LOUISVILLE, Ky. – During his short time as the head coach of the Louisville men’s basketball program, Pat Kelsey has shown that he is willing to leave no stone unturned when it comes to roster construction.

Now, that includes attempting to land a player who most recently played in the NBA G-League.

Abdullah Ahmed, a 21-year-old center who has played the last two seasons for the Westchester Knicks – the G-League affiliate of the New York Knicks – announced Saturday that he had been offered a scholarship to play for the Cardinals.

Louisville is one of six schools that has offered Ahmed, with Auburn, BYU, Houston, Mississippi State and UCLA also getting in the mix. Ahmed’s offer comes following the NCAA’s ruling last month that Thierry Darlan, who also had previously played in the G-League, was eligible to play D1 hoops at Santa Clara this upcoming season.

Last season for Westchester, the 6-foot-10, 220-pound big man averaged 4.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks across 15 games and eight starts, while also shooting 45.9 percent from the field. During the 2023-24 campaign, he put up 5.8 points and 6.9 rebounds over 21 games and four starts.

In over a year-and-a-half on the job, Kelsey and Co. have shown a willingness to build their roster by any means necessary. For instance, of the seven newcomers for the 2025-26 season, one is a traditional high school prospect, three are from the transfer portal, and the other three are from overseas.

Louisville is coming off of a successful year one under head coach Kelsey. The Cardinals went 27-8 overall, winning more games than over the previous three seasons combined, resulting in Kelsey winning ACC Coach of the Year. UofL made their return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 – although it resulted in a first round exit to Creighton.

As for year two, the Cardinals are widely viewed as one of the top contenders to win not only the ACC, but for the national championship. They return impact contributors J’Vonne Hadley and Kasean Pryor, and are infusing that with top-25 transfers Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely and Adrian Wooley; as well as five-star HS point guard Mikel Brown Jr.

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(Photo of Abdullah Ahmed – Instagram)

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