Louisville Forward J.J. Traynor to Miss Remainder of 2023-24 Season

The Louisville men's basketball program has lost another player for the year due to injury.

Senior forward  J.J. Traynor, who has missed the last five games due to a shoulder injury, re-injured his shoulder in practice this past Friday and will miss the remainder of the 2023-24 season, the program announced Saturday ahead of their matchup vs. Pitt.

Traynor is the second UofL player to be lost for the season in the last three days, as true freshman center Dennis Evans was not medically cleared to compete on Thursday. Add in junior guard Koron Davis, who was dismissed from the team last month, and Louisville has lost three players since the season began.

The 6-foot-8, 190-pound forward played in each of Louisville's first eight games of the season with three starts, averaging 10.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 51.6 percent from the field.

Traynor suffered the shoulder injury ahead of Louisville's matchup against DePaul back on Dec. 9, and has been sidelined ever since. On Friday, when asked about a timeline for a return, head coach Kenny Payne said that Traynor - along with guard Tre White and forward Emmanuel Okorafor - were all still day-to-day.

The Bardstown, Ky. native joined the program as part of their Class of 2020, and had a minimal role on the team over his first two seasons in college. Traynor took a big step forward for his junior season, averaging 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds over 32 games and 15 starts. He was one of just four Cardinals to return from last season's squad after UofL went just 4-28.

Over 70 career games played and 19 starts, Traynor has logged 396 points, 212 rebounds, 32 blocks and 23 assists while shooting 48.0 percent from the field and 34.3 percent on three-point attempts.

Tip-off against the Panthers is set for 12:00 p.m. EST.