Koron Davis joined the Louisville men's basketball team from the junior college ranks hoping to turn doubters into believers.

"I'm waiting for the moment to take advantage of it," he told The Courier Journal in January.

His moment never came — not in a Cardinals uniform, at least.

U of L on Wednesday announced Davis' dismissal from the team. It did not provide a reason, and second-year head coach Kenny Payne dodged questions probing for one after his team suffered the 21st double-digit loss of his tenure, 75-63 to Arkansas State.

"I cannot shed any light on it," he said. "I wish I could, but I can't. That's pretty much it."

Davis, a third-year, 6-foot-6 guard from Gary, Indiana, did not log a minute in a regular-season game and had not been on the Louisville bench since a Nov. 10 loss to Chattanooga.

His exit was more memorable than his only appearance on the court against an opponent — nine minutes off the bench during an Oct. 18 exhibition win over Simmons College.

It started at 2:47 p.m., when Louisville released an initial statement saying Davis had informed the team of his intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal.

"We support him and wish him well in the future," the initial statement read.

At 3:58 p.m., Davis took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to dispute the statement.

"I didn't express to anyone at (U of L) that I wanted to transfer," he wrote. "I never asked to transfer. I enjoy being a Cardinal. The fact an official statement was released giving false information is disheartening and sad."

Then, at 6:38 p.m., the team released a second statement. It walked back the first, saying Davis was informed of his dismissal before the statement framing the situation as him deciding to enter the transfer portal was disseminated Wednesday afternoon.

"Davis has expressed that he intends to continue his college basketball career and would pursue opportunities at another institution," the second statement from U of L read. "We wish him nothing but the best."

Questions surrounding Davis began Nov. 15, when he was absent from the bench during a win over Coppin State.

When asked why Davis wasn't in attendance, Payne said, "It was my decision not to have him come today. He's not in any trouble. I will not address it right now; because this is about the guys who just played."

The line, "He's not in any trouble" became Payne's go-to response, offering no clarity to the situation, as questions about Davis' status continued.

After he didn't make the trip to New York for the Empire Classic: "He's not in any trouble. That's all I'm going to say about it."

When he didn't return to the bench when the team returned from the Big Apple and beat New Mexico State in overtime Nov. 26: "Me and Koron got to sit down and talk about what's best for him and what's best for us. It's my decision. Really, no real update. That's it."

And when a picture surfaced on social media appearing to show Davis sitting in the crowd at the Yum! Center during a Nov. 29 win over Bellarmine: "I have nothing to say about Koron Davis. Koron Davis is not in trouble. I didn't know he was at the game, but, if he was, that's fine with me. He's a part of this team right now."

Now, he is no longer a part of it.

Before Louisville released its initial statement Wednesday, Davis posted a photo of his fall semester grades on X.

The photo revealed he's in good academic standing, having earned a 3.4 grade-point average during the term.

"I'm extremely proud of myself," Davis wrote. "I challenged myself in the classroom and got it done. I'm enjoying the college experience being a true student-athlete. Where I come from a lot of people don’t get this opportunity.

"I want to say thank you to everyone at (U of L), Cards Nation and the city of Louisville for taking me in," he added in a follow-up post. "Today I’ll be at YUM Center supporting our women’s team and my teammates at the doubleheader."

Davis did not receive a Division I scholarship coming out of Bowman Academy. He played power forward as a freshman at Paris Community College in Texas before transferring to Los Angeles Southwest College; where as a sophomore playing primarily point guard he averaged 23.8 points on 48% shooting to go along with 6.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

At the time of his commitment to U of L, Davis told The Courier Journal he had also been hearing from N.C. State, Oregon State and Saint Louis. But he did not report receiving a scholarship from any of those schools on social media.

Payne, Davis said, "sealed the deal" in his recruitment by flying out to Los Angeles during an off weekend in January. He said he was inspired to hear how much the coach "needed me."

"I'm not really trying to dwell on it," Payne said Wednesday. "It's emotional for me, simply because he's a good kid."

Two of Davis' teammates, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Skyy Clark, said he is a "great" person.

"He's been great for us," Clark told reporters after the loss to Arkansas State.

Added Huntley-Hatfield, Davis' roommate, "He's a good dude at heart, and I love him."

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 roster: Koron Davis dismissed from team