Louisville's Kasean Pryor to Make Season Debut vs. Jackson State, J'Vonne Hadley Out vs. Tigers

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - One player for the Louisville men's basketball program is finally set to return to action, while another will be on the sidelines for a game.

Forward Kasean Pryor will make his season debut tonight against Jackson State, according to The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman. Additionally, guard J'Vonne Hadley will miss the game against the Tigers due to concussion protocol, the program announced prior to tip-off. Hadley's absence tonight is precautionary, according to On3's William McDermott.

Pryor, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound stretch forward, was recently cleared after tearing his ACL last November, but did not play in the Cardinals' season-opener vs. South Carolina State this past Monday. Head coach Pat Kelsey said during the program's annual media day earlier this month that he did not want to rush Pryor back.

"When that time comes, it will come," Kelsey said. "We don't want to rush it. We want him to come back when he is fully healthy. Once you are fully healthy, it takes time to get back in rhythm after not playing for the better part of a year. I'm excited about where he's at and how he's working."

Pryor joined the program last offseason as a transfer from South Florida, and was expected to be one of the top contributors on the team. However, he wound up missing most of the 2024-25 season, suffering a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee on Nov. 29 in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game vs. Oklahoma.

While Pryor had a bit of trouble finding his shooting stroke last season, he still averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in his seven games and three starts last year. He had the opportunity to return due to the Diego Pavia ruling, and he announced back in late April that he would indeed be running it back with the Cardinals.

The season before with USF, Pryor was the Bulls' third-leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, while also pulling down a team-best 7.9 rebounds. He also averaged 1.8 assists, shot 44.7/35.2/81.5 for the season, and logged 12 double-doubles.

The Chicago, Ill. native played his first two seasons at Boise State, then spent his junior year at Northwest Florida State. There, he started all 35 games, averaging 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

Hadley, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound guard, might not have earned All-ACC honors in his first year as a Cardinal last season, but he played a critical role in their success. He was the only player to start all 35 games, averaged 12.2 points per game, and also led the team in rebounding at 7.3 boards and three-point shooting percentage at 38.1. Hadley also shot 51.8 percent from the field and averaged 1.8 assists per game.

Hadley joined Louisville last offseason as a transfer from Colorado, where he had spent the prior two seasons. He spent his true freshman campaign at Northeastern, then played the 2021-22 season with Indian Hills Community College. There, he earned NJCAA First-Team All-American honors, averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field.

Louisville and Jackson State will tip-off from the KFC Yum! Center on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7:00 p.m. EST.

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