Louisville’s pursuit of 5-star forward DeMarcus Henry got a meaningful boost this week, and the timing could not be much better for Pat Kelsey’s staff.
As recruiting activity picks up with Louisville’s 2026-27 season drawing closer, the Cardinals have already hosted plenty of top 2027 prospects and remain in the mix for several major names. Henry has been one of the biggest ones on the board, and the latest development only strengthens Louisville’s standing.
Henry had trimmed his list to eight schools, with Louisville joining Kentucky, Arkansas, BYU, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio State, and UConn in the battle. Now, that group appears to have shrunk again, with UConn no longer considered a contender.
UConn’s exit comes after the Huskies landed 5-star Jordan Page on Sunday. Following that commitment, multiple reports from Joe Tipton and Adam Zagoria indicated that UConn is out on Henry. Zagoria put it plainly: “UConn is no longer involved for Henry after they landed fellow five-star on Sunday,” stated Zagoria.
That matters for Louisville because the Cardinals had already done solid work with the elite forward. Henry took an official visit to Louisville in September, and the Cardinals later went to see him later that month. Louisville has clearly been pushing hard, and Tipton has said Arkansas holds a slight edge at the moment, while also placing the Cardinals right behind the Razorbacks among the strongest contenders.
Henry has also taken official visits to Arkansas and UConn, and he was at Kentucky this past weekend. With UConn now apparently out of the picture, Louisville’s path looks a little cleaner than it did before.
The 5-star forward is rated as high as No. 2 overall in the 2027 class and is the unanimous No. 1 small forward. He also backed up the hype at Nike EYBL Peach Jam, where he averaged 18.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game this summer.
With his recruitment heating up, insiders are watching November as a possible commitment window. For Louisville, that means Henry remains one of the biggest names to track as Kelsey and his staff keep pressing for a major win on the trail.
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One of those pieces is guard De'Shayne Montgomery, whose defensive instincts drew Kelseys attention, and another is forward Flory Bidunga, whose presence around the rim already gives Louisville a different kind of backbone. Kelsey also noted Bidungas ability to help create for others, an important wrinkle for a team trying to play fast without losing structure as it settles into the season. [Read more 🡒]
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The frustration for Louisville is that these werent isolated mistakes so much as repeated problems once the ball was snapped and routes started unfolding. Even with pressure showing up at times, per PFF, the Cardinals could not consistently clean up the coverage behind it, leaving openings on plays that should have been manageable. Until the secondary gets sharper about who takes whom when offenses move receivers around, the same leaks are likely to keep showing up. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Recruiting Buzz Comes With One Growing Flip Fear
Louisvilles recruiting momentum has been building across both major sports, with the basketball staff reaching out to multiple five-star prospects in the 2027 class and the broader program sentiment looking up after a strong offseason. Among the names drawing the most attention is DeMarcus Henry, a top-five national recruit whose stock has made him one of the premier targets on the Cardinals board.
Henry has emerged as a particularly important priority as Louisville tries to stay in the mix for a November decision, and the Cardinals have positioned themselves well in a race that appears to keep shifting. On the football side, four-star recruit Ja'Hyde Brown is also attracting a growing list of suitors as his ranking climbs, adding to a busy stretch in which Louisvilles recruiting profile is rising even as the competition around it gets louder. [Read more 🡒]