Report: Louisville a Possible Destination for FAU Transfer Johnell Davis

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After Dusty May accepted the vacant head coaching position at Michigan, it was widely expected that some of his players from Florida Atlantic could follow him, including Johnell Davis.

Well, it appears that we shouldn't count out Louisville and new head coach Pat Kelsey's chances to land Davis.

While Michigan is the "school to watch" for Davis, Louisville "isn't going down without a fight" to land the star Owls shooting guard, according to On3's Pete Nakos. A large reasoning why has been the Cardinals' recent efforts on the NIL front.

"With an influx of NIL capital, Pat Kelsey is ready to take some big swings to reconstruct the roster," Nakos wrote.

Earlier this week, Louisville supporter Rick Kueber launched a million-dollar donation matching campaign for the men's basketball program through UofL's NIL collective 502 Circle. As of Apr. 3, the campaign had raised over $500,000.

Potentially landing Davis would be quite the development for a multitude of reasons. During Louisville's coaching search, May was on the verge of leaving FAU for the Cardinals, only to spurn them at the 11th hour for the Wolverines.

For purely basketball reasons, securing a commitment from Davis would be a significant accomplishment in and of itself. This past season, the 6-foot-4, 203-pound guard put together an All-American caliber campaign for FAU. After entering the portal earlier this week, he is currently the No. 1 player to transfer in this cycle, according to On3's in-house rankings.

Starting all 34 games for the Owls, Davis averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, and posted 48.3/41.4/85.7 shooting splits for the season. He was named the co-American Athletic Conference Player of the Year alongside USF's Chris Youngblood for his efforts.

The Gary, Ind. also played a key role in Florida Atlantic making a miracle run to the 2023 Final Four. In 37 games and 16 starts that season, he averaged 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, while shooting 48.6/35.7/85.5. As a result, Davis was tabbed as an All-Conference USA First-Team selected, and was named the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year.

In 128 career games and 53 starts over four seasons down in Boca Raton, Fla., Davis totaled 1,431 points, 621 rebounds, 219 assists and 155 steals.

Louisville has seen a massive amount of portal movement so far this offseason. Ever since the program dismissed second-year head coach Kenny Payne, 11 players have since entered the portal, leaving the Cardinals with zero scholarship returners for next seaspn.

Fortunately, new head coach Pat Kelsey and his staff have hit the ground running out on the recruiting trail. Over the last six days, they have landed transfer commitments from Reyne Smith and James Scott - both of whom played for Kelsey at Charleston - as well as former James Madison star and 2024 Sun Belt Player of the Year Terrence Edwards Jr.

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