Louisville Men's Basketball Officially Announces Addition of Guard Noah Locke
(Photo of Noah Locke: Ben Queen - USA TODAY Sports)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program has officially announced the additional of Florida transfer guard Noah Locke, as he has signed a financial aid agreement to play with the Cardinals, the program announced Tuesday. He committed to Louisville earlier this week, choosing them over Providence, UConn, Oregon and NC State.
"We are excited to add Noah to our roster for the coming season," head coach Chris Mack said. “Our staff is very familiar with Noah having heavily recruited him out of high school. Noah is one of the best pure shooters in the country who can do it on the move, off the dribble and in transition. His college experience at the SEC level has him prepared to provide a huge boost for our program. We are thrilled to add a player of Noah's caliber to the backcourt."
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.
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 Heijdenwere 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.
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:
Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter - @LouisvilleOnSI and Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp
