“This is heartbreaking”: College hoops fans extend support for Louisville’s Kasean Pryor after season-ending injury
The Louisville Cardinals will have to play the rest of the 2024-25 NCAA season without Kasean Pryor. The school announced on Monday that the star forward suffered a torn ACL during the Battle 4 Atlantis final against the Oklahoma Sooners in Nassau, Bahamas on Friday.
Pryor picked up the knee injury during the second half of the Cardinals' 69-64 loss to the Sooners after an accidental collision with teammate Chucky Hepburn. Pryor fell to the ground after contact, pounding the floor as he dealt with the sudden pain.
College hoops fans extended their support for Pryor on X (formerly Twitter) after the injury news was confirmed. Here are some of their messages:
"This is heartbreaking. Prayers for Kasean, we got your back."
"Kasean Pryor is a stud. Great player, great person. Horrible to see the news that he tore his ACL. Huge fan of his game."
"Disappointed that Kasean Pryor is out for the whole University of Louisville men's basketball team for the 2024-2025 season, definitely wish him well and a speedy and full recovery!" another fan said.
Here are more reactions from Louisville fans, who expressed their disappointment at the injury.
"Big prayers for him to heal properly and completely!! Hard blow to him and the team!! We love each of you and will pull together to get through this difficult time," one fan wrote.
"So sad for Kasean Pryor. He was gonna be an all time villain for opponents and fan favorite for us," another fan posted.
"Brutal for Louisville losing Kasean Pryor for the year after just 7 games, especially for a team with multiple other injuries. If there’s a silver lining here, because Pryor only played 7 games, he’d be able to come back for another year with a medical redshirt," one user pointed out.
Kasean Pryor sends message to fans after season-ending knee injury
After news broke about his season-ending injury on Monday, Kasean Pryor posted a message on Instagram addressed to Louisville fans.
"Card Nation, I appreciate the love and support throughout this journey; it's definitely felt! And to everyone who's reached out to send their prayers and (well) wishes, thank you! They mean a lot to me! The work doesn't stop here! I'll be cheering my guys on all season!"
Losing Pryor for the remainder of the season is a huge blow for the Louisville Cardinals, who are off to a 5-2 start. He was a vital cog for the Cards, averaging 12.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists through seven games. He also was a defensive stalwart, averaging 1.6 steals and 1.1 blocks per game for Louisville.
He recorded six points, four assists and two rebounds for Louisville in the loss to Oklahoma before exiting with a knee injury.