Louisville's Brandon Huntley-Hatfield Returns to Workouts Following Foot Injury

The second year big man, who leads the Cardinals in rebounding, has missed the last six games.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While we still don't know when exactly starting forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield will return to the starting lineup for the Louisville men's basketball program, it sounds like his return will be sooner rather than later.

Speaking Monday on the weekly ACC Coaches Call, head coach Kenny Payne revealed that Huntley-Hatfield has resumed workouts as he recovers from a right-foot injury.

"Brandon worked out this morning," Payne said. "I'm hopeful that, real soon, he'll be a part of it where he can get back into it. But it's good to see him back on the floor this morning."

Huntley-Hatfield has missed the last six games for the Cardinals with an undisclosed injury to his right foot. Prior to Louisville's rematch with Florida State this past Saturday, while he did not participate in warmups, he was not wearing a boot like he had been for the last three weeks. His last game was on Jan. 11 at Clemson.

Coming over from Tennessee this past offseason after spending his first year at the collegiate level with the Volunteers, the 6-foot-10, 250-pound big man has been inconsistent at times, but has also displayed flashes of brilliance up to this point of the season.

Starting all 17 of the games prior to his injury, he still leads Louisville in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game, with his 7.5 points per game coming in at fourth. He's also shooting 47.6 percent from the field and is 5-for-15 on three-point attempts.

Huntley-Hatfield had a minor role at Tennessee through the first three months of the 2021-22 season, but was inserted into the starting rotation for the final 13 games of the season following a season-ending injury to Olivier Nkamhoua. He averaged 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game on 45.4 percent shooting in his lone season with the Vols.

The Clarksville, Tenn. native was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, and ranked as the No. 26 player in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite. He was formerly the No. 4 player in the Class of 2022, according to ESPN, before reclassifying to 2021.

Louisville (3-20, 1-11 ACC) will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 7 when they head up to Pitt for a rematch. Tip-off against the Panthers is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.

(Photo of Brandon Huntley-Hatfield: Matt Stone - Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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