Report: Louisville Reaches Out to '23 Purdue Decommit Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - There's a new target on the Class of 2023 big board for the Louisville men's basketball program.
Just hours after Montverde (Fla.) Academy point guard Dravyn "Dra" Gibbs-Lawhorn announced Wednesday that he would be backing off of his verbal commitment to Purdue, the Cardinals were one of a handful of teams to reach out to him, according to Rivals' Travis Graf.
Despite playing for a different high school in each of his three years up to this point, it seemed inevitable that Gibbs-Lawhorn would still end up at Purdue. He's a West Lafayette native, and had been committed to the Boilermakers since last December.
"I wanted reopen my recruitment to see what other offers I had out there," Gibbs-Lawhorn told 247Sports' Brandon Jenkins. "I talked with (Purdue Head) Coach (Matt) Painter this morning and he said if I was going to reopen my recruitment, then that is what I need to do."
Louisville hasn't been the only team contact Gibbs-Lawhorn in the limited time he has been back on the open market. Gonzaga, Pitt, Texas, Villanova, NC State, Memphis, Indiana and Utah have also reached out, according to Graf.
It would be a big win for the Cardinals should he commit to them. The 6-foot-1, 165-pound combo guard ranks as the No. 48 prospect in the Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite.
The Cardinals do have a connection to Gibbs-Lawhorn that they could use to gain ground in the recruitment. He was a teammate of La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere small forward, and Louisville commit, Kaleb Glenn on Indy Heat during the summer on the Nike EYBL circuit.
Glenn is Louisville's only commit in the 2023 cycle, but the program is after several prospects in the class. They are most notably after Camden (N.J.) HS teammates point guard D.J. Wagner and center Aaron Bradshaw, but are also deep in the mix for guys like Woodland Hills (Calif.) Taft point guard A.J. Johnson and Bloomfield Hills (Mich.) Brother Rice small forward Curtis Williams.
(Photo of Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn via Inside the Hall)
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report
You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter
