Ty-Laur Johnson, Louisville basketball freshman point guard, eligible for 2023-24 season

Kenny Payne and the Louisville men's basketball team got some good news from the NCAA.

Freshman point guard Ty-Laur Johnson is eligible to suit up for the Cardinals during the 2023-24 season, U of L confirmed Tuesday — eight days before it takes the court for the Red and White intrasquad scrimmage.

Johnson, the top 2023 recruit out of New York on the 247Sports Composite, was the only member of the team who didn't report to campus in May for summer workouts. When asked about Johnson's status in late July, Payne was optimistic about the situation but said, "We're still waiting on the process to get finished."

Johnson eventually enrolled before U of L's fall semester began Aug. 21. On Aug. 31, team spokesperson Zach Greenwell released a statement saying Johnson was still "going through the process with the NCAA."

A consensus four-star prospect, Johnson spent the 2022-23 season playing for Our Saviour Lutheran (Bronx, New York) in Overtime Elite, an Atlanta-based professional league that allows top emerging talent ages 16 through 20 to maintain college eligibility. The 6-foot guard averaged 18.4 points on 36.6% shooting (42.5% on 2-pointers, 26.6% from 3-point range) with 5.7 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals across 13 games.

Johnson verbally committed to Memphis last November over Seton Hall and N.C. State. He never inked his National Letter of Intent to formally join the Tigers, however, and decommitted April 24.

When Johnson pledged Louisville on May 22, only one uncommitted player in the 2023 cycle (Ron Holland, No. 2) ranked higher than him (No. 77) on the 247Sports Composite.

The NCAA confirming Johnson's immediate eligibility is a big win for Payne and the Cards, who lost one member of their incoming top-10 recruiting class when five-star wing Trentyn Flowers decided to leave the program in August to jump start his professional career in Australia's National Basketball League.

Johnson projects as an intriguing backup point guard to Skyy Clark, a second-year transfer from Illinois who is expected to start after playing 13 games for the Fighting Illini during an abbreviated freshman season.

Evaluating Johnson's game upon his commitment to Memphis, 247Sports' scouting director Adam Finkelstein wrote, "He’s very talented and confident with the ball, but has a tendency to dominate it at times."

"Johnson is very tight with his handle and plays with a lot of pace," Finkelstein wrote. "He's in constant attack mode but changes speeds very well with a series of hesitation moves and is also very adept at getting into the lane and navigating tight spaces. He plays under-the-rim, but has a lot of touch as a lay-up maker."

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Depth at the position should be a welcome change for U of L after it came at a premium during what went down as the worst season in modern program history. All-ACC honorable mention point guard El Ellis shouldered a 89.9% minute share (25th on KenPom.com) while leading the team in scoring (17.7 points per game) and tallying 140 assists against 120 turnovers. Ellis transferred to Arkansas in April.

In addition to Johnson, Louisville's 2023 class includes Koron Davis, a third-year transfer from the junior-college ranks who averaged 23.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists (against 3.9 turnovers) per game while running point for Los Angeles Southwest College last season.

Payne in July also said redshirt sophomore Mike James could see minutes at the position after the 6-5 guard/forward made strides with his ball-handling and shooting abilities during the offseason.

The Red and White scrimmage tips off at 7 p.m. Oct. 11, at the KFC Yum! Center.

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

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Ty-Laur Johnson eligible for the 2023-24 season