Louisville’s Roosevelt Wheeler Returning for 2022-23 Season

The true freshman center is the sixth and final Cardinal to announce his return for next season.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men’s basketball program now has complete clarification as to who will be coming back for the 2022-23 season.

Roosevelt Wheeler, a center whose role fluctuated throughout his true freshman campaign, announced on social media Friday that he will be returning to the program for next year.

Wheeler posted a graphic to Instagram of him surrounded by a bouquet of roses with the message "4 The Ville", a play on his jersey number, accompanied by the caption "Foe stayin don’t worry."

He joins Sydney Curry, El Ellis, Mike James, Jae'Lyn Withers and J.J. Traynor as players who have confirmed that they would be coming back for next season to play for recently-hired head coach Kenny Payne. He was the last scholarship player to make a decision on his future with the Cardinals, with every other player either graduating or entering the transfer portal.

Despite coming off of an Achilles injury suffered in high school, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound big man showed real promise in the first half of the 2021-22 season. Against Maryland and Mississippi State down in the Bahamas, he combined eight points and four rebounds in 17 minutes as Louisville won the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship.

After his performance against Western Kentucky, where he finished with eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and played a career-high 20 minutes while matched up against 7-foot-5 center Jamarion Sharp, then-head coach Chris Mack declared that Wheeler would be the go-to big man behind Malik Williams.

“He is by far the biggest in terms of all the other fives, the most mobile, the best hands," Mack said. "We're gonna have to play through his mistakes at times, but man, he made some plays against Western."

Despite showing clear promise due to his combination of size, mobility and athleticism, the Richmond, Va. native was relegated to mainly the bench from that point on.

After playing in nine of Louisville’s first 11 games, he only played in 12 of their final 21 games after their matchup at WKU. He scored just eight total points in those 12 games, and only notched double-digit minutes at Notre Dame, where he played 13. Wheeler finished the season averaging 1.6 points and 1.7 points in 21 games.

Prior to his Achilles injury during his senior year, Wheeler averaged 15.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game as a junior for John Marshall High School. He was named First-Team All-State and All-Region, and helped John Marshall win two state titles in three years.

With his decision to return, the Cardinals now have a front court that is full of potential. Curry and Withers are obviously the starters down low, as of now, but with Payne and assistant coach Danny Manning’s combined prowess when it comes to developing big men, there is reason to believe the painted area could be a strength of Louisville’s next season.

Louisville is also waiting on a concrete decision from Class of 2022 commit Kamari Lands, who has yet to sign an NLI but has hinted he wants to remain a Cardinal.

(Photo of Roosevelt Wheeler: Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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