CRAWFORD | Louisville big man James Scott has entered the transfer portal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- University of Louisville junior forward James Scott has entered the NCAA transfer portal, according to sources close to the program and a report from Joe Tipton of On3Sports.

Scott, who transferred to Louisville from Charleston when Pat Kelsey became the Cardinals' coach, became a fan favorite over the course of his lone season in Louisville, often doing the "dirty work" of setting screens and distrusting the ball as a "hub" in Kelsey's offense.

He also gained notoriety when he suffered a facial fracture and broken teeth while diving for a loose ball in an 88-78 win over Florida State on Feb. 8. Scott was rushed to a medical facility during the game but called Kelsey from there to assure the coach that he would be ready for the next game.

He returned with a special protective mask crafted by engineers at Louisville Speed School of Engineering.

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Despite the injury, Scott played in all 35 games last season and started 31 for Louisville.

"He just does so many things that don't show up on stat sheet," Kelsey said of Scott after a win at Syracuse. "I think he's one of the best screeners in our conference. And so many things that happen and shots that are generated so many times are kind of finished by a James Scott screen. And there's an art to that, and he studies it."

Scott averaged 7.1 points and was second on the team at 6.1 rebounds per contest. He also shot 75.5% from the field, and slammed home 79 dunks — third-most in the history of a program that values the dunk and keeps the stat. Montrezl Harrell is the only Louisville player with more dunks in a season. He missed only 35 shots all season out of 143 attempted. As a freshman at Charleston, he made 76 of 96 shots (79.2%).

He scored a career-high 16 points in a blowout win at SMU on Jan. 21.

Scott joins three other transfers from last season's Louisville team. Koren Johnson, who played just a handful of games before a season-ending injury, has transferred to Ole Miss. Patrick Antonelli, a walk-on and the son of ESPN analyst Debbie Antonelli, transferred to N.C. State. Cole Sherman, a Louisville native who transferred from NKU to walk-on to his hometown team, entered the portal on Tuesday.

A player entering the portal does not necessarily commit them to a transfer. Some have withdrawn and worked out a deal with their original school. With with the deadline approaching at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, some players made the move to preserve the option.