Louisville PG Mikel Brown Jr. to Resume Practicing This Week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A return to action for Mikel Brown Jr. might finally be on the horizon.

The star freshman point guard for the Louisville men's basketball announced Monday on social media that after receiving "great news," he will be returning to practice this upcoming week.

"One step closer," he said on Twitter/X. "Been working extremely hard to get back as soon as possible and after great news, I will be practicing this week. See yall soon."

Earlier in the day, head coach Pat Kelsey said on the weekly ACC Coaches Call that the Cardinals were hopeful that they would be able to get Brown back in practice at some point this week. Louisville will not be back in action until this Saturday when they host Virginia Tech.

"He's getting better," Kelsey said. "He's working really hard in his rehab. We're hoping, at some point this week, to start getting him back into practice some, and see how things progress from there."

Brown suffered a lower back injury in Louisville's game against Memphis back on Dec. 13, and has missed the last eight games due to the injury. The Cardinals are just 4-4 with Brown sidelined, and had started the season 9-1 and ranked as high as No. 6 in the AP Poll.

Earlier this month, amid social media rumors that he could be sitting out due to NIL or his draft stock, as well as a published report that his injury came in the weight room, Brown clarified things on both front.

"Just to set the record straight, my back injury DID NOT happen in the weight room." Brown said in a post on Twitter/X. "This situation is something that happened before the Memphis game and I took some hard falls in the Memphis game that made it worse.

"Coach Eli is my guy, he hasn’t and never will do anything to put my health at risk. He has been the main person working with me everyday to get back on the court as soon as possible! I had to let everyone know the truth. I will be back soon."

Brown has been a sensational playmakers when on the floor for Louisville. Suiting up in 10 games, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard is averaging 16.6 points, 5.1 assists and 3.0 rebounds. The former five-star prospect has been touch-and-go as a shooter at times, connecting on 38.1 percent of his total field goal attempts and 26.8 percent of his three-point tries.

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