Louisville Scores Big: Sanford Sensation Kanaan Carlyle Commits Ignites College Basketball Buzz!

According to reports, the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year has the Cardinals as a very real destination.

LOUISVILLE, KY: Following his acceptance of the empty head coaching position at Michigan, many anticipated that Dusty May would bring Johnell Davis and other Florida Atlantic players with him.

It seems like Pat Kelsey, the new head coach of Louisville, has a good chance of luring Davis.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Louisville “isn’t going down without a fight” to grab the star shooting guard from the Owls, even though Michigan is the “school to watch” for Davis. The Cardinals’ recent efforts on the NIL front have been a major contributing factor.

“With an influx of NIL capital, Pat Kelsey is ready to take some big swings to reconstruct the roster,” Nakos stated.

Rick Kueber, a supporter of Louisville, initiated a million-dollar matching gift drive for the men’s basketball program earlier this week through UofL’s NIL collective 502 Circle. The campaign had raised more than $500,000 as of April 3.

For a variety of reasons, landing Davis would be a huge development. May was about to leave FAU for the Cardinals during Louisville’s coaching search, but he turned them down at the last minute in favor of the Wolverines.

Getting Davis to commit would be a huge accomplishment in and of itself, just for basketball sake. The 6-foot-4, 203-pound guard had an All-American-caliber season for FAU this past season. Based on On3’s internal rankings, he is presently the top player to transfer this cycle after using the portal earlier this week.

Davis started all 34 games for the Owls, averaging 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per contest. For the season, he recorded shooting splits of 48.3/41.4/85.7. For his accomplishments, he shared the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year award with Chris Youngblood of USF.

Additionally, the Gary, Indiana native was crucial to Florida Atlantic’s incredible journey to the 2023 Final Four. In 37 contests and During his 16 starts that season, he shot 48.6/35.7/85.5 and finished each game with an average of 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. Davis was consequently selected to the All-Conference USA First Team and awarded Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year.

Over the course of four seasons in Boca Raton, Florida, Davis played in 128 career games with 53 starts, tallying 1,431 points, 621 rebounds, 219 assists, and 155 steals.

This offseason, portal movement has been extremely high in Louisville. Eleven players have accessed the portal since the program fired second-year head coach Kenny Payne, meaning the Cardinals will have no scholarship returners for the upcoming season.

Thankfully, Pat Kelsey, the new head coach, and his staff have made quick progress in the recruiting process. Reyne Smith and James Scott, who both played for Kelsey at Charleston, as well as former James Madison standout and 2024 Sun Belt Player of the Year Terrence, have all committed to transfer inside the previous six days Edwards Jr.