Louisville Men's Basketball 2023-24 Roster Outlook 1.0

A first look at how the next season's roster could look following the conclusion of their 2022-23 season.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It might be roughly two weeks since the Louisville men's basketball program's first season under head coach Kenny Payne concluded, but it's never too early to take a glimpse into the future and look at how the 2023-24 roster could shake out.

Between players moving on to the next step in their respective careers, recruits donning the red and black for the first time, and players entering and exiting the transfer portal, very little is set in stone when it comes to how Team 110 will look like when they lace 'em up for the first time.

Departures and Arrivals

Less than a week after Louisville's season came to an end after falling to Boston College in the ACC Tournament, the roster already started to change. Just three days into the offseason, the Cardinals lost every member of their 2022 recruiting class, as forward Kamari Lands, forward Devin Ree and guard Fabio Basili all entered the transfer portal.

So far, Louisville has lost six players via the portal. Senior forward Sydney Curry, sophomore center Roosevelt Wheeler and redshirt junior forward Jae'Lyn Withers have all opted to enter the portal not long after the three freshman did.

Don't be surprised to see more outgoing roster pieces over the coming weeks, and potentially days. Guard El Ellis has yet to make a decision on if he will take advantage of his COVID waiver year, not to mention that Louisville has yet to get any public concrete decisions from any current members that they are returning for next year. In theory, it's entirely possible that others could decide to move on as well.

That being said, Payne and his staff have been hard at work on the roster management front since the season ended, and it resulted in a red-hot recruiting stretch. Last week alone, the program landed five-star 2023 center Dennis Evans, former Illinois guard Skyy Clark, and 2023 reclass guard/forward Trentyn Flowers.

On top of those additions, the program is still welcoming in four-star wings Kaleb Glenn and Curtis Williams Jr., as well as JUCO guard Koron Davis as part of their five-man 2023 class. As of right now, Louisville has two open scholarships for their 2023-24 roster.

Projected Depth Chart

Given all that we know now about the current state of Louisville's roster, below is an early look into what the depth chart next year could look like:

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Small Forward	Power Forward	Center
Skyy Clark	El Ellis	Mike James	Brandon Huntley-Hatfield	Emmanual Okorafor
	Trentyn Flowers	Kaleb Glenn	J.J. Traynor	Dennis Evans
	Koron Davis	Curtis Williams Jr.

Louisville will most certainly have to add more guards to the roster, but it was good first step to land Skyy Clark. He'll have to cut down on his turnovers and work on his defense, but he will still in all likelihood be the Cardinals' starter at the point regardless of what El Ellis' decides. Speaking of Ellis, Louisville needs to have a contingency plan in place through the portal in case he does decide to begin his professional career - and that's not just because he was their leading scorer. Trentyn Flowers has taken a lot of reps at the two guard in high school and Koron Davis has stuffed the stat sheet at the JUCO level, but both are heading into the first reps at the D1 level. Not to mention that Flowers is a reclass and Davis is still an unranked prospect. 

As it currently stands, the wing looks like it'll be Louisville's biggest strength heading into next season due in part to both returning production and roster versatility. Mike James was able to rebound fantastically from his Achilles injury to average double figures, J.J. Traynor took a large step forward, and there is a lot of promise in the three incoming freshman of Flowers, Kaleb Glenn and Curtis Williams. However, James and Traynor will have to take significant strides over the offseason when it comes to their defense and rebounding, and time will tell how the newcomers on the wing develop. That being said, you have to like Louisville's upside here given that most of this group isn't pigeon-holed to just being a small forward, and that allows for some creative lineups.

It will be interesting to see to see how the front court develops heading into year two of the Payne era, considering it was regarded as Louisville's strength this time last year. This is especially true at the four spot. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield was extremely inconsistent even before his injury, and while Traynor was one of the very few bright spots this past season, his lanky frame sometimes limits what he can do down in the paint. Center will be even more interesting considering both players here - Emmanuel Okorafor and Dennis Evans - are both still raw prospects. Time will tell how much the offseason will benefit Okorafor after joining midseason, and Evans - a 7-foot-1 defensive specialist - needs to continue adding weight and improving his play on offense.

(Photo of Louisville Players: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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