Louisville Basketball received a much-needed boost in depth on Saturday.
After a 10-game absence due to a broken left arm, the senior forward Aboubacar Traore was cleared to play, the team announced in a statement ahead of its noon warning against Eastern Kentucky to the KFC Yum! Center.
This news should be music to the head coach’s ears Pat Kelsey’s ears after the Cardinals (7-5, 1-1 ACC) lost two players, fifth-year forward Kasean Pryor (knee) and junior guard Koren Johnson (shoulder), to injuries that ended the season in early December. More often than not, U of L has resorted to a seven-person rotation lately.
Traore, a 6-foot-5 Ivory Coast native, fractured his arm during Louisville’s 10-day break between a loss to Tennessee on Nov. 9 and a win against Bellarmine on Nov. 19. The Long Beach State transfer has appeared in just 37 minutes for the Cards so far, totaling three points, 10 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and a steal.
As a junior, Traore averaged 12 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 30.8 minutes per game, en route to being named the Big West Conference’s best player two years in a row.
This story will be updated.
Contact Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article was originally published in the Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Pat Kelsey recovers Kader Traoré from injury
