By Sam Draut–

Nearly eight months ago, Louisville was a mere free throw away from their third appearance in the Final Four in four years.

But after an offseason crowded with controversy, scandal and departure, the 76-70 loss to Michigan State in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament feels like ages ago.

Before the Minardi Hall scandal filled the headlines, Louisville lost a majority of its 2014-15 roster that went 27-9 overall and 12-6 in the ACC.

Montrezl Harrell and Terry Rozier left school early to pursue NBA careers. Wayne Blackshear’s eligibility was exhausted after four years. Chris Jones was kicked off the team in mid-February. Anton Gill and Shaqquan Aaron elected to transfer from the program.

With all of the departures put together, Head Coach Rick Pitino’s team returns just 17.5 percent of its scoring, 34.6 percent of its rebounding and 32.2 percent of its minutes played from a year ago.

Even with the nation’s seventh-best 2015 recruiting class, the 2015-16 season appeared to be a major rebuilding process until Pitino brought in the experience that the roster so desperately needed.

Fifth-year graduate transfers Damion Lee and Trey Lewis arrived on campus and instantly alleviated some of the concerns clouding the current roster.

Transferring from Drexel, Lee was the nation’s fourth leading scorer at 21.4 points per game last season. The 6-foot-6 wing is a dynamic scorer who shot 48.3 percent from the field and also averaged 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

The Cardinals got their first impression of Lewis last year when he played for Cleveland State at the KFC Yum! Center in late November. The 6-foot-2 guard scored 24 points in the 45-33 Louisville victory. Lewis ended the year averaging 16.3 points and 4.4 rebounds.

“We would’ve been in a total rebuilding year if we didn’t get those two guys,” Pitino said. “When you get two guys who have been the key component to their team and everyone has been trying to stop them, that experience is invaluable.”

Vaulted into leadership roles as the most experienced and oldest players on the roster, Lee and Lewis bring two different dynamics to the team. While Lewis is extremely upbeat and positive, Pitino said every player looks up to Lee.

“The thing we have to do as leaders is to continue to find ways to enhance and help our guys improve,” Lewis said.

Neither of the two have played in the NCAA tournament in their careers, so Louisville is their final chance to cap off collegiate careers already filled with individual success.

While Lee and Lewis provide external collegiate experience into the roster, Mangok Mathiang remains the lone member left of the 2013 National Championship team and only scholarship player from the 2013-14 Sweet 16 team.

Though Mathiang red-shirted during Louisville’s third national championship in school history, the 6-foot-10 junior has logged the most minutes in his career in a Cardinal uniform than anyone else on the roster.

As a captain, Mathiang keeps everyone loose and motivated, but he spent the offseason improving his offensive game after shooting 38.8 percent from the field last season.

“Everyone goes through ups and downs, and last year was my down,” Mathiang said. “In the offseason I looked at myself and said, ‘It is time to work.’”

“I worked a lot on my footwork and stayed positive on whatever goes on in my game,” Mathiang said.

In preseason scrimmages and exhibitions, Mathiang appears more comfortable on the offensive end while maintaining his presence on the defensive end. Last year, Mathiang led the team with 46 blocked shots.

After Chris Jones was dismissed from the team in the late February, then-freshman Quentin Snider was pushed into the starting point guard role and well in the final portion of the season.

In the 10 games that Snider started in February and March, he averaged 9.5 points and 2.9 assists.

The 6-foot-2 Louisville native worked on his jump shot in the offseason, and Pitino said the sophomore has been one of the better shooters this season.

“I stayed in the gym and tried to get more arch on my jump shot,” Snider said. “Doing drills and working has paid off. When I release the ball, it feels good.”

Quite possibly the only true point guard on the roster, Snider is comfortable running the offense and has improved defensively from a year ago.

“He (Snider) understands the point, and Trey (Lewis) is learning the point. Q knows the point so those guys will play a lot together. I told Q, ‘Don’t let starting or not starting bother you, because at the end of the year you’ll be one, two or three in minutes played.’”

Fellow sophomores Jaylen Johnson and Chinanu Onuaku will also see an expanded role this season along with Snider.

Johnson played behind Harrell last season and appeared in only 23 games averaging 4.6 minutes, but showed brief flashes of his potential when he could find the court.

“He plays with such awesome energy,” Pitino said. “He gets on the floor for loose balls, offensive rebounds, makes tough moves.”

The 6-foot-9 forward finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Louisville’s season opening exhibition against Bellarmine last Sunday.

Onuaku played with the U-19 USA basketball team over the summer after starting 26 games as a freshman.

The 6-foot-10 center struggled staying out of foul trouble last season, but averaged 17.8 minutes and 4.6 rebounds per game.

“He’s very smart and he really knows the game like Montrez knows the game, so he’ll figure it out,” Pitino said.

As Johnson and Onuaku will have an expanded role this season, 7-footers Anas Mahmoud and Matz Stockman remain works in progress.

Depth was an issue for the Cardinals last season, and Pitino resorted to a seven or eight man rotation at times. The talented group of freshmen will help to add options to the rotation while injecting some athleticism and ability.

Deng Adel and Donovan Mitchell headline the four-man freshman class, both rated as five stars and top 25 nationally by Scout.com.

Adel showcased his scoring prowess when he dropped 35 points in the second Red White scrimmage, while Mitchell received early praise from Pitino when he compared his athleticism to former Cardinal Terrance Williams and attitude to Peyton Siva.

Both Adel and Mitchell can score, pass, defend and play multiple positions for the Cardinals.

“Being able to impact the game in any possible way is going to be huge for us,” Mitchell said.

Along with the two former five-star prospects, local Trinity High School product Raymond Spalding will work into the mix this season. The 6-foot-10 forward has great length and can move around the floor well.

“Ray Spalding does some things,” Pitino said. “Every single day he’s highest in deflections. He’s very quick.”

Ryan McMahon rounds out a freshmen class that Pitino will continue to develop.

“You can see that Donovan has a lot of talent, Ray has a lot of talent, but they are freshmen,” Pitino said. “They are still going to make freshman mistakes, and there’s no way around that.”

The Cardinals face a relatively light non-conference schedule, but will travel to East Lansing on Dec. 2 for a matchup against thirteenth-ranked Michigan State and then go up against rival Kentucky in Lexington on Dec. 26.

With four teams ranked in the preseason Coach’s Poll, Louisville was picked to finish seventh in the ACC by media members.