2021 Louisville Basketball Recruiting Board: Mid-May Update
It's been an interesting recruiting month for the Cardinals. Once they found a pair of graduate transfers to fill the holes left by departing talent, head coach Chris Mack and the rest of the Louisville men's basketball coaching staff shifted their focus back to high school.
The recent Notice of Allegations levied against the program didn't deter the recruiting efforts, as a flurry of scholarship offers ensued in the beginning of this month. As of May 19, Louisville has extended scholarship offers to 24 uncommitted Class of 2021 recruits.
So who holds offers now? Let's take a look:
| Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Hunter Sallis | Trevor Keels | Aminu Mohammed | Trey Kaufman | Efton Reid |
Jalen Warley | Malaki Branham | Harrison Ingram | Mouhamed Lamine Mbaye | Charles Bediako |
Tyrese Hunter | Matthew Cleveland | Quincy Allen | Roosevelt Wheeler | |
Bobby Pettiford | Dallan Coleman | Michael James | Micawber Etienne | |
Elbert Ellis | Jordan Hawkins | |||
JD Davison | Jahmai Mashack | |||
Jaden Akins | Blake Wesley |
Point Guard
Two point guards that new additions to the mix are both Tyrese Hunter and Bobby Pettiford, Jr. Both are smaller than what you would expect from a Chris Mack-led system, but their scoring and ball handling abilities more than make up for it. The Cards are still very much in the mix for top 30 prospects Jalen Warley & Hunter Sallis, and it appears to be a two-horse race between Louisville & NC State for JUCO product Elbert "El" Ellis.
Shooting Guard
Mack has always preferred long and athletic two-guards that can also play on the wing, and freshly-offered shooting guard Jahmai Mashack certainly fits that bill. Elsewhere, the recruiting efforts for other off-ball guards are starting to reach a crescendo. 247Sports seems to indicate that it will be a battle with Florida State to land top 30 prospect Matthew Cleveland. Jordan Hawkins seems to be in good standing with Louisville, considering lead recruiter assistant coach Mike Pegues is from Hawkins' alma mater of DeMatha Catholic (MD.).
Small Forward
It seems that every week, a new program gets involved with five-star SG/SF Aminu Mohammed. Louisville still remain in good standing though, as Mack was the first coach to reach out to him when the COVID-19 pandemic started. Additionally, the Cards made the top 10 for fellow five-star product Harrison Ingram, and the latest '21 scholarship offer went out to top 50 prospect Quincy Allen.
Power Forward
There's been a bit of an interesting development at the power forward spot, as the Cardinals were the first to extend an offer to unranked Senegalese "hybrid forward" Mouhamed Lamine Mbaye, who plays ball here in Louisville.at Aspire Academy. Not much else going on here though, as the Cards' lone '21 commitment is from Top 40 power forward Bryce Hopkins. Louisville remains in the mix for Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year Trey Kaufman.
Center
Not much has changed here. The big man scholarship count remains at four, including five-star, top 20 center Efton Reid, who visited Louisville this past February. Though with senior forward/center Malik Williams set to graduate after next season and sophomore Aidan Igiehon's progress as a collegiate player a hot topic of debate, in can imagine this number will grow over the ensuing weeks and months
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