<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=03OxyI_0wExL7IR00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=03OxyI_0wExL7IR00" width="1468" height="976" ></figure>On Monday, the basketball season comes to its unofficial start as Louisville hosts their first exhibition against the Young Harris Mountain Lions.Given the fact that Young Harris is a middle-of-the-pack Division-2 opponent, their tallest player is 6’8” and they have three players on their roster under six-foot, this exhibition will be entirely about the Cardinals and how they play as a team.With two exhibitions in the Bahamas already under their belt, here are a few things to look for when Louisville hits the KFC Yum! Center for the first time in the 2024-25 season.<h2>Has a top scoring option emerged?</h2>In the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League, Louisville shared the rock remarkably well.Louisville averaged 30 assists through their two outings on an average of 04 made field goals. And this is exactly how Pat Kelsey wants his teams to play.Eight total players scored double-digits at least once in the Bahamas.Kasean Pryor was one of the top two scorers in both outings, but he didn’t establish himself as the go-to on the offensive end.Koren Johnson and J’Vonne Hadley also showed themselves to be consistent scorers, reaching double-digits in both games after coming off the bench.Not every team needs a bona fide star scorer, but it can help simplify things late in a season.<h2>How will Terrence Edwards perform?</h2>Terrence Edwards was the first transfer to commit to Louisville who didn’t play for Kelsey at Charleston. Edwards is also the highest rated transfer portal addition according to every major recruiting service.While Edwards showed an ability as a highly capable distributer, he didn’t yet look fully comfortable in Kelsey’s system.The James Madison transfer is someone who is used to being “the guy” and asked to frequently get a bucket in an isolation set. Iso sets will be few and far between in Louisville’s offense, so it’s natural that Edwards may take some time to adjust.In spite of his slow start, the Edwards still scored no fewer than 10 points in each of the Bahamas exhibitions.Once Edwards gets fully situated, this Louisville offense could looks scary.<h2>Is Reyne Smith as good as advertised?</h2>The self-described “best three-point shooter in the world”—Reyne Smith—was the first player to commit to the Cards in the offseason.In a foreign country, he didn’t really look otherworldly.Smith still hit a lot of threes, but only because he took a ton of threes.Louisville has unfortunately had several players in recent history who were billed in the transfer portal as excellent scorers from deep, who have all struggled when they get to the Derby City.The Australian-native can quell any and all fears of him not living up to the hype with a good shooting night against Young Harris.<h2>Who will be in the starting lineup?</h2>Kelsey has a versatile roster full of players who could receive major minutes. This versatility also breeds confusion as nobody has much of an idea who the starters will be.In the Bahamas, the Cards ran with the same starting-five both times (Chucky Hepburn, Edwards, Pryor, Aboubacar Traore and James Scott). Will this lineup continue? Will this be the group for the entire year?Not a soul has any clue.Even Kelsey during media day that he doesn’t know who he’ll start on Nov. 4, but that could be a smokescreen for all we know.Everyone is just going to have to wait and see who the five bodies are out on the court come tipoff.<h2>How will the offensive rebounding look?</h2>This might seem very silly, but it could be very consequential. Kelsey has stuck by a formula of crashing all five players on the offensive-glass, leading to his teams routinely being among the top offensive rebounding teams in the country.This also leads to no one back in the full-court, so his teams are usually terrible in transition defense.This style worked in lower levels, but it has yet to be tested against elite ACC competition. We won’t find out whether or not it can hold up against the likes of a Duke or UNC, but we will see if he sticks to it religiously.In the Bahamas, the Cards had a lot of players crash the glass, but not everyone. It’s going to be fascinating, and also highly important, to see which approach he takes.<h2>How does the defense hold up?</h2>Kelsey has never been known to have great defenses, only ever posting a top-40 defense on Kenpom. His style of offense also breeds inflated box scores, making his defensive numbers look worse on the surface.The important thing to look for is how the defense will look.Against the Mountain Lions, I would be shocked if the Cards don’t hold them to miniscule numbers scoring. Maybe the key to how well this Cards defense does is in the numbers that don’t get recorded such as deflections, average possession length and kills (three consecutive stops).It’ll will also be fun to look at what the tendencies for this defense are: how they handle screens, how often they double, how well they rotate, etc.Louisville’s Bahamas trip was arguably the first time Cardinals men’s basketball has been fun in three years, and the good times won’t stop just yet.Louisville will take the court Monday at 7 p.m. in the Yum! Center.Photo Courtesy // Chris Carter, Louisville Athletics</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

PREVIEW: Louisville basketball hosts exhibition with Young Harris

On Monday, the basketball season comes to its unofficial start as Louisville hosts their first exhibition against the Young Harris Mountain Lions. Given the fact that Young Harris is a middle-of-the-pack Division-2 opponent, their tallest player is 6’8” and they have three players on their roster under six-foot, this exhibition will be entirely about the Cardinals and how they play as a team.