Louisville’s Koron Davis blasts ‘false information’ from team statement claiming he told them he wanted to transfer

There have long been disputes over reporting, but many of those are about interpretation. It’s more unusual to see a specific factual dispute. And it’s more unusual still to see that dispute not really about reporters, but instead between a team statement and a player who flat-out says he didn’t tell the team what they claimed he did. That’s what’s going on with Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball guard Koron Davis, with the team putting out a statement he was transferring, spawning countless media reports, and Davis then disputing that on Twitter:

BREAKING: Louisville says juco transfer Koron Davis is leaving the program pic.twitter.com/EPIolLpzpU

— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) December 13, 2023

I didn’t express to anyone at U of Louisville that I wanted to transfer. I never asked to transfer. I enjoy being a Cardinal. The fact an official statement was released giving false information is disheartening and sad.

— Koron Davis (@KoronDavis) December 13, 2023

Davis committed to Louisville in January. He was in his third season of NCAA eligibility, following junior college seasons at Paris Community College in Texas and Los Angeles Southwest College. And he said in January that he chose the Cardinals because head coach Kenny Payne told him “how much he needed me.”

But that hasn’t been the case so far. Davis only played in one exhibition game for the Cardinals, an Oct. 18 win over Simmons College. There, he went 0 for 3 from the field with two turnovers, one rebound and an assist in nine minutes. He didn’t play for the team in the regular season, and hadn’t been on their bench since a Nov. 10 game against Chattanooga. And Payne made a bunch of statements about him that didn’t actually say much:

When asked why Davis wasn’t in attendance [in a Nov. 15 game versus Coppin State], second-year head coach Kenny Payne said, “It was my decision not to have him come today. He’s not in any trouble. I will not address it right now; because this is about the guys who just played.”

When he didn’t return to the bench when the team returned from the Big Apple and beat New Mexico State in overtime on Nov. 26: “Me and Koron got to sit down and talk about what’s best for him and what’s best for us. It’s my decision. Really, no real update. That’s it.”

And when a picture surfaced on social media appearing to show Davis sitting in the crowd at the Yum! Center during a Nov. 29 win over Bellarmine: “I have nothing to say about Koron Davis. Koron Davis is not in trouble. I didn’t know he was at the game, but, if he was, that’s fine with me. He’s a part of this team right now.”

There may well be some reason for Louisville to part ways with Davis. But it doesn’t seem to be about academics, with him posting a photo of his fall semester grades on Twitter Wednesday before this team statement:

https://twitter.com/KoronDavis/status/1735002664071491843

And while the Cardinals may have reasons for moving on from Davis, it’s certainly not a good look for them to claim he requested a transfer and then have him say he did not. And that adds to the questions around a team that’s just 4-5 on the year.

[The Courier-Journal]