Louisville basketball played in its first game as a team on Tuesday against the Bahamas Raw Talent team in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League at the Baha Mar Resort and secured a dominant 101-52 victory. While Louisville basketball fans weren’t able to watch, the Cardinals fans followed the stats and updates and liked what they saw from many players.
The biggest standout was the 5-star transfer, Flory Bidunga. The Kansas transfer dominated both ends of the floor, scoring 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting, while also adding 10 rebounds, six blocks and four assists. Other players who stood out included the Dayton transfer De’Shayne Montgomery, who scored a Cardinal-high 20 points, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.
And then there was one underrated Cardinal who continues to impress Louisville fans. The 3-star commit Isaac Ellis isn’t expected to be a star or a huge role player this upcoming season, but the freshman continues to play hard and bring the energy Louisville fans love.
Isaac Ellis continues to make a name for himself with Louisville
The Cardinals added three freshmen this offseason from the 2026 recruiting class. The biggest name of the three is the 5-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr., followed by the 4-star small forward Boyuan Zhang, and rounding out the 2026 class for the Cardinals is Ellis.
Ekezie and Zhang get a lot of the attention, as Ekezie ranks as high as No. 14 in the 2026 recruiting class and Zhang ranks as high as No. 49 in the 2026 cycle. But Ellis is flying under the radar as the elite Overtime Elite guard was a 3-star commit that not many are talking about.
Well, Ellis is making an immediate impact on Kelsey and the Louisville fans, as he is earning a reputation as an extremely hard worker and a gritty defender. In yesterday’s exhibition game, Ellis continued to impress Louisville fans with his ability to defend, as he secured five steals in 22 minutes.
Isaac Ellis’ Louisville debut vs Bahamas coming off the bench:
— Overtime Elite (@OvertimeElite) July 29, 2026
5 PTS (1-3 FG)
5 STL
3 REB
3 AST
22 MIN pic.twitter.com/Fk3pnaP5KV
The 3-star freshman added five points, three rebounds and three assists, but his gritty defense is what stands out to Cardinals fans so far. Ellis is earning a reputation as an absolute pest on defense, and while he likely won’t get a ton of minutes this upcoming season, he is getting attention from Cardinals fans leading up to the season.
In high school, while Ellis was known for being gritty on defense, his offense stood out. He won the OTE MVP award after averaging a dominant 29.3 points, 8.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game this past season. The 3-star freshman also broke multiple league records, including the most points in a single game after he scored an eye-popping 56 points.
Whether Ellis gets minutes this upcoming season or not, he is proving he can compete at this level and is earning respect and some recognition from the Cardinals faithful.
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