Former Louisville Guard Koron Davis Announces Transfer Destination

The junior is the 12th and final former scholarship Cardinal to find his transfer home.

U of L's Koron Davis (3) / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After being dismissed from the Louisville men's basketball program halfway through the 2023-24 season, Koron Davis has finally found his new home, announcing Tuesday that he has signed with Louisiana.

Davis the 12th and final former scholarship Cardinal to find his new transfer home in this cycle. The lone former Card who has yet to decide their next school is walk-on guard Hercy Miller.

The 6-foot-6, 185-pound guard joined the Cardinals last offseason from LA Southwest. During his sophomore season, Davis averaged 23.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, with his scoring mark ranking third in the California Community College Athletic Association. He also shot 48.1 percent from the field, 33.0 percent on three-point attempts and 81.4 percent at the free throw line.

However, he never played a single minute during the regular season in his lone season at Louisville. The only action he ever saw was nine minutes in the exhibition against Simmons College, where he went 0-for-3 with one rebound, one assist and two turnovers.

On Nov 1, less than a week before the start of the regular season, numerous rumors began to swirl regarding an alleged physical altercation between Davis and head coach Kenny Payne in practice. The rumors were so loud that Louisville wound up releasing a statement to a handful of local media, denying the rumors.

“There was and has been no incident at basketball practice," SID Zach Greenwell told Louisville Report. "UofL had an open practice for athletic department staff with dozens in attendance, this is completely false.”

After not seeing action in Louisville's first two games of the regular season, Davis was noticeably absent from the Cardinals' bench during their win over Coppin State on Nov. 15. When asked about it after the game, Payne said that while it was his decision to keep Davis home, the guard was not in any trouble.

"Koron Davis was my decision not to have him come today," he said. "He’s not in any trouble.”

Not only did Davis not make the subsequent trip to the Empire Classic, he was not even present for the Cardinals' next two home games against New Mexico State on Nov. 26 or Bellarmine on Nov. 29. Or, so that was what Payne told reporters.

A photo that circulated on social media appeared to show Davis sitting in the stands of the KFC Yum! Center for the Cardinals' matchup with the Knights. When asked about the photo the following week, Payne stated that he did not know Davis was physically present for the game. He would then be also absent from the bench in Louisville's games against Virginia Tech and DePaul on Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, respectively.

Then on Dec. 13, UofL put out a statement saying that Davis had informed the Cardinals of his intent to transfer. However, later that day, Davis refuted the statement in a post on Twitter, saying that it was "disheartening and sad."

"I didn’t express to anyone at U of Louisville that I wanted to transfer," Davis wrote. "I never asked to transfer. I enjoy being a Cardinal. The fact an official statement was released giving false information is disheartening and sad."

Louisville would then go on to release a follow-up statement saying that he had actually been dismissed from the team.

“Prior to the program issuing a statement this afternoon, Louisville junior guard Koron Davis was informed that he had been dismissed from the men’s basketball team," the statement read. "Davis has expressed that he intends to continue his college basketball career and would pursue opportunities at another institution. We wish him nothing but the best.”

Following the firing of head coach Kenny Payne, all 12 of Louisville's scholarship players program departed through the portal. They are in line to return just walk-on guard Aidan McCool from last season.

But since new head coach Pat Kelsey's hiring on Mar. 28, he and his staff have hit the ground running out on the recruiting trail, landing 12 transfers and one high school prospect. Louisville's incoming transfer class ranks as the No. 1 portal class in college basketball, according to On3.

(Photo of Koron Davis: Sam Upshaw Jr. - Courier Journal / USA)

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