Visit season begins in earnest now for UofL Men’s Basketball. The month of September is going to be filled with visits from elite prospects, but this week is when it officially kicks off. We already had an unofficial visit from the JJ Traynor, the son of UofL legend Jason Osborne. And the list of visitors this week continues to be quite impressive as Louisville welcomes 6 prospects from 2020, 2021, and 2022 classes.
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Huge week of visitors for Louisville
•Ty Rodgers on Wednesday
•Chris Livingston, Bryce Hopkins on Saturday
•Josh Hall, Devin Askew & Zach Loveday on Sunday— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) August 27, 2019
2020 Propects
Josh Hall-SF-Moravian Prep-Durham, NC
Hall set this visit back on August 2nd. UofL Rivals’ and Stockrisers’ Jake Weingarten was the first to break the story.
Breaking: Five-star Josh Hall locks in Louisville official visit, a source told @UofLRivals. He will be on campus September 1st. Chris Mack already with two five-stars for confirmed officials in September.https://t.co/hURGo3rO9O
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) August 2, 2019
Hall is a 6’9 190 lbs 4 Star SF with offers from NC State, Alabama, Kansas, Florida, Pitt, Texas, and Miami (FL), among many others. Per 247sports, he’s set to officially visit September 1st. According to 247’s composite rankings, Hall is ranked 42nd nationally and 11th at his position.
He’s a long, lanky, athletic shooter. Hall has very good handle for a guy his size, enabling him to drive to the rim. When he gets there, he’s very bouncy and can finish with dunks or a variety of layups. He’s got a nice mid-range pullup and his shooting range is well beyond the arc. His stroke is silky smooth. He reminds me quite a bit of current freshman Samuell Williamson.
Check out his highlights below.
Zach Loveday-C-Huntington Prep-Gallipolis, OH
Loveday is a 4 Star player that has been on Louisville’s radar for a long while. Loveday visited UofL a couple times last year, but now has scheduled his official visit for September 1st as well.
Breaking: As @UofLRivals reported days back, Zach Loveday has confirmed his official visit to Louisville for this weekend into monday. This now gives Chris Mack seven confirmed official visitors for September.https://t.co/ejEMxGuMaO
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) August 27, 2019
In addition to holding an offer from UofL, the 7’0 200 lbs Loveday also holds offers from IU, Baylor, Florida, Michigan, NC State, Iowa, Ohio State, Purdue, Stanford, and Xavier per 247sports. He’s currently the 121st ranked player nationally and the 18th ranked at his position per 247’s composite rankings.
Loveday is the kind of C Chris Mack likes. He’s strong, but skilled. He has a decent shooting stroke and isn’t afraid to shoot from 3. He can occasionally drive from the perimeter, but he does his most damage down low with dunks, layups, and a nice right handed jump hook.
Check out his highlights below.
2021 Prospects
Devin Askew-G-Mater Dei-Santa Anna, CA
Askew is a 5 Star dynamo that Louisville has been in on since last year. He actually visited during one of the open gyms the Cards held during last football season. I was lucky enough to be in attendance and this kid showed he was a stud. He will join Hall and Loveday for his official visit on September 1st.
The 6’3 195 lbs Askew has multiple elite offers in addition to his offer from UofL. Among them are UK, Arizona, Kansas, Memphis, Oregon, Texas Tech, and Texas, just to name a few per 247sports. Askew is ranked the number 15 player nationally in the 2021 class and holds the number 2 ranking at his position in 247’s composite rankings.
Askew is the real deal. There had been talk that he would reclassify, but he has since decided to remain in the 2021 class. Askew is a great ball handler and uses this skill to get to the rim. He is excellent at finishing around the rim. He has very good court vision and is an excellent passer. Askew has an elite mid-range pullup jumper and step back. His range is well beyond the arc, his shooting stroke smooth, and he can shoot it off the catch or the bounce. He’s also very strong, which allows him to finish through contact, and fearless.
Check out his highlights below.
Bryce Hopkins-PF-Fenwick-Oak Park, IL
Hopkins is relatively new on UofL’s radar. A 6’7 220 lbs PF, Hopkins currently does not hold an offer from UofL, but maybe this unofficial visit will change that. He is scheduled to visit on August 31st.
While Hall does not hold a UofL offer as of yet, he does hold 10; quite a few from Big Ten schools. Some of his offers include IU, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Iowa, and Nebraska per 247sports. In 247’s rankings, Hopkins is ranked 94th nationally and 20th at his position.
Hopkins, to my eye, looks like a prototypical Chris Mack player. He’s already big and strong for his age. As a PF, he’s versatile. Hopkins knows how to seal defenders on the block, play with his back to the basket, or play on the perimeter. While on the perimeter, he is a very good shooter from behind the arc and he’s a good driver off the bounce. He plays with toughness and a high motor and it shows in his tenacious rebounding. This guy is fun to watch as a rebounder. It’s no wonder UofL is showing interest here.
Check out his highlights below.
2022 Prospects
Chris Livingston-SG-Buchtel-Akron, OH
UofL is getting in on the ground floor with Chris Livingston. This 2022 prospect is unofficially visiting Louisville on August 31 with Bryce Hopkins. While UofL currently has not offered the high school sophomore, the fact he is coming in for this visit shows there is a high interest on their part. Of course, the fact he is visiting shows a high interest by Livingston in UofL.
On Saturday, Louisville will host one of the top-ranked sophomores in the nation in Chris Livingston, a source told @UofLRivals. He’s rated as top-five by nearly every outlet.
He holds offers from Florida, Ohio State, and others. pic.twitter.com/LZMVCMOsAw
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) August 27, 2019
This 6’5 170 lbs SG currently already holds 3 offers from Ohio State, Akron, and UAB per 247sports. Rivals lists Florida as an offer Livingston holds as well. According to Jake Weingarten of UofL Rivals and Stockrisers, Livingston is currently a considered a top 5 prospect in the 2022 class by multiple services. While there are no official rankings out for the 2022 class yet, the fact that Weingarten says that he’s currently a top 5 prospect by most services shows this young player is an emerging big time prospect.
Livingston’s skills are definitely elite level. He has NBA range on his 3-point shot and his stroke is quick and pure. Hand in his face or not, he can make it. He is particularly deadly off the bounce. He is an excellent ball handler and can get to the rim when he chooses to. Finishing through contact is a strength that illustrates he has toughness, which is a trait Coach Mack craves. Plenty of bounce exists in his legs as he can get way up for dunks. His court vision and passing is excellent. He is not a ball hog and he will find the open man and get the ball to them in an advantageous scoring position. I wouldn’t doubt an offer will be a strong possibility and that Coach Mack will likely be recruiting this kid heavily. Time will tell, though.
Check out his highlights below.
Ty Rodgers-SF-Grand Blanc Community-Grand Blanc, MI
Ty Rodgers is a 2022 prospect with a ton of potential. The 6’4 180 lbs SF will be visiting Louisville today to check out the campus and facilities.
Louisville will host a 2022 guard on Wednesday for an unofficial visit, we’ve learned @UofLRivals.
He’s super skilled and holds tons of high-major interest. So who is it?
Link: https://t.co/sNzGGBp7yA pic.twitter.com/SFmXtxf5xb
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) August 27, 2019
While Rodgers doesn’t currently hold any offers, which is normal for someone as young as he is, he is receiving interest not only from Louisville, but Wisconsin as well per 247sports. It will be interesting to see if his home state schools Michigan and Michigan State will get involved with his recruitment. Odds are that they will.
Rodgers has a ton of raw talent. He is a slasher and finisher around the rim. He shows the ability to hit little mid-range runners and touch shots. Rodgers is able to back down smaller defenders to get to the rim as well. He has very good handles and can make moves with the ball. He also has a good nose for rebounding and isn’t afraid to get in among bigger guys to grab boards. Once again, he displays some toughness and that is a trait Chris Mack craves. It’ll be interesting to see where Rodgers, and specifically his relationship with Louisville, will go from here. I can say that it makes perfect sense as to why the Cards are showing interest.
Check out his highlights below.
As I said at the beginning, this is just the beginning of the wave of recruits that will be on campus in September and October. We will continue to keep an eye on all the visitors including for the upcoming second annual “Louisville Live” event. Stay tuned.
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