Report: Louisville to Host Elite '23 C Dennis Evans for Official Visit

The top-15 Class of 2023 prospect was recently let out of his National Letter of Intent to Minnesota

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is potentially close to securing a big commitment in the 2023 cycle.

Riverside (Calif.) Hillcrest center Dennis Evans, a former Minnesota commit who is one of the top prospects in the Class of 2023, will be taking an official visit to the Cardinals next weekend, according to 247Sports' Eric Bossi.

Evans gave his verbal pledge to the Golden Gophers last October, signed with them during the November early signing period, but later requested to be released from his National Letter of Intent on Feb. 24. Evans held offers from Kansas, Texas, TCU, Florida State and others before originally committing to Minnesota.

According to 247Sports' Ryan James, some of the factors that played into Evans decision to request out of his NLI was a lack of NIL opportunities, and the Golden Gophers' on-court play. Minnesota currently sports a 8-20 overall record, and is dead last in the Big Ten with a conference record of 2-16.

Landing Evans would be a massive and much needed recruiting win for Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne. While Louisville does have commitments from top-70 wings Kaleb Glenn and Curtis Williams Jr., Louisville has struck out on several of their top targets in the 2023 cycle, such as D.J. Wagner, Aaron Bradshaw, A.J. Johnson, George Washington III and others.

While center is not the biggest current roster need for the Cardinals, he would be an outstanding addition to their recruiting class regardless. The 7-foot-1, 210-pound big man ranks as high as the No. 11 prospect in the nation according to Rivals.

Also sporting a 7-foot-7 wingspan and 9-foot-8 standing reach, Evans is the epitome of a rim protector. During his senior season for Hillcrest, he averaged 14.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.9 blocks per game. He nearly averaged a double-double over his four years at Hillcrest, putting up 10.3 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.4 blocks in 105 career games.

(Photo of Dennis Evans via The U.S. Sun)

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