CARDINALS

Big Board 1.0: U of L's 2018 recruiting targets

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj

This is the updated first version of the Louisville basketball recruiting Big Board for the 2018 class. There will be regular changes as new information becomes available throughout the summer recruiting cycle. The post was updated on May 4.

With the AAU basketball season underway, the Louisville recruiting Big Board is back, with a new focus on the 2018 class.

As of now, the Cards have three open scholarships for the class, with Anas Mahmoud and Quentin Snider set to graduate and Jaylen Johnson's scholarship free. (Johnson's scholarship is also free for the 2017 class, though it's not expected to be filled by U of L.) More 2018 scholarships could come open if underclassmen like Deng Adel, V.J. King or Ray Spalding leave for the 2018 NBA draft, assuming Adel returns for the 2017-18 season. U of L filled the scholarship opened by Matz Stockman's transfer with former Connecticut big man Steven Enoch, who has two years of eligibility left.

(Confused by all the scholarship math? Here's a spreadsheet to make it clearer.)

The biggest question continues to be whether sophomore guard Donovan Mitchell decides to return to school for his junior year or remain in the 2017 NBA draft pool. If the All-ACC scoring guard does stay in the draft, which is the prevailing belief in NBA circles, expect U of L to attempt to fill his scholarship this offseason.

U of L's original contingency plan in the event Mitchell leaves school, which Rick Pitino alluded to in several interviews, is no longer believed to be an option, according to sources around U of L's program. It instead appears graduate transfer Mark Alstork, a former Wright State guard who originally left school to test the NBA draft waters but is leaning toward a fifth year of college, is now the Cards' top contingency plan if Mitchell stays in the draft.

More: U of L's final 2017 recruiting rankings
More:NCAA Tournament returning to Yum Center

Based on the two prospects already committed in the 2018 class, the first priority was guard help. St. Louis point guard Courtney Ramey and Orlando scoring guard Anfernee Simons pledged early, allowing Louisville to turn its attention to post players and wings.

The No. 1 recruiting priority is, was and will be Romeo Langford, the 6-foot-5 scoring guard from New Albany who is one of the top prospects in the country. The Cards would also like to add a big man in the 2018 class.

Of course, this is recruiting, so this information will change again in the coming weeks. But for now, here's the list of names U of L is pursuing as the AAU cycle kicks into action:

THE 2018 BIG BOARD

ALREADY COMMITTED

COURTNEY RAMEY

Position: Point guard. Size: 6-4, 165. 247Sports Composite national rank: 64. Also considered: Creighton and Florida, among others. High school: Webster Groves (St. Louis, Missouri). AAU team: Ramey-Jets United (Adidas).

A point guard with length and athleticism, Ramey pledged to U of L in early February. The St. Louis native is ranked as high as 19th and five stars (Scout) in the 2018 class. Rivals has Ramey 29th and 247Sports has him 48th. He averaged 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals per game in leading Webster Groves to a state title, and he earned St. Louis Post-Dispatch's All-Metro boys' basketball player of the year honors.

More on Ramey: Speedy point guard pledges to U of L

ANFERNEE SIMONS

Position: Combo guard. Size: 6-3, 165. 247Sports Composite national rank: 48. Also considered: Connecticut, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Oklahoma State and UCLA. High school: Edgewater (Orlando, Florida). Prep: West Oaks Academy (Orlando, Florida). AAU team: Team Breakdown (Under Armour).

A scoring guard, Simons committed to Louisville in November 2016 to, as he put it, focus on basketball. He led Orlando's Edgewater High to the Class 7A championship game, averaging 23.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Simons scored 22.9 points per game on the Under Armour under-16 circuit last summer and made 42 3-pointers. He is expected to attend West Oaks Academy, Anas Mahmoud's alma mater, for a prep year before coming to U of L in 2018.

More on Simons: Scoring guard reviews U of L visit, commitment

RECRUITING

WINGS (in alphabetical order)

JAIRUS HAMILTON

Position: Small forward. Size: 6-7, 220. 247Sports Composite national rank: 35. Also considering: Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Wake Forest, among many others. High school: Cannon School (Concord, North Carolina). AAU team: Georgia Stars (Nike).

A big, physical small forward, Hamilton is considered a North Carolina lean. He took in two UNC games this past season. But he will have just about every major program on him this summer and the schools listed above are the ones he mentioned in a recent interview with Nike.

LOUIS KING

Position: Small forward. Size: 6-8, 195. 247Sports Composite national rank: 27. Also considering: Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Seton Hall, Syracuse and many others. High school: Hudson Catholic (Burlington, New Jersey). AAU team: Team Final (Nike).

A tall wing, King switched to the Nike circuit and will play with Cameron Reddish, one of the top four or five players in the class. U of L visited him in the fall, with Rick Pitino checking in on King in September, a few days after the Cards offered a scholarship.

ROMEO LANGFORD

Position: Scoring guard. Size: 6-5, 190. 247Sports Composite national rank: 3. Also considering: Duke, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina and many others. High school: New Albany (Indiana). AAU team: Twenty Two Vision (Adidas).

The No. 1 target on Louisville's wish list for 2018, Langford's recruitment has entered the final, critical cycle. U of L, the schools mentioned above and several others have hotly pursued Langford for several years now, and the Indiana native said he plans to narrow his list to five schools sometime after the summer AAU circuit.

AJ REEVES 

Position: Scoring guard. Size: 6-5, 180. 247Sports Composite national rank: 57. Also considering: Connecticut, Northwestern, Providence, Syracuse, Villanova and many others. High school: Brimmer and May School (Boston). AAU team: Mass Rivals (Adidas).

A big scoring guard, Reeves was on Louisville's radar last summer. Through the first weekend of the 2017 AAU circuit, he averaged 11 points in three wins and was 11 of 19 from the field. Connecticut and Providence are on him, and the other schools mentioned above have made visits.

BRANDON SLATER

Position: Scoring guard. Size: 6-5, 185. 247Sports Composite national rank: 37. Also considering: Maryland, Miami, South Carolina, Syracuse, Villanova, West Virginia and many others. High school: Paul VI (Fairfax, Virginia). AAU team: Team Takeover (Nike).

Slater is someone to monitor this summer. The connections to Louisville – and particularly associate head coach Kenny Johnson and sophomore wing V.J. King – are plentiful for the 6-5 guard. He plays for Johnson's old AAU and high school programs and was a teammate of King. U of L has been on Slater since 2015 and was one of the first schools to offer him a scholarship.

SIDNEY WILSON

Position: Small forward. Size: 6-6, 180. 247Sports Composite national rank: 87. Also considering: Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Miami, SMU, St. John's, Texas and others. High school: Brewster Academy (New Hampshire). AAU team: New Heights (Under Armour).

A big wing at Donovan Mitchell's former prep school, Wilson is a New York kid who reclassified into 2018. He said in January that Connecticut, Maryland, Miami, Texas and Indiana were working hardest on him, though that was before Indiana parted ways with Tom Crean and his staff.

BIG GUYS (in alphabetical order)

MOSES BROWN

Position: Center. Size: 7-0, 210. 247Sports Composite national rank: 8. Also considering: Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and many others. High school: Archbishop Molloy (Queens, New York). AAU team: New Heights (Under Armour).

One of the top post players in the 2018 class, Brown has a who's who of blue-chip programs pursuing him. Kentucky's John Calipari visited him a week before the AAU circuit began. Pitino met with Brown in September, and Brown goes to Russ Smith's former high school.

SILVIO DE SOUSA

Position: Power forward. Size: 6-9, 220. 247Sports Composite national rank: 12. Also considering: Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina and many others. High school: IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida). AAU team: Florida Vipers (Under Armour).

De Sousa and his friend, Simons, have discussed playing together at U of L, and De Sousa said in December that U of L was one of the schools making the strongest pushes for him. Louisville assistant Jordan Fair has connections in Florida and visited De Sousa (and Emmitt Williams) in his first few days on the job.

DAVID MCCORMACK

Position: Center. Size: 6-9, 290. 247Sports Composite national rank: 44. Also considering: Georgetown, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech and several others. High school: Oak Hill Academy (Virginia). AAU team: Team Loaded VA (Adidas).

A big post with a serious physical presence, McCormack took unofficial visits to Kentucky and Louisville in April and has visited several other programs over the past few months. U of L offered him in December 2016.

NAZ REID

Position: Power forward. Size: 6-9, 220. 247Sports Composite national rank: 15. Also considering: Kansas, Kentucky, St. John's and many others. High school: Roselle Catholic (Roselle, New Jersey). AAU team: Sports U (Under Armour).

Louisville visited Reid in the fall of 2015 and offered him around that time. Reid does have quite a few big-name programs after him, including Kansas and Kentucky.

SIMI SHITTU

Position: Power forward. Size: 6-8, 210. 247Sports Composite national rank: 6. Also considering: Arizona, Duke, Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Wake Forest and many others. High school: Vermont Academy (Saxtons River, Vermont). AAU team: CIA Bounce (Nike).

You might recognize the name of Shittu's school – he was a prep teammate of U of L signee Jordan Nwora, who will enroll at Louisville in May. U of L offered Shittu in September and has since visited him twice. Shittu mentioned the Cards and the schools listed above in Nike's pre-AAU season publication.

LAHAT THIOUNE

Position: Power forward. Size: 6-11, 200. 247Sports Composite national rank: Unranked. Also considering: Connecticut, Iowa State and UNLV. High school: Florida Prep (Melbourne, Florida). AAU team: 1 Family (Adidas).

An unheralded big man from the east coast of Florida, Thioune has gotten plenty of attention from U of L this year. Fair visited Thioune in April.

EMMITT WILLIAMS

Position: Power forward. Size: 6-8, 200. 247Sports Composite national rank: 23. Also considering: Florida, Florida State, Kansas, LSU and many others. High school: IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida). AAU team: E1T1 (Nike).

Keep an eye on Williams, who plays at IMG with De Sousa and also met with U of L's Fair in March. Kansas has spent a lot of time on him. Florida and LSU are the only picks on his 247Sports Crystal Ball projections, but those predictions were filed last year and in 2015.