Dez Wells visiting Louisville

Former Xavier guard Dez Wells is on the search for a new school and that search will bring him to Louisville this weekend. The 6-3 guard was recently expelled from Xavier following a sexual assault allegation. However, a grand jury refused to indict Wells due to a lack of evidence and Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters went as far to publicly ask Xavier University to revisit it’s expulsion decision. Xavier will not rescind their decision and Wells is on the look for another school.

According to multiple reports, Wells is now focused on Maryland, Memphis, and Louisville. He will be in town on Sunday, with Monday set as his deadline to make a decision. As a freshman, Wells averaged 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game for the Muskateers and was a member of the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie team. He was a five-star recruit out of Hargrave Academy, coached by none other than current UofL assistant Kevin Keatts.

There’s a lot of chatter out there right now regarding this situation, so let’s take a look at what we know, or at least think we know, for sure. First, Wells is without question an impact player. He’s explosive, a freak athlete, and a ferocious competitor. Second, he will NOT be walking on anywhere. A player the caliber of Dez Wells will be on scholarship.

Third, Dez would not be immediately eligible. He could apply for a waiver for immediate eligibility, but that is not a sure shot to be approved. If it were not approved, he would sit a year under transfer rules. Finally, the Cards are definitely in great position in this deal. However, nothing is close to being done and there are still several things to work out.

The biggest thing that needs to be figured out is the scholarship situation.

Right now, UofL is at their limit and while normally I would say these things always work themselves out, this is a unique deal. They cannot simply redshirt a current player because that player would remain on scholarship while being redshirted. Pitino could ask a current player to go off scholarship as he did with Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith, but their families were in a financial position to do so. That potentially could not be the case with the current roster. We’ll have to wait and see, but make no mistake, UofL will try their best to make it happen.

Adding a Dez Wells would give a Louisville team with good depth simply ridiculous depth. I’m not sure how Pitino will make room for him, but if Rick can, I think there’s a good chance Dez Wells enrolls at Louisville.