Louisville's Kobe Rodgers does a little bit of everything

Red Adidas basketball shoes and a Cardinal red tracksuit blended Louisville guard Kobe Rodgers into the bench last season.

Oh, and the occasional “PK” glasses sported by him and Egyptian big man Aly Khalifa.

But also blended in was an ongoing rehab process and an eventual return to the floor wearing a Cardinals uniform. Still, a bright smile and a friendly face made others quick to warm up, all before any Cardinals fan had ever seen Rodgers play.

Now, having played, the senior guard from Cincinnati is still the same fan favorite he was in the tracksuit. In Louisville’s 106-70 win over Jackson State, Rodgers played like his loose and springy self. He finished with seven points in 18 minutes off the bench, also adding five assists to go with zero turnovers and four steals. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound senior did a little bit of everything on Thursday, also netting a triple and getting to the foul line.

He displayed command of the offense at point guard and picked his spots as a passer, also showing his comfort level off-ball using his quickness to dart and cut. There were also a couple of defensive plays that stood out, and one in Louisville’s press when Rodgers intercepted a pass at halfcourt like a safety on the football field.

“I thought Kobe Rodgers was a catalyst off the bench for us,” Pat Kelsey said after. “As captain, his job is to raise the level of intensity when he comes into the game. I thought he did a phenomenal job of accepting that role, embracing that role.”

He’s certainly a veteran and one that the team values in leadership.

After tearing his knee up in College of Charleston’s 2024 Round of 64 game against Alabama, it was a devastating blow to Rodgers, who was starting to heat up and play some of the best basketball in his career. After originally starting his career at Nova Southeastern (DII), Rodgers had been averaging 9.7 minutes and 4.6 rebounds in just over 21 minutes for the Cougars. Once Kelsey made the move to Louisville the next month, it was an easy decision to retain one of his most versatile players.

“Kobe had seven (points), five (assists), four (rebounds), and no turnovers. That is what his job is, and he did a really good job of that,” said Kelsey.

Doing his job and a little bit more is exactly what Rodgers was brought here to do. But it doesn’t escape the fact that he’s returning to live game action for the first time in 18 months.

“It’s been exciting getting back out on the court, finally getting to play up and down five on five, there’s nothing like it. You can do all the drills and stuff that you want, but unit you get in an actual game setting, there’s nothing like it,” Rodgers told Cardinal Sports in October.

Rodgers is the kind of player that Louisville didn’t have in its backcourt a season ago. He’s one of the better athletes on the roster and brings quickness off the bench. Chucky Hepburn and Terrence Edwards Jr. held a massive ball-handling responsibility, and one that forced Pat Kelsey to have one on the floor at all times. With Rodgers running the point as well as he has these last two games, the Cardinals look to have strong backcourt depth and one that will carry them over the course of the season.

In the opening night win over South Carolina State, the guard played a team-high 26 minutes and once again put up numbers in every stat column. He was also 6-of-6 from the foul line against the Bulldogs, going for nine points, three assists, two steals, and a block.

He’s also not being talked about enough as a rebounder, as there have been several sequences where he has crashed the offensive glass and out-hustled the opponent for a loose ball. At a slim 6-foot-3, Rodgers has seven rebounds, two of which are offensive, through the start of the season.

Rodgers’ offensive rating (141.8) is the fourth-highest on the team, his assist rate (23.3) is third, and his steal percentage of 6.9 is 80th best in the nation. Sure, it’s with an extremely small sample size, but Rodgers has delivered and even looked good in the Cards’ exhibition loss to Kansas.

Having a winning player come off the bench is a luxury at this level of college basketball, and for what is proving to be one of the best backcourts in the nation, there might not be a player as valuable as Kobe Rodgers.