Great Osobor's Transfer Decision is Not Great for Louisville
By Caleb Hall
Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey has been looking for some much needed depth on all sides of the roster for next season, but the #1 need right now is big men, and Louisville struck out again with Great Ososbor.
Osobor was a big target for Louisville in the past couple weeks, as he visited on Derby Weekend, but also left Louisville without a commitment. Osobor's former head coach at Utah State took the open job at Washington this offseason, and ultimately he decided his former coach to Washington to reunite with Danny Sprinkle.
BREAKING: Great Osobor, the top-available player in the transfer portal, has committed to Washington, George Langberg of GSL Sports Group told ESPN.
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 13, 2024
Osobor will be the highest-paid known player in college basketball, with 2 million dollars of NIL deals already in place. pic.twitter.com/W6EwRj65PC
Kelsey and Louisville were giving Osobor as much as he wanted when regarding NIL money, and his decision likely came down to his preferences rather than an all out bidding war. From sources around college basketball, Osobor was being offered upwards of 1.5 million from Louisville to play here.
Osobor would have been a great piece for Kelsey in year 1, especially given that the center and forward depth is lacking as of late. However, Kelsey still has several players lined up with visits, and not to mention that paying a player 1.5 million coming from a non power-5 conference with a new coach would have been a risk in itself anyways.
Kelsey still has the time and resources to assemble this roster, but time is slowly running out for Louisville. However, I still have faith that Kelsey will get the roster to where it needs to be by the end of the month.