LOUISVILLE, Ky. -At this point in the roster-building stage, new Louisville men’s basketball head coach Pat Kelsey and his staff have been focusing on bolstering the Cardinals’ frontcourt with their latest open scholarship. On Tuesday night, they were able to find the final piece of the 2024-25 puzzle.
Frank Anselem-Ibe, who spent the last two seasons of his career at Georgia, is headed to Louisville to conclude his college career with the Cards. It’s Kelsey’s 12th transfer commitment since his signing on March 28, and his 13th overall, officially completing all scholarships for next season’s roster.
The 6-foot-10, 215-pound big man played in 29 of Georgia’s 37 games last season, also making three starts. In that time, he averaged 2.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 62.8 percent from the field.
Anselem-Ibe’s play increased during Georgia’s NIT run. He averaged 5.5 points and 6.3 rebounds on 62.5 percent shooting in four games, including a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double against Ohio State. The Bulldogs fell to eventual NIT champion Seton Hall in the semifinals.
Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, he began his career at Syracuse, where he spent two seasons before playing the next two seasons at Georgia. In 96 appearances and 15 starts between his time with the Orange and Bulldogs, Anselem-Ibe has totaled 254 points, 290 rebounds, 59 blocks and 30 assists.
But beyond his stats, what else does Anselem-Ibe bring to the table for the Cardinals?
As you might imagine from a true center who stands almost seven feet tall, Anselem-Ibe lives almost exclusively in the paint. 92 percent of his field goal attempts last season came right at the rim, and the overwhelming majority of his shots came from the elbow, low post or baseline dunk spot.
At first glance, Anselem-Ibe is a little wiry/thin, but he is stronger than he looks. Against a lot of traffic down low, he does a good job finishing through contact and also holding onto the ball against double teams. He made 61 percent of his attempts at the rim and committed only eight turnovers all season. It helps that he does a very good job of using his pivot foot in post moves, both on the block and near the elbow in transition, and is much more agile than you would expect.
From that last sentence, although it is not a major aspect of his game, Anselem-Ibe is a very underrated scorer as a cutter. It’s a small sample size, but he averaged a whopping 2.2 points per possession on cuts, which was in the 99th percentile in college basketball last season.
An important aspect of Anselem-Ibe’s game is the backs. Not only is he good at taking advantage of his own misses thanks to his height and length, but he also shows a willingness to fight through contact to take advantage of his teammates’ missed shots. As a result, he shines as an offensive rebounder, posting an 11.3 percent offensive rebound rate and scoring 1.27 points per possession on backs.
Something Anselem-Ibe needs to clean up a bit is his tendency to leave the ball on the ground almost every time he receives it, whether it’s a pass or a dropback. That’s fine as long as he has an open look or there’s no one else around him, but as long as he’s played tight defense or faced with a double team, that could result in an easy loss against some of the best frontcourts in the game. the ACC.
On the defensive end of the floor, Anselem-Ibe is the very definition of a rim protector. He is a fantastic shot blocker, with a 7.9 percent block rate and averaging 3.0 blocks per 40 minutes. He is overwhelming in one-on-one matchups in the low post, but can also adapt very well to the ball in 2-on-1 disadvantages. He is excellent as a help wing defender and will sometimes even stretch the perimeter if necessary.
So why didn’t he put up better numbers at Georgia last season? Well, they barely used it. He played just 17.7 percent of the Bulldogs’ total minutes, ranking 707th among the 1,067 power conference players.
In fact, Anselem-Ibe was one of nine D1 players last season to post a 126.0+ offensive rating and a 7.5+ percent block percentage in at least 15 percent of minutes. played. This list includes players like UConn’s Donovan Clingan, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, New Mexico’s JT Toppin and…Charleston’s James Scott, who is now at Louisville.
Overall, this is a great frontcourt depth piece for Louisville. Anselem-Ibe probably won’t be asked to do much, but he provides the Cardinals with another rim protector, as well as another option at the five for bigger lineups.
(Photo by Frank Anselem-Ibe via University of Louisville Athletics)
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook – @LouisvilleReport
Twitter- @UofLReport
Instagram- @louisville_report
You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic on @Matt_McGavic On twitter
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow @Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.