Winners and losers from the NBA Draft declarations

Winners and losers of the NBA Draft declarations

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - MARCH 23: Head coach Bill Self of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts to a play against the Auburn Tigers during their game in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 13: Teammates Jordan Nwora #33 and Khwan Fore #4 of the Louisville Cardinals react after a play against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during their game in the second round of the 2019 Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 13, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Winner: Louisville

One of the more surprising programs in the country this season was Louisville, which was expected to rebuild in the first year of the Chris Mack era.

The Cardinals ended up becoming one of the best programs in the ACC, earning a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Minnesota in the first round.

That loss figured to be the end of several key Cardinals’ careers, with a lot of players declaring for the draft. Mack proceeded to reload with an excellent recruiting class, headlined by four top-100 players, and added an impact transfer in former St. Joe’s point guard Fresh Kimble.

That group would have built the nucleus of a contender in Louisville, but the Cardinals gained two huge victories when Steven Enoch and Jordan Nwora decided to come back for another year.

The return of Nwora, who averaged 17 points per game for Louisville last season, is a massive win for Mack and the program.

Having those experienced players to go along with dynamic recruiting class gives Louisville an outside shot of being a top-five team in the preseason.

Even though Duke and North Carolina did well in the recruiting season and should be big conference title threats, Virginia lost a ton of impact players and should take a step back.

This creates a massive opportunity for Louisville to climb back towards the top of the ACC, and the returns of Nwora and Enoch really help their cause.