Louisville Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield 'Doubtful' to Return Soon
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It looks like the Louisville men's basketball program is going to have to wait a little bit longer until starting forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield makes his return to the court.
Speaking to the media Tuesday ahead of the Cardinals' Wednesday night matchup at Boston College, head coach Kenny Payne was asked about his expectations regarding the sophomore's recovery from a right foot injury, and said that it was "doubtful" that he would return soon.
"We're still waiting (on more information). We're just waiting to see," he said. "I would like to say that we're going to have him here soon, but it's doubtful. That's the best way I can answer that."
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound big man has missed Louisville's last two games against North Carolina and Pitt, both of which were blowout losses. Payne has previously mentioned that he did not know when Huntley-Hatfield suffered the injury, nor does he know the severity of it.
Coming over from Tennessee this past offseason after spending his first year at the collegiate level with the Volunteers, Huntley-Hatfield had been inconsistent at times, but has also displayed flashes of brilliance up to this point of the season.
Starting all 17 of the games prior to last Saturday vs, UNC, he leads Louisville in rebounding at 6.0 boards per game, with his 7.5 points per game coming in at fourth, and his 47.6 shooting percentage trailing only Sydney Curry's 57.6 percent amongst players who average double-digit minutes played per game.
Huntley-Hatfield had a minor role at Tennessee through the first three months of the 2021-22 season, but was inserted into the starting rotation for the final 13 games of the season following a season-ending injury to Olivier Nkamhoua. He averaged 3.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game on 45.4 percent shooting in his lone season with the Vols.
The Clarksville, Tenn. native was a five-star prospect coming out of high school, and ranked as the No. 26 player in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite. He was formerly the No. 4 player in the Class of 2022, according to ESPN, before reclassifying to 2021.
Louisville (2-16, 0-7 ACC) will be back in action at Boston College (9-11, 3-6 ACC) on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 9:00 p.m. EST.
(Photo of Brandon Huntley-Hatfield: Matt Stone - Louisville Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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