Louisville Officially Announces Addition of Guard J'Vonne Hadley

Hadley is the fourth newcomer to be officially signed by the Cardinals.

Mar 24, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Colorado Buffaloes guard J'Vonne Hadley (1) / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program has officially signed former Colorado guard J'Vonne Hadley, the program announced Tuesday.

Hadley is the fourth of 13 newcomers for the 2024-25 season to be officially announced by the Cardinals, following guard Reyne Scott, center James Scott and guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr. He was also the fourth commitment for new head coach Pat Kelsey following his hiring on Mar. 28.

“J'Vonne is as reliable as any player in this year's portal class,” Kelsey said in a statement . “He's a dogged defender whose overall game has developed at a remarkable pace over of his career. J'Vonne possesses a tireless work ethic. He was cornerstone on a team that advanced in the NCAA tournament and played almost every minute of those three tournament games. He's a grown man that comes to The Ville with a chip on his shoulder and a hunger to win.”

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound shooting guard played a key role in one of Colorado's best seasons in program history. Playing and starting all but one of the Buffaloes' 37 games, Hadley averaged 11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while also shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 83.9 percent from the free-throw line. He was also 41.7 percent on threes, but took just 48 attempts.

The St. Paul, Minn. native helped Colorado go 26-11 overall on the 2023-24 season, which set a school record for most wins, and reach the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Tournament. In six games between the Pac-12 and NCAA Tournament, Hadley averaged 8.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.

Hadley spent his true freshman season at Northeastern, then played the 2021-22 season at the JUCO level with Indian Hills Community College. There, he earned NJCAA First-Team All-American honors, averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field.

He joined Colorado ahead of the 2022-23 season, and averaged 8.0 points and 5.9 rebounds over 22 games that year. In 71 career games and 55 starts at the D1 level, Hadley has totaled 603 points, 359 rebounds, 118 assists and 66 steals.

Not long after the end of Louisville's disastrous 2023-24 campaign, one which resulted in the firing of second-year head coach Kenny Payne, the Cardinals' roster began to flip. All 12 of Louisville's scholarship players entered the portal, with only walk-on guard Aidan McCool in line to return.

Fortunately, Kelsey has done a fantastic job of roster construction since his hiring, bringing in 12 Division I transfers and one high school prospect. Their transfer portal class ranks No. 1 in the nation, according to On3.

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