UofL's transfer portal vision board: Bigs
Creating a shopping list of interior players with no idea at all if the players will transfer
In an ideal world, the 13th-tallest team in D-1 would have enough shotblocking and rebounding prowess, but things aren’t close to ideal in the Derby City this season. A team that was built with a seemingly endless supply of power forwards and centers will need to find upgrades via the talent portal to remedy horrendous interior defense.
How bad is it? Louisville allows opponents to hit 67% of their shots at the rim, the 6th worst figure in D-1. The Cards are 231st in defensive rebound rate. They’ve blocked a total of 58 shots on the season; in the 2017-18 season the Cards had 2 players who each had more than 58 (Ray Spalding 62, Anas Mahmoud 104).
In order to really turn the program around Louisville’s priority should probably be backcourt help. I wrote previously about that need and some possible targets:
As far as interior players (PF or Center), let’s assume the following Cardinals are candidates to be on the roster:
Jae’lyn Withers
2 of Wheeler/Huntley-Hatfield/Okorafor
Kaleb Glenn
I’m assuming JJ Traynor and Curtis Williams play small forward, but even so there’s quite a logjam up front. None of these players bring the kind of interior presence Louisville needs to really compete in the ACC, and Louisville will need a player who:
Blocks shots at an above average rate
Is an excellent defensive rebounder
I’d also throw in one slightly unusual qualifier:
Has demonstrated some shooting ability
Louisville has had some success when they have as many shooters on the court as possible, but none of their bigs are a threat away from the rim at all. Adding a big man who can step out and shoot a bit would add some flexibility to stress defenses. So, let’s take a look at some specific names I’ve identified who might fit the bill.
For premium subscribers, I lock in on 4 possible transfer portal targets, make the case why they might transfer, and how they’d fit in at Louisville….
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Hoops Insight to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.