SAD NEWS FOR LOUISVILLE: Ty-Laur Johnson shocking announce his Resignation and Departure From Louisville Today due to…….READ MORE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A new era of Louisville men’s is here. Last week, the Cardinals tabbed College of Charleston’s Pat Kelsey as their new head coach, replacing second-year head coach Kenny Payne.
Now that Louisville has new head coach place, now comes the arduous task of trying to recruit almost an entirely new roster.
As of Apr. 1, 10 players have entered the transfer portal for the Cardinals, and the only player in line to return from the Payne era is Ty-Laur Johnson.
Of course, players who entered the portal have the option to return, but Kelsey will still need to bring in new players for his first year at the helm.
Well, that’s exactly what he did this past weekend.
On Saturday, transfer guard Reyne Smith announced that he had committed to Louisville, then transfer center James Scott did so on Sunday.
Both players are following Kelsey from Charleston, with Smith playing his first three years with the Cougars and Scott playing his true freshman campaign with them.
Scott, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound two-guard, was one of the top players for the Cougars this past season. Playing in all 35 of Charleston’s games while making 28 starts, he was their leading scorer at 12.8 points per games, while also averaging 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
He was named All-CAA Second Team for his efforts.
As for Scott, a 6-foot-11, 210-pound big man, he was a regular rotational contributor for the Cougars this past season.
Playing in all 35 games while making four starts, Scott averaged 5.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, while also leading the team in field goal percentage at an astounding 79.2 percent.
But beyond their stat lines, what else do Smith and Scott bring to the table for the Cardinals?
We’ll start with Smith. First and foremost, he is the epitome of a three-point specialist.
The southpaw connected on 39.4 percent of his threes, with 112 of his 133 made field goals and 284 of his 324 attempts coming from beyond the arc.
He finished the season 15th in all of D1 in three-point attempts, and eighth in made three-pointers.
Smith’s bread-and-butter are catch-and-shoot above the break three-pointers. In fact, 72 percent of his total field goal attempts came at the top of the keys or on the wings.
He’ll sometimes be in the left corner for a three, but those attempts are few and far between.
A large bulk of his threes are spot-up shots that come courtesy of his teammates finding him wide open, but Smith does do a good job at coming off of ball screens and getting a quick shot off as soon as he touches the ball.
Though for the most part, seems that a lot of his game comes from teammates helping him get an open shot vs. him creating his own shot.
