By Dalton Ray —
The hiring of men’s basketball coach Chris Mack has sent positive shockwaves through the fan base. Louisville potentially faces a large roster turnover heading into year one of the Mack Era.
Let’s take a look at the current roster situation.
Pro or no?
Forward Ray Spalding said he would test the NBA waters after Louisville’s loss to Mississippi State in the NIT quarterfinals. The hometown kid announced he will hire an agent and stay in the draft on April 3.
Forward Deng Adel is the next name fans are waiting to hear a decision about. Adel entered the draft last year, but returned after getting feedback from NBA scouts.
Spalding and Adel led U of L in both scoring and rebounding in 2017-18.
Staying put
Ryan McMahon and Darius Perry said immediately after the season they would return.
Others stayed at bay when asked if they would return to the university with the unknown offseason ahead. Multiple said they would wait to hear who the next coach is and make a decision from there.
With the arrival of Mack, several players — including Jordan Nwora and Malik Williams — said they will return for the 2018-19 season.
New additions
Mack will likely have to tap into the graduate transfer route to bluster next season’s roster.
Here are five names to look into:
Albany guard Joe Cremo (6-foot-4) — 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds.
Florida Gulf Coast guard Zach Johnson (6-foot-2) — 16.1 points, 3.3 assists.
USC Upstate guard Mike Cunningham (6-foot-1) — 13.7 points, 3.0 assists.
Texas A&M Community College guard Ehab Amin (6-foot-4) — 16.9 points, 6.6 rebounds.
Fordham guard Joseph Chartouny (6-foot-2) — 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds.
You can follow Dalton Ray on Twitter @dray5477.
Photo by Taris Smith / The Louisville Cardinal
