Florida Transfer Guard Noah Locke Commits to Louisville
(Photo of Toumani Camara, Noah Locke: Dale Zanine - USA TODAY Sports)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Former Florida guard Noah Locke has committed to the Louisville men's basketball program, he announced Sunday.
Locke chose the Cardinals over Providence, UConn, Oregon and NC State, and could be immediately eligible to play for the 2021-22 season if the NCAA passes the proposed one-time transfer rule.
The 6-foot-3, 203-pound shooting guard started in 24 of the Gators' 25 games this past season as a junior, averaging 10.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.7 assists. He was also Florida's top three-point scorer, sinking 57 threes and connecting on 40.4% of his three-point attempts, leading the team in both categories.
The Baltimore, Md. native brings a lot of experience to a young Cardinals team, as he has started in 79 times in 92 career games as a Gator. He also shot 43.2% on three pointers during his sophomore season, and set Florida’s freshman record with 81 made three the year before. Locke has scored 933 career points and connected on 217 career three-pointers.
Coming out of high school, Locke was a consensus four-star prospect in the Class of 2018, and ranked as high as the No. 64 player in the nation according to Rivals. He is the McDonough School's all-time leading scorer with 2,350 career points.
Louisville has been deep into roster management mode since the end of the season. Sophomore forward Aidan Igiehon and Josh Nickelberry entered the transfer portal, Class of 2021 signees Bobby Pettiford and Eric Van Der Heijden were both released from their National Letter of Intent, and graduate transfer guard Charles Minlend confirmed he would not be returning for another year.
Fortunately, the Cardinals are still welcoming six newcomers next year including Locke. Wing Michael James and center Roosevelt Wheeler are signees from the high school ranks, point guard El Ellis is coming from JUCO, and forward Matt Cross & guard Jarrod West are transferring from Miami & Marshall, respectively.
Senior forward/center Malik Williams already stated that he will return for a final season with Louisville, and graduate transfer guard Carlik Jones recently confirmed he is testing the NBA Draft waters, but is leaving open a return to Louisville. The program is still awaiting a decision from sophomore guard David Johnson, who is widely expected to depart for the NBA.
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