Louisville’s first exhibition win gave fans a lot to chew on, but the biggest takeaway came from a freshman who looks ready to change the shape of the entire offense.
The Cardinals beat No. 17 Kansas in a thrilling preseason matchup, and while 4-star transfer Jackson Shelstad drew attention with an 8-of-15 shooting night and a 4-of-8 mark from deep, 5-star freshman Obinna Ekezie Jr. may have been the loudest statement of all. In his first college basketball game, the 7-foot-2, 240-pound newcomer impacted both ends of the floor, but it was his shooting that really popped.
Ekezie didn’t just look comfortable stretching the floor - he looked like a legitimate problem from outside. He buried four 3-pointers on six attempts, and after the game he made it clear that Louisville is giving him plenty of freedom.
“Oh yeah, for sure,” Ekezie said when asked if he has the green light from downtown. “I have been working on it a lot.
I have been working on it for a long time, and I feel like the coaches believe I can do it. So, I am going to bring that to the team.”
That kind of production is obviously not something Louisville can expect every night, but even the threat of it changes everything. If Ekezie can keep defenses honest from the perimeter, the Cardinals’ offense gets a different kind of space to work with.
That issue has been front and center for observers already. Concerns about Louisville’s spacing and the power forward spot have circulated, including from Field of 68 and Jeff Goodman, who pointed directly at the four spot as the swing piece.
“I just think you got to get offense out of that four spot and spacing,” stated Goodman about Louisville’s biggest X-factor. “To me, that is the biggest X-factor. Folgueiras or Ekezie, one of those guys has to really emerge as a floor-spacing four-man who can step out, because if that doesn’t happen, man, do they have enough shooting?”
Ekezie’s debut was an immediate answer to that question. If he keeps flashing as a stretch four for Pat Kelsey, Louisville’s ceiling gets a lot higher in a hurry.
The Cardinals are set to open the regular season against Chattanooga on November 2. Their next preseason game comes October 28, when they’ll make their home debut in front of UofL fans.
In Other News...
Louisvilles Bye Week Comes With Real ACC Stakes
Louisvilles bye week arrives with more than just a breather on the calendar. At 3-2 in ACC play, the Cardinals sit sixth in the standings, a spot that keeps them in the conversation but still leaves some ground to make up as the conference race tightens and the path to Charlotte starts to take shape around them.
The bigger picture now is less about what Louisville can control this week and more about how the rest of the league sorts itself out. With several key ACC matchups still ahead, the Cardinals have reason to monitor the standings closely, because the right results elsewhere could help their position in the championship chase and keep that door open a little longer. [Read more 🡒]