Sanada Fru commits to Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey: What to know about German big man

Posted by author February 11, 2025 Basketball

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Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey went international with his second addition to the Cardinals’ 2025 recruiting class.

Sananda Fru, a 21-year-old forward from Germany, has committed to U of L; a source with direct knowledge of the agreement told The Courier Journal on Tuesday. The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman was first to report.

Fru stands 6 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 245 points. He has been playing in his country’s top-flight Basketball Bundesliga since 2021 and appeared on Germany’s U20 national team at the European Championships in 2022 and 2023. Across 16 games (15 starts) for Löwen Braunschweig this season, he is averaging 10.4 points on 66.3% shooting, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks.

Fru was an early entrant for the 2023 NBA Draft but later withdrew his name from consideration.

Louisville assistant coach Brian Kloman took the lead in Fru’s recruitment.

Fru joins consensus five-star point guard Mikel Brown Jr., a McDonald’s All-American, as Kelsey’s second commitment in the 2025 cycle. Turns out: They competed against each other two years ago at an Adidas camp in Treviso, Italy.

The following Cards on scholarship have eligibility remaining and will join Fru and Brown on the 2025-26 roster if they do not elect to enter the NCAA transfer portal when it opens March 24: Koren Johnson, Aly Khalifa, Kobe Rodgers, Khani Rooths and James Scott.

Kasean Pryor has gone on the record in saying there’s the “potential” of him returning if he is granted a medical redshirt after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in late November. He and J’Vonne Hadley should also receive an additional year stemming from a December court ruling prohibiting the NCAA from counting time players spend at the junior-college level toward their eligibility clock.

College basketball’s regular signing period runs April 17-May 15.

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.