On Monday, Washington guard Koren Johnson announced his commitment to the Cardinals. Johnson first told On3’s Joe Tipton.
The now former Husky was the Pac-12’s Sixth Player of the Year this past season, averaging 11.1 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 24.2 minutes per game. Johnson will be a junior when he suits up for Louisville and is a former four-star recruit, per 247Sports.
He posted efficient shooting numbers for the 2023-2024 campaign, shooting 44% from the field and 37% from three. The guard also ranked second on Washington with 38 steals and had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0.
Kelsey’s growing list of new additions now stands at six players. He brought two from Charleston in sharpshooting guard Reyne Smith and a young big man in James Scott. Then, Sun Belt Player of the Year and former James Madison star Terrence Edwards pledged to join the Cardinals before Colorado’s J’Vonne Hadley and BYU’s Aly Khalifa followed two weeks later.
Currently, 247Sports ranks Louisville’s incoming class as the 12th-best in the country. The Cardinals have already seen six players from last year’s team choose new transfer destinations.
University of Louisville men’s basketball head coach Pat Kelsey announced Tuesday the hiring of four support staffers for his program.
Those additions include Jermaine Ukaegbu (Director of Player Personnel/Assistant Coach), Mitch Johnson (Director of Basketball Operations), Peyton Siva (Director of Player Development/Basketball Alumni Relations) and Braden Connor (Video Coordinator).
Ukaegbu, Johnson and Connor all join Kelsey from the College of Charleston, while this is the first position in college coaching for the UofL legend Siva.
Jermaine Ukaegbu
Ukaegbu has been with Kelsey for many years going back to his days playing for the coach at Winthrop. He spent the last three seasons as director of player development at CofC.
“Jermaine is one of the most extraordinary human beings I’ve ever worked with,” Kelsey said. “There is a light in him that is hard to describe, but you feel it when you are with him. He was a captain for us years ago at Winthrop, and I knew immediately that he would be an amazing coach. His understanding of our system and his ability to teach it is excellent. He pours into the lives of players and connects with them on all levels like few I’ve ever been around. His primary role in our basketball system is that of assistant defensive coordinator. He excels in on-court player development. Last year, he was huge in the development of James Scott who was the third-youngest player in all of Division I basketball. With Jermaine’s guidance, I believe James is going to be an NBA prospect as we move forward.”
“I’m honored and humbled to be a part of such a rich tradition in college basketball,” Ukaegbu said. “I have undeniable faith in Pat Kelsey and our staff that we will get Louisville rocking again, and I’m excited to be a part of the journey! L’s up!
Before Charleston, Ukaegbu served as a graduate assistant on Kelsey’s staff at Winthrop.
That followed a two-year playing career for the Eagles, in which he appeared in 59 games with 10 starts and served as a team captain in each season.
Ukaegbu joined the Eagles from Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, where he averaged 3.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 62 percent from the floor and helped the Warriors to a berth in the NJCAA National Championships. He began his playing career at Sacred Heart where he appeared in 20 games with three starts.
Ukaegbu is involved with “Nations of Coaches.” He presented his testimony and the impact that he brought to Winthrop basketball as a former player and graduate assistant.
The Silver Springs, Md., native earned his master’s in s
