Report: '22 PG Fabio Basili Commits to Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program finally has another scholarship guard on the roster for next season.
Fabio Basili, a point guard who played for Oak Ridge HS in Orlando, Fla., has committed to and signed with the Cardinals, according to On3's Joe Tipton.
“I chose Louisville because it was the best environment for me to succeed, from the coaching staff to my education,” Basili told Tipton.
Though listed as a Class of 2023 prospect on various recruiting services, he told Floyd Street's Finest's Jeff Greer back in June that he in indeed in the Class of 2022, and had been participating in AAU events "as an unsigned senior."
Basili's recruitment came out of seemingly nowhere. He wasn't on anyone's radar at all, until he took an official visit to the Cardinals in mid-June. While the recruitment escalated extremely quickly, there is a connection to the current squad, as Basili was high school teammates with current Louisville wing Mike James.
He had been ready to commit to Louisville for quite some time, but had to get transcript issues from Oak Ridge ironed out before he could officially join the roster. UofL's deadline to enroll is Aug. 26.
The 6-foot-5, 165-pound guard is not a nationally ranked prospect according to the 247Sports Composite, with only a pair of scholarship offers from SMU and TCU to his name. But it was not from a lack playing hard, as he put up 20.0 points, 4.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in his senior season at Oak Ridge. He also shot 55 percent from the field and 39 percent on three-point attempts.
Basili also had a solid showing at the Nike EYBL session in Louisville earlier this offseason. In five games for the Florida Rebels, he averaged 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, while shooting 17-40 from the field, 3-8 on threes and 8-15 from the free throw line.
With Basili's commitment, Louisville gains some much needed depth in the backcourt. With Jarrod West, Noah Locke and Mason Faulkner all departing, the only remaining true scholarship guard on the roster was El Ellis.
While the Cardinals would greatly benefit from adding one more guard to the roster ahead of the 2022-23 season, guys like James and Kamari Lands can take reps at guard, and at minimum, Basili's addition makes it so where not all the backcourt responsibilities fall on Ellis' shoulders.
Louisville has just six returners from the 2021-22 season, a year where they went 13-19 for their first losing season in over two decades, and mutually separated with head coach Chris Mack. Ellis, James, Sydney Curry, Jae'Lyn Withers, J.J. Traynor and Roosevelt Wheeler all announced that they would return for next season.
After being hired by the university on Mar. 18, head coach Kenny Payne has is close to finalizing the Cardinals' 2022-23 roster. On top of Basili, he added Tennessee transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, 2022 prospect Devin Ree, while also getting Lands - a longtime '22 commit - to sign his Letter of Intent.
(Photo of Fabio Basili via University of Louisville Athletics)
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
