Looking Back at Louisville Men's, Women's Basketball's 2019 Recruiting Classes

Taking a look back at the Cardinals' signing classes in 2019, and how they panned out at Louisville.

Dec 26, 2020; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard David Johnson (13) / Louisville Courier-Journal-USA TODAY

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2019 recruiting cycle for the Louisville men's and women's basketball programs was one that was full of potential.

On the men's side of things, after one year on the job, the Class of 2019 served as then-head coach Chris Mack's first full recruiting cycle at Louisville. What he wound up with was the No. 12 class in the country, at the time dubbed as the "Super Six" locally.

As for the women, head coach Jeff Walz didn't have a ton of open scholarships for his 2019-20 team. However, he still was able to land a pair of top-100 prospects, including a five-star recruit.

So, how well did Mack and Walz do out on the high school recruiting trail in 2019? Below is every scholarship signee from the class in alphabetical order, their career stats at Louisville, coupled with a brief summary on their tenure:

Men's Basketball

David Johnson

Position: Shooting Guard
UofL Career Stats: 411 points, 186 rebounds, 135 assists, 44.4% field goal percentage, 34.9% three-point percentage (46 games, 23 starts)

Landing Johnson was a massive local recruiting win. The four-star Trinity product was the Seventh Region Player of the Year, a finalist for Kentucky Mr. Basketball and the MVP of the KHSAA Sweet 16. After a bit of a slow start to his true freshman campaign, he took off in the second half of the 2019-20 season. He made 27 appearances and four starts that year, and in the final 15 games of the season, Johnson averaged 8.9 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game. For his sophomore season, he took a step forward as a shooter, scorer and overall player. Starting all but one of Louisville's 20 games during the 2020-21 season, he put up 12.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 38.6 percent on threes. He would declare for the 2021 NBA Draft after the season, and was taken in the second round by the Toronto Raptors with the No. 47 overall pick.

Aidan Igiehon

Position: Center
UofL Career Stats: 26 points, 19 rebounds, 0 assists, 66.7% field goal percentage, 0.0% three-point percentage (19 games, 0 starts)

The native of Dublin, Ireland joined Louisville as someone who possessed a ton of potential and athleticism, but was more of a project considering his limited relative experience. Unfortunately, the "Irish Hulk" never panned out at Louisville or his next two stops. He played in 14 games during his true freshman season, but totaled only 13 points and 17 rebounds in 61 minutes. His role further plummeted as a sophomore, collecting only 13 points and eight rebounds over 41 minutes in five bench appearances. He spent his next two seasons as a role player at Grand Canyon, then played his final year this past season at Abilene Christian.

Josh Nickelberry

Position: Shooting Guard
UofL Career Stats: 37 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 21.7% field goal percentage, 23.1% three-point percentage (24 games, 0 starts)

A McDonald's All-American nominee, Nickelberry was brought in to be Louisville's shooter in the class. Unfortunately, the former four-star prospect could never truly find his stroke while at Louisville. He made 15 appearances as a freshman, but notched just 12 points, three rebounds and an assist over 55 minutes. His sophomore year wasn't much different, playing just nine games and logging only 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists. He would transfer to La Salle where he would play for two seasons, even winning the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year for the 2022-23 season. He spent his final year in college this past season as a rotational piece for Florida State.

Quinn Slazinski

Position: Power Forward
UofL Career Stats: 124 points, 71 rebounds, 11 assists, 42.9% field goal percentage, 23.4% three-point percentage (36 games, 8 starts)

While Slazinski was the lowest-ranked signee in the class (No. 318 overall), he wound up having a really good overall collegiate career. While he played in 16 games as a true freshman, he saw minimal on-court time, putting up just 15 points, 10 rebounds and three assists over 44 minutes. He took a big step forward as a sophomore, becoming the go-to frontcourt bench option and establishing himself as a fan favorite during the 2020-21 season. That year, he played in all 20 games and made eight starts, averaging 6.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He would enter the portal after the season, following Rick Pitino to Iona, where he would play for two seasons. After Pitino left for St. John's last offseason, Slazinski opted to transfer again, playing his final year of eligibility at West Virginia where he averaged 12.3 points per game.

Samuell Williamson

Position: Small Forward
UofL Career Stats: 477 points, 332 rebounds, 64 assists, 46.8% field goal percentage, 26.6% three-point percentage (79 games, 22 starts)

A McDonald's All-American and five-star prospect who ranked as the No. 16 player in the class, Williamson came to Louisville with big expectations. While he was a bit inconsistent as a true freshman, he showed flashes of his potential, putting up 4.4 points and 2.5 rebounds across 31 games and one start. Said potential fully came together during his sophomore season, as he looked much more like the elite prospect he was billed as. His 8.1 rebounds per game led the team and was third in the ACC, also averaging 9.6 points in 18 games and 15 starts. Over the final seven games that year, he averaged a double-double at 10.7 points and 10.9 boards, including a 20-point and 18-rebound outing against GT. However, he regressed during his junior campaign, only averaging 5.6 points and 3.7 rebounds over 30 games and six starts. He opted to jump in the portal after the season, as did several players following the firing of head coach Chris Mack, playing his final two seasons in his hometown of Dallas, Tex. at SMU.

Jae'Lyn Withers

Position: Power Forward
UofL Career Stats: 651 points, 455 rebounds, 50 assists, 45.8% field goal percentage, 34.8% three-point percentage (82 games, 64 starts)

After redshirting his true freshman season, the Withers broke out on in a big way during his first on-court season in 2020-21. The former four-star prospect started all 20 games that season, averaging 10.1 points and 7.7 rebounds and shooting a team-best 55.2 percent from the field, getting named to the ACC All-Freshman Team. However, Withers fell into a massive slump throughout most of the 2021-22 season, finishing that year averaging 5.8 points and 4.6 rebounds over 29 games and 15 starts. After the firing of Mack, Withers opted to stick around for year one under Kenny Payne. While he had his struggles on defense in his final year as a Card, he still put up 8.9 points and 5.3 rebounds during the 2022-23 season. He entered the portal after the season ended, eventually ending up at North Carolina.

Women's Basketball

Nyah Green

Position: Guard/Forward
UofL Career Stats: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 26.3% field goal percentage, 16.7% three-point percentage (5 games, 0 starts)

Landing Green was a big recruiting win for Louisville. She was a five-star prospect, a McDonald's All-American and the No. 12 player in the cycle. However, after she redshirted her first season with the program, Green then went on to play in just 52 minutes over five games during the 2020-21 season. She transferred to Duke after that season, but played in just eight games during the 2021-22 season before being suspended for a "violation of team standards." She has been out of college basketball since.

Norika Konna

Position: Shooting Guard
UofL Career Stats: 293 points, 119 rebounds, 106 assists, 41.0% field goal percentage, 30.2% three-point percentage (94 games, 8 starts)

A native of Sendai, Japan with a plethora of international experience, Konno might not have had a prolific collegiate career, but she was a reliable rotational piece who always had a positive demeanor. A knee injury sidelined her during the second half of her freshman year, but she was still able to average 4.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds in 16 bench appearances. He averages went down a tad during her sophomore season at 3.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists, but did play in all 30 games. These averages then went to 2.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 20 games as a junior. While her 2.4 points and 0.9 rebounds per game as a senior were both career-lows, she still appeared in 28 games and made eight starts. She signed with Denso Iris in Japan after her collegiate career ended.

Ramani Parker

Position: Forward/Center
UofL Career Stats: 66 points, 47 rebounds, 1 assists, 65.9% field goal percentage, 60.0% three-point percentage (31 games, 0 starts)

While Parker wasn't as highly regarded as Green was coming out of high school, she still was ranked as the No. 99 overall player in the cycle. After redshirting her first yeat, she played in 17 games during her first on-court season in 2021-21, averaging 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. She was expected to take the next step for the 2021-22 season, but saw her numbers dip to 1.4 points and 0.6 rebounds per game in 14 appearances and 44 minutes player. She entered the portal after the season, following former assistant coach Sam Purcell to Mississppi State to play her final two years.

(Photo of David Johnson: Louisville Courier-Journal-USA TODAY)

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