Tracking Louisville men’s basketball departures through the transfer portal.
Tracking the departures and eventual new placements of players off Louisville’s 2023-24 roster.
Following another poor season for Louisville men’s basketball and the departure of Kenny Payne as head coach, several players on the team were expected to enter the transfer portal. That movement started on Monday, March 18, the first day of the college basketball transfer portal. It continued, player after player, until April 2, when point guard Ty-Laur Johnson became the last scholarship player from last season to access the portal.
On the first day of the portal’s launch, freshmen Curtis Williams and Kaleb Glenn, as well as Koron Davis, who was dismissed from the team in mid-December, all stated their intention to transfer from Louisville.
Hercy Miller, a walk-on guard, has not announced his plans for next season.
Skyy Clark became the first Louisville player to commit to another school, revealing his decision to UCLA on April 3. The next day, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield committed to North Carolina State. Tre White committed to Illinois on April 9. JJ Traynor decided to use his additional year of eligibility and committed to DePaul on April 15. Curtis Williams confirmed his arrival at Georgetown on April 20. Mike James will remain in the ACC by transferring to North Carolina State.
In October of last year, the Division I Council authorized revisions to the NCAA Transfer Portal for basketball, shortening the waiting period from 60 to 45 consecutive days. According to the NCAA, 61% of athletes accessed the portal within the first 30 days.
The transfer portal will enable Louisville, among other teams, to make significant off-season roster adjustments in order to better position themselves for the 2024-25 season. For a team with a fanbase ‘hungry for the program to be successful,’ finding the right coach with the correct recruiting style is critical for a (rapid) reconstruction.
Cardinal Authority will continue to monitor players leaving Louisville and, more crucially, those who transfer to Louisville. Subscribe to the free Cardinal Authority newsletter to ensure you don’t miss any upcoming headlines.
Ty-Laur Johnson, Louisville’s assist and steals leader, will enter the transfer portal, 247Sports has discovered. Johnson played in 30 games this past season.
He averaged 8.7 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
Johnson’s decision comes after Louisville parted ways with head coach Kenny Payne. He had committed to Memphis in high school, but reopened his recruitment and chose the Cardinals over Seton Hall.
Johnson, a six-foot guard from Brooklyn, New York, will have three years of eligibility remaining after he decides on his next school.
Emmanuel Okorafor played two seasons at Louisville. The 6-foot-9 forward/center transferred to UofL from NBA Academy Africa during the 2022-23 season, appearing in just five games while he adjusted to college basketball and the United States. He appeared in 20 games this season, averaging 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Okorafor, a Lagos, Nigeria native, recorded a season-high eight points and six rebounds against UMBC. He also had six rebounds versus Clemson.
Okorafor came from NBA Academy Africa in Senegal, where he was one of 12 NBA Academy prospects selected to compete in the Basketball Africa League’s Elevate program. The BAL, a professional league founded by FIBA and the NBA, intends to create a platform for the next generation of African talents to exhibit their abilities on a worldwide scale.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield appeared in 32 games for the Cardinals this past season.
He averaged 12.6 points and 8.4 rebounds while shooting 56.7% from the field.
Huntley-Hatfield’s decision comes after Louisville parted ways with head coach Kenny Payne. Huntley-Hatfield, a two-time transfer, landed to Louisville after leaving Tennessee two years ago.
Huntley-Hatfield is a 6-foot-10, 240-pound gifted big man from Clarksville, Tennessee.
