What Karter Knox Brings to Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The third portal commitment for the Louisville men's basketball program is someone that fans are fairly familiar with.

This past Wednesday, former Arkansas forward Karter Knox announced that he would be transferred to the Cardinals. He's coming off of a Tuesday visit to campus, and joins a portal class that also consists of Kansas' Flory Bidunga and Oregon's Jackson Shelstad.

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound wing was limited by a handful of injuries this past season, but still put together a solid sophomore campaign. Knox averaged 8.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 22 games and 18 starts, while shooting 46.0 percent overall and 37.7 percent on threes.

But beyond his stat lines, what else does Knox bring to the table for the Cardinals?

Considering the position that he plays, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Knox's bread and butter is as a cutter and slasher from the wing. He's got good footwork that allows him to be fairly explosive laterally, especially on his first step off the dribble. He couples that with an upper level euro step that routinely creates space on the drive, but he also isn't afraid to put the ball on the deck if he has to.

Once Knox gets to the paint, he is an extremely crafty finisher around the rim. Not only does he have a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he knows how to contort himself to still be able to get a shot off, even if he is off balance. It also helps that he has the strength to be able to handle high amounts of traffic and contact overall on the drive. He's not a super prolific dunker, but he certainly has the explosiveness and vertical to play above the rim. Put it all together, and Knox is a consistent finisher (shot 53-of-70 on close twos in 2024-25, 31-of-49 in 2025-26) regardless of the angle he takes or the traffic in the paint.

While Knox is a great finisher, he doesn't draw a ton of free throws. He had an average free throw rate of 43.8 as a freshman, but an outright bad FTR of 23.7 this past season. He also saw his free throw shooting dip from 80.2 percent to 72.7. Could this be due to his various injuries suffered? It could be, but it's worth noting.

Knox is not only great as a slasher, he's a valuable asset on the perimeter as well. He excels on catch-and-shoot threes on the wings and in the corners, but has shown that he can shoot off the dribble at times. His jump shot itself is a tad bit slower than what you would like, but it has a high release point thanks to his wingspan. Had he played a full season, his 37.7 three-point shooting percentage would have been good for seventh in the SEC.

As far as other aspects of his offensive game go, he's shown no issue running the floor and attacking to finish in transition. He's flashed a decent step back midrange at times, but he's just 15-of-59 on far twos in his collegiate career. Additionally, he's not much of a playmaker for others, as he has just a 8.0 assist rate in college. That being said, he does do a good job of taking care of the ball, only posting a 14.5 turnover rate this past season.

On the defensive, thanks to frame and athletic intangibles, he's a fairly switchable defender. He can of course guard fellow wings, and can also hold his own against some power forward and guards. Knox actually does some of his best defensive work when playing help-side defense, and can be a true factor in terms of helping force steals/turnovers that lead to transition offense. He's not super aggressive when playing on the ball, but he's at least an average overall defender. Not elite, but not terrible.

Additionally, he's underrated as a rebounder - especially on the defensive end. He not only went from averaging 3.3 as a freshman to 4.5 this past season, he posted a 16.5 defensive rebounding rate.

Of course, the elephant in the room is the fact that Knox is coming off of an injury-plagued season, which included a torn meniscus in his left knee. Fortunately, based on recovery times for surgical procedures here, Knox *should* be available for the start of the preseason after having surgery in mid-February.

Overall, this is a very good and much needed portal pickup for Louisville. Knox gives the Cardinals something that they haven't had under head coach Pat Kelsey up to this point - athleticism on the wing - and is great both at the rim and on the perimeter.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for the latest news.

More Cardinals Stories