The Louisville Cardinals are struggling of late. Head Coach Pat Kelsey has seen his Cardinals lose three of their last four games, with unceremonious defeats to college programs like Stanford and Duke casting serious doubts on their credentials as an ACC contender. One highlight of their poor run of results of late is the absence of their star freshman, Mikel Brown Jr.

The former 5-star recruit suffered a lower back injury in December last year and has since not appeared for the Cardinals. The Cardinals boast a 3-4 record without Mikel Brown Jr., and, according to CBB Analyst and coach Matt McCall, Louisville is going to be facing a problem quite similar to what the Kansas Jayhawks went through with Darryn Peterson.

Speaking on the Field of 68: After Dark Podcast, McCall said, “I’m concerned about Louisville right now because Mikel Brown Jr., will he come back? Is he gonna play this season at some point in time? And when he does come back, much like the Peterson issue at Kansas, other guys are going to be like, ‘All right, what’s my role now?’ Because he’s that dynamic of a player. It’s hard to deal with.”

Losing a point guard like Mikel Brown Jr. was always going to be an issue. However, the length of the injury will force Head Coach Pat Kelsey to make changes to the play style, rotation, and overall game at Louisville. The longer he remains sidelined, the more those changes settle in. That creates a difficult transition point once Brown is cleared, especially when leaving a player of his caliber on the bench is not a realistic option.

Kansas experienced a similar disruption when Peterson returned from injury. Despite his elite status as a projected top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Jayhawks dropped games to unseeded opponents like UCF and West Virginia as they struggled to recalibrate. Louisville risks walking the same tightrope.

Mikel Brown Jr. has also raced to the front of the top prospects for the NBA Draft with his performances for the Louisville Cardinals. The 19-year-old is averaging 16.6 points per game while also providing 5.1 assists on average. The point guard is now being touted as a top 10 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, with much of the Louisville Cardinals’ offense going through him.

Pat Kelsey has a lot to fix to stop this Louisville Cardinals rut in the absence of Mikel Brown Jr.

Every aspect of the Louisville Cardinals’ play style has been suffering because of Mikel Brown Jr.’s unavailability due to a lower back injury. The shooting percentage has taken a big hit, while the defense is now leaking more baskets from beyond the arc without Mikel Brown Jr. With no return date in sight, Head Coach Pat Kelsey has a lot to fix.

Adrian Wooley has replaced Brown Jr. in the starting lineup for the Cardinals. The sophomore guard had a great 2024-25 season, averaging 18.8 points per game. However, the 20-year-old is taking a long time to get into the groove, as evidenced by the latest defeat against the Virginia Cavaliers.

Wooley scored just 5 points and had just one basket from 9 attempts from open play. In fact, the whole team shot an abysmal 36% from open play, while their inability to shoot three-pointers late into the game saw Virginia stroll towards victory. After repeated underperformances from beyond the arc without Brown Jr., Head Coach Pat Kelsey would have to rework the Cardinals’ strategy.

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Matches against Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and Duke await the Cardinals. And no fixture looks like a guaranteed win in the ACC right now for Louisville, who are reeling with a 2-3 record in the ACC thus far. Pat Kelsey relishes such challenges, but he will have to find a solution fast if the Cardinals are to remain strong contenders not just for the ACC but also for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.