Former Louisville Guard/Forward Mike James Announces Transfer Destination

James is the sixth former Cardinal to announce his transfer destination this offseason.

Feb 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mike James (0) / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Two of the Louisville men's basketball program's top players from the 2023-24 season are joining forces.

Former Cardinals guard/forward Mike James announced Tuesday that he has committed to NC State. He's the second Louisville player to transfer to the Wolfpack this offseason, following former forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.

James is now the sixth former Card overall to find his new transfer home. Guard Skyy Clark is heading back home to UCLA, Tre White is going to play for Illinois, J.J. Traynor will finish his career at DePaul while Curtis Williams will continue his at Georgetown.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound wing joined Huntley-Hatfield as one of just two players to start all 32 games for Louisville this past season, and he was one of their top scorers.

Despite shooting just 39.6 percent from the field for the season, he finished third behind Clark and Huntley-Hatfield in points per game at 12.6, and had the second-most made three-pointers on the team at 36. He was also their third-leading rebounder at 5.0 per game, and dished out 1.5 assists per game.

The Orlando, Fla. native joined Louisville ahead of their 2021-22 season, but had to miss the entire year due to a preseason Achilles injury. During his first season in action last year, he was one of the top freshman in the ACC. James was Louisville's second-leading scorer at 10.1 points per game, good for the fourth-best mark in the conference among freshmen. He also secured 3.3 rebounds per game and shot 45.3 percent from the field.

With Louisville in line to return just walk-on guard Hercy Miller from last season, new head coach Pat Kelsey and his staff have hit the ground running out on the recruiting trail since his hiring on Mar. 28. So far, the Cardinals have landed six transfer commitments so far in this cycle.

Guard Reyne Smith and center James Scott are both following Kelsey from Charleston, while James Madison guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr., Colorado guard J'Vonne Hadley, BYU center Aly Khalifa and Washington guard Koren Johnson are also joining the fold.

(Photo of Mike James: Charles LeClaire - USA TODAY Sports)

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