Louisville basketball’s season is just days away and we still don’t know the starting lineup. What could it look like come game 1?
We are just under 48 hours from the beginning of year three in the Chris Mack era. I think you’d be hard-pressed to find another Louisville basketball team with this many question marks in recent memory. Unfortunately, Team 107 has been plagued with injuries for what feels like the entire off season in this already crazy year with everything else going on.
Now being in year three though, I think it’s safe to say that our now not so new coach has done an admirable job since taking over our beloved program, especially considering all of the circumstances. I don’t need to tell you the state of affairs around here when Coach Mack was hired, and when it comes to restoring the pride, dignity, and just sheer coolness of the program, Chris Mack has passed that portion of the job with flying colors.
In year one, I think everybody just wanted to start having fun again. Expectations had to be a little different for Cards fans. The program was unstable, the roster was depleted, and we were coming off the heels of that tumultuous 2017 season and everything that went down just days before the start of the season. “Just make the tournament”, everybody said.
Well, Chris Mack sure did both of those things. We definitely had some fun, and we for sure were once again, back in the NCAA tournament. With big time wins against top 10 Michigan State in overtime, and handing North Carolina its worst loss in the Dean Smith Center in a 20 point blowout, it felt like Louisville Basketball was gonna be back, and everything was gonna be alright.
To pull all that off with a depleted roster and with everything that was happening when he arrived here, I think that’s one thing that we need to remember this year – this guy can coach.
Year two, the trajectory continued. It felt like a typical Louisville basketball season again, which is what we needed to see. Louisville spent basically the entire season in the top 10 and spent some time at #1 in the country. Sure the season had some bumps, but Team 106 was able to pull of some major wins. That blowout win in primetime over #4 Michigan was memorable, and I don’t think any of us will forget that huge win over #3 Duke in Cameron Indoor.
But in year three, things are different. In case you haven’t heard, we’re in a pandemic – crazy right?
Louisville lost a ton of production with the departures of Steve Enoch, Ryan McMahon, Dwayne Sutton, Fresh Kimble, Darius Perry, and Jordan Nwora, who we now know is off to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Chris Mack has managed to put together a young, but talented roster despite the pandemic and the NCAA stuff hanging around with the core focus being on the 2019 “Super Six.”
Unfortunately though, it feels like half the team is injured and it couldn’t be more untimely. When you have a young and inexperienced team like this one, that features three freshman and six sophomores, injuries are the last thing you wanna hear about, especially in a pandemic when all it takes is one bad gust of air and another guy is out.
Without boring you (or stabbing you in the heart) here’s a quick summary of injury issues that Mack and the Cards have faced:
- Malik Williams – Out 12+ weeks, right foot
- Charles Minlend Jr. – Out 6+ weeks, knee
- Josh Nickelberry – ??, ??
- Samuell Williamson – Day-to-day, knee
- Jae’Lyn Withers – Day-to-day, sprained ankle
With all things considered, I think fans need to have the year one mindset.
Just have fun, and make the tournament. My advice? Enjoy watching basketball again. It’s been a crap year, just enjoy your team.
Anybody saying they know Louisville is going to be really good or they know Louisville is going to be really bad is just lying, nobody knows what is going to happen.
But will I try to project our lineup after saying that? Yes, yes I will:
“Coach” Sprowles’ Louisville basketball starting Five
Guard – David Johnson (6-5, 250 lbs, Sophomore)
David’s good guys. He’s also unlike any guard we’ve had in a while. We’re typically used to those quick, small Pitino guards. Well, now our point guard is 6-5 and can get to the rim like nobody’s business. I expect a big year from David and look for him to start being a little less careless with the ball. He showed huge promise as a freshman and I would expect this season to be his last in a Louisville uniform. I think this guy was built for the NBA.
Guard – Carlik Jones (6-1, 185 lbs, Grad)
We all lost track of how many Gold Jerseys he’s won in a row (it’s 5). He’s clearly been the best player in practice for the entire off season and all indications are that Carlik was dubbed the top grad transfer in the country for a legit reason – he’s going to be really good. I mean he was named a preseason All-American after all. People love to throw this name around with grad transfers but I’m gonna say it. Could be Louisville’s best transfer since Damion Lee.
Guard/Forward – Dre Davis (6-5, 220 lbs, Freshman)
The surprise of the off season. A lot of people expected it would be a year or two until we really started to see Dre Davis contribute, but people close to the program have been raving about how he’s looked in practice, and it sounds like he’s the total “Chris Mack guy”. Which to me makes a lot of sense because everything I’ve heard and seen indicates he’s a lot like what Coach Mack’s stars at Xavier were like. Tough, physical, good size, and can shoot it.
Forward – Sam Williamson (6-7, 210, Sophomore)
It sounds like Sam is on the mend and will be fully healthy in a couple of days. Let’s hope he can stay healthy because this team needs a big leap from Sam. He showed a lot of promise in moments as a freshman. Especially against Miami in that first game. But I think at times he looked a lot like a freshman, and was timid on offense. He’s one of this team’s key guys now. Sam has great size and is super talented, I think the rest is just going to be about confidence.
Forward – Jae’Lyn Withers (6-8, 230, Redshirt Freshman)
Losing Malik Williams was a massive blow to this team. Now, Coach Mack has a very thin front court, and there’s not a lot of experience up there. But, Jae’Lyn Withers put in some serious work in his redshirt season. He put on some muscle, and has been looking great in practice. I think he will be the guy a lot of people may be surprised by. He moves really well for a big, has a good shot, and is super athletic.
Summary
I included the height and year for a reason. This team is going to be very inexperienced and young for a while with those injuries to Minlend and Williams, and Chris Mack is going to be forced to play some small ball with Malik out.
But, on the bright side, I think this team is going to be fun and we need to look for signs of promise for the future. This back court is really good and there is some great size on this team in that back court. This team will be temporarily undersized in the front court because of injuries, but I think the days of Louisville being undersized overall are no more. It’s clear that Mack values size and toughness in his recruiting. If you look at the roster almost every single player on the team is at least 6’4 or 6’5. Which is definitely an exciting new look for Louisville Basketball.
I think that’s how we need to view this season. Let the younger guys go through their lumps, but keep in mind what is being set up for the future, and remember all of the circumstances being faced this year. This will probably be a team that gets upset by lesser teams, but I also think this is a team that will pull off some upsets. This is going to be a team that may be frustrating at times, but I think it will be a team that you don’t wanna face the further the season goes along and more guys get healthy and experienced.
