Jordan Nwora didn’t play a huge role for the Cards in 2017-18, but expect things to be much different in his sophomore campaign.
Walking out of the KFC Yum! Center after Louisville’s gut-wrenching loss to Virginia last season, my attention was drawn to a familiar face in the disappointed masses heading for the exits. Freshman forward Jordan Nwora was heading out of one of the exit ramps about 10 minutes after the game. This initially took me by surprise, as Nwora’s team had just suffered one of the most dejecting possible defeats, surrendering a 4-point lead with under 1 second to play.
But, then it dawned on me: Nwora looked like he hadn’t even warmed up because he hadn’t even played for one second in the game.
This was an anomaly, as Nwora played in all games but that one loss, but the question still remained; why was Nwora not seeing any significant playing time, especially against the best teams?
Nwora was about as good as an offensive weapon as you could ask for when he saw playing time. He recorded 18 points in 20 minutes against George Mason, 10 points in 14 minutes vs. Southern Illinois, 15 in 16 minutes against Boston College, 16 points in 21 minutes against Georgia Tech, 17 in 21 against Middle Tennessee. Every single time Nwora saw significant minutes, he rewarded interim coach David Padgett with production, and did it in a hurry.
Still, Padgett seemed to be hesitant to give Nwora time when it mattered most.
There are definite flaws in his game. Nwora lacks a bit of strength that you need against more physically imposing teams. He isn’t a great rebounder for his height to this point. But, the fact remains that Nwora remained on the bench more often than not in games when he was needed.
This won’t be the case in 2018.
Ray Spalding, Quentin Snider, and Deng Adel leave a significant void for a Louisville team that leaned on their production all season. Nwora will certainly have to fill those holes, given the fact that Louisville will be down quite a few scholarship players, barring some recruiting miracle.
Nwora looks like he’s ready to fill this void. He shot 44% from 3-point range last season, and filled it up from all areas of the floor, at a 46% clip.
He will be able to jump in right away, and use his length to free himself up from deep, or use his long first step to beat the defender to the hole. Chris Mack loves to stretch the floor, which will be to Nwora’s advantage. He demonstrated time after time that he can create a match up nightmare at the small forward spot, but may have the length to get inside some with the fours.
Look for Nwora to light it up once again in 2018-19, and be an important spark for a Louisville team in desperate need for consistency on offense. If one thing is for sure, you won’t see Jordan Nwora with his warm ups on at the end of any more games going forward.