This mid-major star could look great playing for Louisville next season

With the Louisville Cardinals' season now over, it's time to look at talent that could get them even further next season, and as the Cardinals were focused on their own NCAA Tournament opponents, some mid-major players emerged as March Madness stars, and one in particular would look great in red.

Although his No. 15 seed Furman fell short to No. 2 UConn 82-71 after a valiant effort in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night, freshman guard Alex Wilkins not only was the reason the Huskies were on upset watch, but proved he could help get the Cardinals further than the first weekend of March Madness if Pat Kelsey is able to lure him to the Power Four level.

Pat Kelsey should start targeting Furman's Alex Wilkins immediately after NCAA Tournament showing

Against some of the best talent he could see at any level of college basketball, Wilkins tied a team-high with 21 points, plus tallied four assists and a rebound, against UConn. He did most of his damage from beyond the arc while making four three-pointers in eight tries.

That was only a glimpse of what Wilkins had done all season in his first year of college basketball after obviously being under-recruited out of Brooks School in Massachusetts. He led Furman this season with 17.8 points and 4.7 assists a game. He shot an outstanding 46% from the floor and 32.8% from three-point range while making 1.85 shots from deep a game.

Those numbers, especially from outside, are even more appealing when considering Wilkins is listed at a towering 6-foot-5. That's a dangerous combo and a challenge to stop whether it's a mid-major defender across from him or an NBA prospect, which Wilkins could eventually develop into. And Kelsey could make Wilkins especially dangerous in his system.

The Transfer Portal for college basketball doesn't open up this year until April 7, the day after the national championship game, and will remain open for 15 days until April 21. Wilkins also hasn't made any intentions known of even transferring.

However, it's naive to believe connections aren't already being made when a new talent is discovered, and plenty of major programs have surely taken notice of Wilkins. And it's hard for a player like Wilkins to resist the opportunity of jumping to the next level.

The trick now is for Kelsey to be Wilkins' top option once he's searching.