Charles Minlend close to making Louisville basketball debut

During his time on the weekly ACC coaches teleconference, Chris Mack was once again asked about the progress of guard Charles Minlend.

The San Francisco graduate transfer has been participating in pregame warm-ups for the last two weeks, but has still been listed as “unavailable” for each of Louisville’s games. That could be changing soon.

“He’s coming along great,” Mack said of Minlend. “I think that going from rehab to playing, there’s a conditioning element. There’s a timing element. There’s a confidence element that hopefully he gains even more over the next few days of practice. But there’s nothing that we’re doing in practice that he’s not a part of at this point.”

Minlend was a Second Team All-West Coast Conference selection in 2019-20 after averaging 14.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He averaged double figures in scoring in all three of his seasons at San Francisco, where he became just the sixth USF player in the last 35 years to score 450 or more points in back-to-back seasons.

In addition to his offensive attributes, the 6’4 Minlend should be able to utilize his athleticism and tenacity to help an already stout defensive U of L squad on that end of the floor.

“We’re excited to add him into the fold,” Mack said. “We’ve missed him. He provides some leadership and some perimeter help as well, and so like I said, there’s nothing that we’re doing now that he’s not a part of.”

Here’s hoping we get our first glimpse at another potential key cog for this Cardinal squad Wednesday night in Winston-Salem.

Until then, Minlend Watch 2021 rolls on.