Kasean Pryor returns: How did he fair in his return to the court?

After a long-awaited return, the Yum! Center erupted on Tuesday night when Kasean Pryor checked in versus Jackson State. The fanbase rose and clapped loudly when he made his way onto the floor.

Even though the 6-foot-10 forward played limited minutes, he showed some positive flashes in his return. On the night, he finished with six points, three rebounds, and one steal in 16 minutes of action.  It was his first game since tearing his ACL in the Battle 4 Atlantis against Oklahoma last November.

He had a chance to talk to the media after the 106-70 win over Jackson State.

Pryor discusses his return, overcoming adversity, and UK matchup

Return to game action:

“Unbelievable feeling, obviously checking in front of the best fans in college basketball at the Yum! Center today. It was just a process talking to PK, talking to my family. My deadline was to be back before Kentucky so I would be prepared to play against them. Whether it was an exhibition or one of the first two games, I just wanted to get out there and get my feet wet and obviously get back into it after almost being out for a year. Obviously, very excited being out there playing with these guys for the first time in the Yum! Center. Got a few buckets early, was very exciting. Just happy and blessed to be back and healthy.”

On overcoming adversity and the emotional ride of the injury:

“I’ve been fighting adversity all my life, especially in my basketball career. My first two years I barely touched the court. I bet on myself and went to junior college, ended up being one of the best players in the country, had a great year at South Florida, then was able to come here and be with the best staff and teammates in my career so far. It’s all adversity, that’s all life is, you just find a way to navigate and still be successful even with bumps. I’ve had a great staff behind me, my teammates have been pushing me and have been excited for me to play, which has made me a little too excited, probably, but I was happy to know the guys that those guys were ready to have me out there.

Magnitude of the UK game:

“I feel like you can’t even walk around the city of Louisville without somebody telling you beat UK right? You feel it instantly. When I got here last year with the ReviVILLE team, maybe in the first week or two, a thousand people telling you beat UK, we don’t care about anything else but beat UK. That speaks for itself; they know how big this rivalry is. Obviously, a state rivalry and one of the biggest in college basketball.”

Performance Assessment

Right from the jump, he brought energy. He attacked the rim, both as a cutter and a slasher. He did miss some finishes at the rim, but his overall activity offensively at the basket was encouraging.

He also had some nice flashes playing alongside Aly Khalifa. For his first basket in his return, he converted a dunk off a pass from Khalifa. Those two offer a different look in the frontcourt, essentially having two completely different play-styles to complement each other. 

From the perimeter, Pryor failed to knock down jumpers. He went 0-3 from three and missed a pair of free throws.

He also made some plays on the boards, crashing offensively and scoring on a putback. For his college career, he averages 6.0 rebounds per game, which will be a welcome returning asset to this team.

Another wrinkle that Louisville displayed was putting Pryor atop of their press break defensively. The Illinois native can be disruptive in this capacity due to his size, length, and mobility. He sped up ball-handlers and forced some turnovers in the process, getting an on-ball steal and forcing a poor pass that went out of bounds. Khani Rooths also added some value in this same capacity. 

Overall, defensively, he had some encouraging flashes getting deflections and wreaking some havoc at the top of the press, but did miss some assignments off the ball in the half-court.

Something to note going forward in the future with Pryor is that he is in the process of getting back into game shape. He was playing two to three-minute spurts and did show some fatigue, but understandably so after a long absence from playing. He played about 16 minutes total in game action. 

“He was diligent in his rehab. He worked really hard,” said Kelsey. Kasean’s an awesome dude. He’s eccentric, he’s got all of the stuff. Watching him warm up out there, I saw it on social media. What the heck he’s wearing; Kasean is one of one. He marches to the beat of his own drum; that’s why we love him. He’s got a great heart. He’s great to coach; he wants to be coached hard. I get on that cat.”

Louisville will now shift its focus to the Kentucky Wildcats, facing them Tuesday, November 11th at 8 pm ET.