The Louisville men's basketball team kicked off the 2023-24 season with a Red vs. White intrasquad team scrimmage Wednesday night at the KFC Yum Center which resulted in the Red team winning 62-51. Here are notable observations I took away from being in attendance:
Tre White is a stud. The 6'7, 205-pound guard who transferred over from USC this offseason has been getting plenty of preseason praise, and you can see why. White, who finished with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists in 27 minutes, showed confidence in himself at both ends of the floor. Between passing the ball, rebounding and scoring, White gave it his all and seemed to have no issue getting to his spots.
Dennis Evans is still raw, but the 7'1 freshman big man showed flashes tonight with a stat line of 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 blocks. He started off the game slow and seemed to have some jitters, which is common for a young frontcourt player, but as the game on he became more comfortable and showcased why he was a highly regarded player out of high school.
Skyy Clark and Ty Laur Johnson both showed great flashes handling the ball. Clark, who will likely be the starting PG, finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists. Clark's ability to run a team and his basketball IQ stood out. Johnson's strongest attribute has always been said to be his speed and tenacity, and that was on full display tonight. His quickness created multiple scoring opportunities and led to a few dump-off passes for Evans, which was fun to see. Aside from his quickness, it was impressive to see the physicality that Johnson played with against Hercy Miller, who was challenging him all night long on the defensive end of the floor.
JJ Traynor and Mike James had solid performances tonight. James, who has noticeably lost weight, handled the ball a good amount tonight and finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists with 4 made three-pointers. I think James can effectively play the 2, 3 and the small ball 4 spot at times this season. Traynor, who split minutes at the 4 and the 5 during the scrimmage, scored 11 points, grabbed three rebounds, and handed out two assists. Traynor's length proved worthy several times tonight, with his shot release being able to overcome the outstretched arms of the defender, whether it was scoring from mid-range or the three.
Emmanuel Okorafor finished with 10 points and 9 rebounds tonight. The most impressive part of Okorafor's performance was his tenacity and physicality down low. His effort and drive to rebound off misses and put the ball in the basket was a pleasant thing to see. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield became limited later on in the game (ankle), but he still finished with 9 points (one three pointer) and 2 rebounds. It would have been nice to see more rebounds come from him but sharing the floor with Evans and Okorafor caused for the lane to be clogged at times and didn't allow Huntley-Hatfield to establish his presence better. Here's hoping we see better games from him.
The freshman forward duo of Curtis Williams and Kaleb Glenn started off slow and had inconsistencies all throughout the game, but they started to show why they were brought to Louisville towards the end of the competition. Williams, who finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds (2 threes) had a scoreless first half but appeared much more comfortable in the second half. There were several instances when he even brought the ball up court and initiated offense, which was interesting to see. As far as Kaleb Glenn, his physicality for a freshman (6'6, 205) is what stands out immediately. In the beginning, Glenn's inexperience was showing, but his effort helped mask it. For someone who played a lot of small ball 5 throughout high school, Glenn's ability to become more comfortable on the perimeter is going to dictate how much time he sees this season and beyond. With Glenn's reputation, improvement is a sure thing.
Lastly, Koron Davis was a pleasant surprise tonight. I haven't been too sure of what to think about his addition, but he showed a consistent knack for scoring the ball and getting to his spots, which could be a welcome sign for this team. Davis, who saw reps playing PG tonight, will see plenty of time at both the 1 and 2 this season. At 6'6 and 185 pounds, I believe his size and length will also prove beneficial.
The men's basketball team will be in action next Wednesday, October 18 at the KFC Yum Center (7:00 tipoff) in an exhibition game against Simmons College.
