On Tuesday afternoon, Frankie Hughes and the University of Louisville mutually agreed to part ways.

Hughes, a 6’3” combo guard from Cleveland, had committed to the Cardinals amidst the ongoing Katina Powell scandal, and the current rumors indicate the split and the scandal are completely unrelated. Given the youth of the Cardinals’ backcourt and the high probability of most of those players returning, Hughes’ minutes likely would have been limited as a young college player.

Hughes has exceptional ball handling skills and knock down shooting capability, so it’s hard to imagine Greg Gard and the Badgers not making a serious run at him now that he’s back on the market. Wisconsin was pushing for Hughes earlier this year, as he is a smart, savvy, lights out shooter, fairly consistent with the recent mold of Wisconsin guards.

The biggest difference between Hughes and the typical Badgers recruit comes in his athleticism. At 6’3”, Hughes has the potential to play top tier perimeter defense and attack the rim, something that could be a spark the Badgers on both ends of the court.

Obviously, with the news just breaking this afternoon, no front-runner has been announced as to where Hughes will go, but it’s hard to imagine the Badgers not throwing the house at the Garfield Heights product to bring him to Madison.

Wisconsin has two scholarships available for 2016. Hughes could immediately serve as a true backup point guard along with Jordan Hill to Bronson Koenig. He would add depth to a Wisconsin team that could use some more offense at the guard position. With three guys (Nigel Hayes, Khalil Iverson, and Vitto Brown) and assistant coach Lamont Paris from Ohio, Hughes may feel very comfortable in Wisconsin red.

Check out Hughes’ hoopmixtape here.

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Photo courtesy of the Cardinal Connect.