Louisville landed one of the top juniors in the country on Thursday, when Trentyn Flowers announced his intention to sign with the Cardinals. The incredibly rocky first season of the Kenny Payne Era has certainly not derailed the program's recruiting efforts, as Payne and company seem to be on a bit of a roll as of late after landing Flowers and five-star Dennis Evans in a two-week period.
Below, Rivals has a look at what Louisville is getting in the 23rd-ranked player in the 2024 class as well as what the big news means for the big picture of Cardinal hoops.
WHAT LOUISVILLE IS GETTING
Flowers is as high upside a prospect as there is in this class, as NBA people are in love with his length and versatility. His battle as he moves toward college will be the same as it’s long been, and that’s a war with consistency. When Flowers is at his best, he impacts games in a long list of ways. The 6-foot-7 wing packs high level athleticism and a tight handle that allows him to create for himself when it comes to pull up jumpers or getting to the basket. His game seems to be predicted on confidence, however, as slow starts can sometimes derail him from a shot-selection standpoint for an entire game. When that doesn’t happen, however, you see the best of Flowers, who is capable of stuffing a stat sheet like he did against a loaded The Skill factory Team in Atlanta earlier this year. The future Cardinal finished that game with 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting and also grabbed nine rebounds. Those are the kinds of performances that have him sitting on the verge of five-star status, and if they become the norm this summer, Flowers could see his stock improve even more. Flowers has the ceiling of a first-round pick and is at his best when he stays within the offense without trying to do too much from a scoring standpoint.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE CARDINALS
Louisville fans don’t need anyone to tell them that they need an influx of talent if the Keny Payne era is to be salvaged long-term. Adding a possible future pro to the mix will certainly help. Landing a player like Flowers is the kind of recruiting win that could compound, if the Cardinals show serious improvement on the floor next season and other flight prospects start to see the program as a suitable landing spot once again. That said, Payne and his staff deserves some semblance of praise for landing both Flowers and class-of-2023 five-star Dennis Evans in a two-week period despite coming off one the worst seasons in school history, as a 4-28 record would have been the death blow for recruiting in a lot of other places.
IN HIS WORDS
“Louisville showed me how great it was with a great official visit, Coach [Kenny Payne] and Coach Nolan [Smith] do a great job coming to see me. I’m always talking to them, and I feel like we got close. Even though they haven;t had the best season this year, the program history speaks for itself. It’s clear they’ll be back when you know where Coach KP and Coach Nolan came from. They do a great job.” – Flowers to Rivals’ Rob Cassidy last month.
"They love the way that I play, they feel that my game fits, and they think I can come in and be an impact player right away. They’ve been recruiting me a long time and Coach KP (Kenny Payne) and coach Nolan Smith, those are my guys. Even though they haven’t had the best year, they’ll start to pick it back up.” –Flowers to Rivals’ Travis Graf this winter
