Insider names German prospect as name to watch for Pat Kelsey's Louisville as Cardinals rebuild through transfer portal

Pat Kelsey finished his first season as the head coach of the Louisville Cardinals this past season. He led the Cardinals to a No. 2 finish in the ACC and a first-round appearance in March Madness. However, despite entering their first round matchup as a No. 8 seed and a favorite, they lost 89-75 to No. 9 Creighton.

However, issues have started to arise for the Cardinals, as the transfer portal has not been kind to them. Five players left the team through the transfer portal: Jojo Stone, Austin Collins, Saadiqu Clements, Darius Thomas, and Woo Spencer. As a result, the team is in dire need of depth if it is going to return to March Madness next season.

On Wednesday, a clip on X with college basketball experts and Adam Finkelstein and Isaac Trotter talking about Louisville's situation in the transfer portal. In the clip, Trotter spoke about how German recruit Sanada Fru could play a big role for the Cardinals next season.

"Yeah they had to mix and match it a little bit. Sananda Fru is a guy that I would keep a really close eye on. Our recruiting rankings team loves him, a big man out of Germany. We saw international big men move from the international game to the college game and have a lot of success this year. Like Tomislav Ivisic at Illinois was very very good."

"I think that's what Louisville expects out of Fru, that he could be a difference maker for them. They have their irons in the fire in a lot of ways. We know what Pat Kelsey wants to do, he wants multiple bigs."

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German prospect Sananda Fru is an older recruit for Pat Kelsey and the Louisville Cardinals

Typically, when players are recruited in college basketball, they are around 18 years old and coming out of high school. However, with international prospects, they can sometimes be much older. Many European players will play in junior European leagues after graduating from high school and then come to college later. That is the case with Sananda Fru at Louisville.

Fru will turn 22 years old in August, meaning he could be the age of many seniors and fourth-year players. His scouting report at 247 Sports indicates that he is a 6' 10" player with a 7' 2" wingspan and a versatile frontcourt player. He has shown effective finishing ability at the rim, but can also space the floor with strong shooting abilities.