Top-ranked JuCo player Jay Scrubb commits to Louisville

The former Trinity High School star is coming back to The Ville.

Jay Scrubb, the nation’s top-ranked junior college player, has committed to Louisville. The former Trinity High School standout made the announcement on Instagram, saying simply, “I’m staying home.”

Scrubb was one of the handful of official visitors on-hand at Friday evening’s “Louisville Live” event.

As a freshman at John A. Logan junior college, Scrubb averaged 19.5 points and 8.6 rebounds while shooting 46 percent from three and 79 percent from the free-throw line in 2018-19. Those numbers earned him JuCo All-American honors, and made him a hot commodity for D-I coaches in search of a guard who could fill it up in 2020-21.

After averaging 17.8 ppg as a senior at Trinity, Scrubb was named the 2018 Seventh Region Player of the Year. At Louisville, the lefty sharpshooter could be reunited with former Shamrock teammate David Johnson, who was named the 2019 Seventh Region Player of the Year as well as the MVP of the 2019 state tournament.

While Scrubb picking Louisville over Memphis, Cincinnati and a host of others is a huge deal for Chris Mack and company, U of L may not be totally out of the woods just yet. Both Scrubb and his father have discussed multiple times the possibility of jumping straight from junior college to the NBA. If he makes that choice, he’ll be the first player since Donta Smith in 2004 to make that leap. Smith, and Oldham County High School product, had been committed to Louisville before declaring for the draft.

Even with the potential move to the NBA out there, getting Scrubb on board just a day after Louisville Live is a big deal. The event put a capper on Mack’s first U of L recruiting class, here’s hoping it jumpstarts his second one.