Louisville basketball and head coach Pat Kelsey have been at work since he was hired on, since he had to basically overhaul the entire roster. The roster is looking mostly complete going into the 2nd half of May, but Louisville could use another big man. Especially one that focuses on defense and rebounding.
Ugonna Onyenso could be the perfect fit, and be the last piece for Kelsey's first year roster. He recently put out his top 5 schools left on his list according to Joe Tipton of On3 in this post:
A shift in the recruitment of Kentucky transfer center Ugonna Onyenso (On3+): https://t.co/AaK71c0OcX pic.twitter.com/XDvTXB376r
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) May 15, 2024
There are also other reports that Louisville is in his top 3 or 4 as well, but those reports are not as credible as Tipton is from On3, so I'm going to take this post as the truth for now.
Onyenso spent his last two seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats, where he averaged 3.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and shot 55% from the floor last season. That may not jump out when just looking at his basic stats, but Onyenso also averaged 2.8 blocks per game last season. While doing this in under 19 minutes per game last season as well.
Onyenso is a defensive and rebounding presence rather than being consistent offensively, and that is something that would put the Cardinals roster perfectly together in 2024-25.
It is not expected that Onyenso will pick Louisville over teams like UNC and Alabama, just based on inside information and everything that I know. However, that does not mean Louisville is totally out of the question entirely. Transfer portal decisions can change in a matter of hours, and that is no different with Onyenso.
It would be perfect if Onyenso would come to Louisville and play under Pat Kelsey, however, I know Kelsey will find another big man transfer if this doesn't work out.