. Montgomery is 6-foot-4 and is known as a two-way player who can be a key lockdown defender for Louisville, but he's also super athletic and can make a major impact on offense, as Louisville fans saw in the Bahamas when he led the team in scoring with an impressive 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Other notable additions include 4-star freshman Boyuan Zhang, who could be Kelsey’s lethal 3-point shooter, and 7-foot-5 Gabe Dynes.

So, this Cardinals roster is loaded and deep. And while Louisville didn’t live up to expectations last year, this team is different, and Louisville fans have reason to believe this could be the first Cardinals team to reach the Final Four since 2013.

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