Dwayne Sutton Embodies What Louisville is All About

Dwayne Sutton looks to go from overlooked hometown guy, to transfer, to Cardinal’s star.

If there is one phrase that would describe the attitude of Louisville, Kentucky, it is “blue collar.” Maybe not in the literal use of the term, but there is an overall “chip on the shoulder” undertone to the city.

Muhammad Ali is an overused example, but serves as an appropriate figurehead for the underdog mentality that permeates throughout the area. Strength and resilience; brash, bold, confident, but polite.

Louisville is a place that, if you let it, will mold you into exactly the person you want to become.

This attitude could not be embodied more than it is by the University of Louisville’s Dwayne Sutton.

Sutton is a product of DuPont Manual High School, who’s campus runs up against the outskirts of UofL. The school is the best of the best when it comes to public schools in the area, producing some of the brightest minds, and ever so often, some gifted athletes. Sutton, however, was not given a chance by Louisville initially. Instead, he opted to go to UNC Ashville.

After one year of stand-out action, including a phenomenal performance in the NCAA Tournament, Sutton transferred to Louisville. In 2016-17, he sat out and got a chance to learn and train under Rick Pitino, before coming off of the bench for interim coach David Padgett in 2017-18.

When asked to describe Louisville coach Chris Mack’s style of play, Colorado coach Tad Boyle told the Courier-Journal “They’re very well-disciplined defensively. They don’t beat themselves. They’re very physical. You can tell they’re well-coached because they usually get good shots. … If I had (to) describe his teams in one word, it’d be ‘toughness.’ That’s not something you can diagram on a board or has something to do with Xs and Os.”

Upon hearing this, there is one player on Louisville’s team that sticks out far above the rest- and that is Sutton.

Although Sutton’s minutes were cut in half (from 30 to 15 mpg) in 2017, his efforts on the floor did not go unnoticed by anyone. Sutton became an instant fan favorite due to his hustle and intensity for every second that he was on the floor.

Sutton is a prototypical 2/3 guard size, but he honestly plays more like a four at times. He has the ability to create extra possessions at all times for the Cards. He is an outstanding rebounder for his size, and has the knack to go up against bigger defenders and generate second-chance points via hustle plays and offensive rebounds.

Although he loves to get aggressive on both sides of the ball, Sutton has the ability to play an off guard position and create mismatches. At 6’5″ and with a bulky frame, Sutton can shoot well over opposing guards, and also showcases the ability to drive past defenders, or find the open man.

Sutton is unique because he can be too big on both sides of the ball for smaller guards, or too small for a four that can’t match up with his physicality in the paint, and on the boards.

So how does Sutton’s physicality and mentality fit in with Chris Mack at the helm in Louisville? Well, just about perfectly.

Firstly, Sutton is a perfect match for Mack because he fits the style of play the guards will operate under. He dives for loose balls, outhustles every player, is tough, physical, but can also light you up from outside (he shot nearly 36% from 3 last year).

Plays like these will get you a lot of time in Chris Mack’s system:

https://twitter.com/theACCDN/status/962781810571669505

Or this:

https://twitter.com/BarstoolCards/status/956354241710436355

This, too:

Secondly, and maybe more importantly, Sutton fits the Mack Scheme due to the way he maximizes his size. As mentioned, he creates a nightmare scenario, when he can play 3 different positions. This is amplified by the fact that Chris Mack is comfortable with running with four guards. He demonstrated this in his previous tenure at Xavier, and will likely do the same, as Louisville only returns two bigs this season.

Sutton embodies the Louisville mentality perfectly. He is already a fan favorite, and will continue to grow into a player people are crazy over in the coming years.

There are lots of questions to be answered about the Cards this season, but Sutton’s hustle and heart are not among them. And that is what this city is all about.