Louisville’s star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. will miss the Cardinals’ first-round game against South Florida due to a back injury. The school announced the news on Wednesday.
There is mixed messaging regarding his availability for a potential second-round game.
Conflicting Messages on Brown’s Potential Return
The school stated that Brown would “remain out the rest of this week should the Cardinals advance to the Round of 32.” However, coach Pat Kelsey would not comment on Brown’s status beyond him not playing in Thursday’s first-round game. Brown himself said it was “possible” he could play over the weekend.
“There’s a possibility,” Brown said. “I don’t know how, I don’t know if it’s completely 100%. Like I said, man, this thing is just taking its slow, precious time and I’m leaning on my medical staff every single day to do any type of treatment, anything to try to get me back healthy.”
When asked what he might need to see or feel in order to suit up in a potential second-round game, Brown reiterated that it was “possible.”
“Shoot, it’s like I said, it’s taking its precious time, so I really don’t have a gauge on if I’ll be able to play on Saturday,” he said. “Obviously, I do pray that I’m able to play on Saturday. But like I said, man, I’ve never been trained to go half-speed in any type of shape or form in anything that I do. And that’s the only speed I can go at right now.”
Brown’s Impact and Previous Absence
Brown has missed the last four games with his back injury. It is the same injury that kept him out of eight games earlier this season.
When on the court, Brown was one of the most dynamic freshman guards in college basketball, averaging 18.2 points and 4.7 assists. The projected NBA lottery pick has produced some outstanding individual performances since initially returning from injury, including a 45-point, nine-rebound game against NC State in which he made 10 3-pointers. He also had 29 points in back-to-back games against Baylor and SMU.
Before the December injury, Brown had one of the statement early-season performances, scoring 29 points and handing out five assists in a win over rival Kentucky.
Louisville’s Performance With and Without Brown
Louisville opened the season with nine wins in its first 10 games before Brown was sidelined for more than a month. The Cardinals went just 4-4 without Brown.
Once he returned, they rattled off six wins in seven games before dropping three of Brown’s final four games. They had a better understanding of how to play without Brown the second time around, beating Syracuse, Miami and SMU in three straight games before falling to Miami in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.
Wooley to Step Up Again
Former Kennesaw State transfer Adrian Wooley has started every game that Brown has been sidelined this season. Wooley is averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds on the season, but those numbers rise to 11.0 points in 14 games as a starter. He has scored at least 14 points in three of his last five games.
Six-seed Louisville opens the NCAA tournament against 11-seed South Florida on Thursday and would play the winner of Michigan State vs. North Dakota State if it beats the Bulls.