By Derek DeBurger

The basketball season unofficially begins on Monday when Louisville hosts its first matchup against the Young Harris Mountain Lions.

Given that Young Harris is a mediocre Division 2 opponent, their tallest player is 6'3″ and they have three players under 6'1″ on their roster, this exhibition will be all about the Cardinals as they are Play team.

With two exhibitions already planned for the Bahamas, here are a few things to look out for when Louisville hosts the KFC Yum! Center for the first time in the 2024/25 season.

Has a highest scoring option emerged?

In the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League, Louisville split the Rock remarkably well.

Louisville averaged 30 assists and averaged 04 field goals in its two games. And that's exactly how it is Pat Kelsey wants his teams to play.

A total of eight players achieved double-digit results at least once in the Bahamas.

Kasean Pryor was one of the top two scorers in both games, but was unable to establish himself as the top scorer on offense.

Koren Johnson And J'Vonne Hadley They also proved to be consistent goalscorers, reaching double figures in both games after coming off the bench.

Not every team needs a true star scorer, but it can help simplify things toward the end of a season.

How will Terrence Edwards perform?

Terrence Edwards was the first transfer to Louisville who did not play for Kelsey in Charleston. Edwards is also the top-rated transfer portal, according to data from all major recruiting services.

While Edwards demonstrated his abilities as a highly capable distributor, he still didn't seem completely comfortable in Kelsey's system.

The James Madison transfer is someone who is used to being “the guy” and regularly getting a bucket in an isolation kit. ISO sets will be few and far between in Louisville's offense, so it's natural that Edwards will need some time to adjust.

Despite his slow start, the Edwards scored no fewer than 10 points at each exhibition in the Bahamas.

Once Edwards gets fully into position, this Louisville offense could look scary.

Is Reyne Smith as good as advertised?

The self-proclaimed “best three-point shooter in the world” –Reyne Smith– was the first player to commit to the Cards in the offseason.

In a foreign land, he didn't really seem otherworldly.

Smith still hit a lot of threes, but only because he took them a ton of three.

Unfortunately, Louisville has had several players in recent history who were touted in the transfer portal as excellent scorers from deep, all of whom struggled upon arriving at the Derby City.

The Australian native can allay any fears that he might not live up to the hype with a good night of shooting against Young Harris.

Who will be in the starting line-up?

Kelsey has a diverse roster full of players who could receive significant minutes. This versatility also creates confusion as no one knows exactly who the starters will be.

In the Bahamas, the Cards had the same starting lineup both times (Chucky HepburnEdwards, Pryor, Aboubacar Traore And James Scott). Will this lineup remain? Will this be the group for the whole year?

Not a soul has a clue.

Even Kelsey said during media day that he doesn't know who he'll be starting with on November 4th, but that could be a smokescreen for all we know.

Everyone will just have to wait to see who the five corpses on the field are when given a clue.

What will the offensive rebounding look like?

This may seem very silly, but it could be very consequential. Kelsey has stuck to the formula of crashing all five players on the offensive floor, which has resulted in his teams routinely being among the best offensive rebounding teams in the country.

This also results in no one being all over the field, so his teams are usually terrible in transition defense.

This style worked at lower levels but has yet to be tested against elite ACC competition. We won't find out if he can keep up against the likes of Duke or UNC, but we will see if he sticks to it consistently.

In the Bahamas, the Cards brought down many players, but not all. It will be fascinating and also very important to see what approach he takes.

How is the defense holding up?

Kelsey was never known to have a great defense, only on Kenpom, where he fielded a top-40 defense. His attacking style also results in inflated box scores, making his defensive stats look worse at first glance.

The most important thing to look for is How The defense will look.

Against the Mountain Lions, I would be shocked if the Cards didn't limit them to tiny points totals. The key to the performance of this card defense may lie in the numbers that are not recorded, such as: B. Deflections, average length of possession and kills (three consecutive stops).

It will also be fun to see what tendencies this defense has: how they handle screens, how often they double up, how well they rotate, etc.

Louisville's trip to the Bahamas was arguably the first time Cardinals men's basketball was fun in three years, and the good times won't end there.

Louisville will be at the Yum! on Monday at 7 p.m. stand in court. Center.

Photo courtesy of Chris Carter, Louisville Athletics