No. 8 Louisville Cardinals: Projected Rotation & Season Outlook
Last offseason, Louisville was aggressive early in the transfer portal in the second year of the Pat Kelsey era. Kelsey followed the same path this cycle, with Louisville landing two of the biggest names on the board in Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad.
Bidunga was arguably the best interior defender in the country last season and has an offensive game that continues to grow. Shelstad missed time with a hand injury at Oregon last season, but put up 15.6 points, 4.9 assists and 2.8 three-pointers per contest before going down after 12 games. This duo represents the best PG-C duo in the country going into next season, and pick-n-roll's between the two of them will be nearly impossible for defenses to contain.
That, of course, wasn't all that coach Kelsey had up his sleeve this offseason. He also added Karter Knox from Arkansas, Alvaro Folgueiras from Iowa and Seth Trimble from North Carolina. All three are projected to start. Trimble gives the Cardinals a nice 1-2 punch in the backcourt alongside Shelstad, as both players are able to run the offense and hunt their shot if needed. Dayton transfer De'Shayne Montgomery and rising junior Adrian Wooley provide great backcourt depth and would start on a number of other Power 5 teams.
The Cardinals also put together a solid freshman recruiting class led by 5-star center Obinna Ekezie. He may end up being more of a luxury this season with Bidunga as the clear starter, but Ekezie has very similar physical traits as the Kansas transfer and should be able to learn a lot. By the second half of the season Ekezie should see more consistent minutes, and that should also keep Bidunga fresh for the long haul.
Louisville is a team with very high upside, but they were in this same position going into the last two seasons and failed to make it out of the first weekend. It is clear that Kelsey can put a roster together, but in-game adjustments are something that he still needs to improve upon. That said, this is the best fit that any roster of his has had at Louisville. Expect this team to make a push at that ACC crown.
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2026-27 Louisville Basketball Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Jackson Shelstad (15.6 PPG, 4.9 APG, 2.8 3PM at Oregon)
SG: Seth Trimble (14.0 PPG at North Carolina)
SF: Karter Knox (8.1 PPG at Arkansas)
PF: Alvaro Folgueiras (8.4 PPG at Iowa)
C: Flory Bidunga (13.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.6 BPG at Kansas)
Key Reserves: Adrian Wooley (8.7 PPG), De'Shayne Montgomery (13.4 PPG at Dayton), Obinna Ekezie (No. 8 in SC Next 100), Boyuan Zhang (No. 51 in SC Next 100), Gabe Dynes (2.9 PPG at USC), Isaac Ellis (3-Star Freshman)
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