Khani Rooths Joins UofL Hoops As Lone HS Signee

Mark BlankenbakerMay 30, 2024

The University of Louisville men’s basketball program and head coach Pat Kelsey announced Thursday the signing of incoming freshman Khani Rooths to the 2024-25 roster.

The 6-8 forward (first name pronounced kuh-NAI) heads to The Ville from IMG Academy. Rooths is a consensus four-star recruit out of Washington, D.C.

“Khani is an elite athlete with great size and length,” said Kelsey. “He comes from a highly regarded program in IMG that has been instrumental in his development on and off the court. Khani’s productivity in the Adidas 3SSB Circuit and at the high school level is undeniable. He brings a level of versatility that is highly coveted at this level.”

Rooths played his first two prep seasons at Georgetown Prep in North Bethesda, Maryland, before moving to the IMG Academy under head coach Sean McAloon for this final two years.

As a senior, Rooths helped the Ascenders to a 20-9 record and the No. 7 seed at the Chipotle Nationals, where he went 8 for 11 from the field, scoring 19 points and pulling down six rebounds in the national quarterfinal.

During the 2023-24 Nike EYBL season, Rooths averaged a line of 8.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks per outing. He shot 44% from the floor over the 12 games.

In summer 2023, Rooths played for New World on the adidas 3SSB circuit and averaged 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Rooths was selected for the 2024 Allen Iverson Classic in early May. According to 247Sports, he is considered the eighth-best recruit in Louisville program history.