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ACC: Louisville Reloads With Graduate Transfers

By Andrew Snyder

Nov 26, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Cleveland State Vikings guard Trey Lewis (3) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals guard Terry Rozier (0) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2014; Louisville, KY, USA; Cleveland State Vikings guard Trey Lewis (3) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals guard Terry Rozier (0) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports /
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The drastic changing of roster composition on a yearly basis is nothing new in modern college basketball. Especially for programs in the ACC. You recruit high level players and if you’re lucky, you get them for more than one season. They play, they perform, and then they move on to the NBA if they are elite talents.

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It’s that circle of life thing that Mufasa kept yammering about in the Lion King.

It hurts to lose talented players, but sending your players to the NBA is definitely not a bad thing. Losing players because they want to transfer out of your program is a different story. Louisville is having to deal with both sides of that scenario this offseason.

Starting point guard Chris Jones (13.7 points and 3.6 assists per game) was kicked off the team in the middle of the season due to behavioral issues and sexual assault charges. That started the roster turnover.

After their Elite Eight run came to an end, Montrezl Harrell (15.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game) and Terry Rozier (17.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game) decided to enter their names into the NBA Draft. Senior wing Wayne Blackshear (11.6 points per game) is set to graduate this May after four productive years in the program.

That’s a significant amount of production leaving town, but those losses were expected.

Unexpectedly, Anton Gill and Shaqquan Aaron have both elected to transfer. Gill and Aaron were expected to step into larger roles next season, but it is clear that either they or Rick Pitino did not agree with that assertion.

That leaves Quentin Snider, Chinanu Onuaku, and Mangok Mathiang as the only returning players to average more than 15 minutes per game last season. No doubt a nerve-wracking situation for Cardinals fans and the Louisville coaching staff.

Never fear, Louisville fans. Coach Pitino has it covered. Rather than only rebuild with freshmen, Louisville will attempt to reload their backcourt with graduate transfers (eligible immediately). Unlike Bo Ryan, Rick Pitino has no problem going the “rent-a-player” route.

Trey Lewis comes to Louisville from Cleveland State. During his junior season with the Vikings Lewis averaged 16.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game on 44.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from three-point range.

Like the departing Terry Rozier, Lewis is more of a scorer than a pure point guard, making him the perfect fit to start alongside Quentin Snider, who is more of a facilitator. Pitino gave his thoughts on this pickup to the Louisville Courier Journal.

"“He is a talented young man with an incredible attitude, and his leadership qualities fit perfectly for what we need. He’s a point guard who scores, does a good job of getting in the lane and sets his teammates up well. Since we’ve played the last four years with two point guards, it’s perfect to continue on that path with our running and pressing style.”"

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    • Lewis is not the only veteran transfer Pitino has hauled in this month. His other likely backcourt partner will be former Drexel wing Damion Lee, who has also decided to transfer to Louisville for his senior season. Billed as a 6-foot-6 swingman, Lee was the fifth leading scorer in the nation last season, averaging 21.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on 38.5 percent shooting from outside.

    Lee also got to the free-throw 7.2 times per game, knocking down 88.7 percent of his attempts.

    He will slide into the small forward spot vacated by Wayne Blackshear. If he can come close to matching his production from last season, Louisville will be pleased.

    Both players are eligible immediately and have one year of eligibility remaining.

    Along with Lee and Lewis, Louisville will have the 12th-best freshmen class in college basketball, according to ESPN. That group includes small forward Deng Adel, shooting guard, Donovan Mitchell, power forward Raymond Spalding, and shooting guard Ryan McMahon.

    The frontcourt may not be as productive, Mathiang and Onuaku aren’t exactly offensively gifted, but a lineup that includes Lewis, Lee, and Snider should at the very least be able score. It will be important for the freshman Spalding to give them some kind of scoring in the post to make up for Mathiang and Onuaku’s weaknesses.

    Things will certainly be different, but given his track record I’d expect Rick Pitino to extract maximum value out of this team. Whether or not this oddly assembled group has enough firepower to become a legitimate contender in the ACC remains to be seen.

    Next: 30 Greatest Duke Players in School History

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