LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ryan Conwell isn't the only former member of the Louisville men's basketball program that will be taking his talents to South Beach.
Guard/forward J'Vonne Hadley has signed an Exhibit-10 contract with the Miami Heat, according to DraftExpress' Jon Chepkevich . Exhibit-10 contracts are one-year, non-guaranteed deals that are usually offered to players that will be brought in to compete for a roster sport during the NBA Summer League.
Hadley and Conwell are both heading to the Heat, after the latter was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the No. 37 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft - then subsequently traded to Miami. Conwell was one of two Cardinals to be drafted, with Mikel Brown Jr.'s selection at No. 6 overall by the Brooklyn Nets being Louisville first top-10 draft pick in 30 years.
The 6-foot-7, 210-pound guard/forward spent the last two years of his collegiate career with the Cardinals, and he was an underrated aspect of their turnaround under head coach Pat Kelsey. During the 2024-25 season, Hadley was the only player to start all 35 games, averaging 12.2 points per game, while also leading the team in rebounding at 7.3 boards and three-point shooting percentage at 38.1. He also shot 51.8 percent from the field and averaged 1.8 assists per game.
The St. Paul, Minnesota native had the option to return for one more season at Louisville thanks to the Diego Pavia ruling , to which he did take advantage of. Playing in 34 games while starting 33 during the 2025-26 season, Hadley averaged 11.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He also led the team in three-point shooting percentage at 44.0 (min. double digit attempts), while placing third in overall field goal percentage at 56.2.
Hadley started his career at Northeastern during the 2020-21 season, but after seeing minimal on-court time there, he transferred to Indian Hills Community College. During his lone season in the JUCO ranks, he earned NJCAA First-Team All-American honors, averaging 10.9 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field.
He then spent the next two seasons in college at Colorado, playing there before ultimately transferring to Louisville. After putting up 8.0 points and 5.9 rebounds in 22 games and 19 starts during his first season with the Buffaloes, he took a big step forward during year two in Boulder. Playing and starting all but one of their 37 games in the 2023-24 season, Hadley averaged 11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game
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(Photo of J'Vonne Hadley: Mark Konezny - Imagn Images)
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/louisville as Report: J'Vonne Hadley Inks Exhibit-10 Contract with Heat .
