Louisville Basketball: Predicting the Top 3 Leading Scorers in 2018-19
By Jacob Lane
Louisville basketball returns zero of their top three leading scorers from a 20 win season in 2017-18. Who steps up and provides the scoring in year one for Chris Mack?
Louisville basketball will have a completely new look and feel when they step foot on the floor of the KFC Yum! Center home opener this November. After saying goodbye to Interim Head Coach David Padgett, and bringing in one of the top, young coaches in the entire country in Chris Mack, the Cards will present a new brand of basketball for the first time in almost 20 years.
Chris Mack brings an interesting style of play, which is stamped by the ability to get up and down the floor, score points, and physically dominate the opponent. But in order to score at the level Mack desires, a lot of questions will have to be answered. The biggest being who scores it for the Cards?
In case you forgot, the Cards lost three of their top five scorers from the 2017 team, including Deng Adel, Quentin Snider, Ray Spalding, and Anas Mahmoud, meaning Mack will need players to step up and assume the responsibility of scoring the 48.1 points (average) that were lost.
The good news is Louisville gets back seven experienced players from last season who have more than enough talent to score at an elite level given the chance. In fact, statistics will show that three players in particular will benefit from more playing time, and other players leaving, which should translate to more scoring and ever higher success for the Cards.
The question still looming is who will be Louisville’s leading scorer in 2018-19? With Deng Adel gone, the Cards will need a new scoring leader and alpha dog to step up and become the guy who can be counted on to get a bucket when needed. Some fear that-that could be a concern this season, but not so fast. This roster is talented, with a lot of guys who didn’t get a big enough chance last season.
Here’s a look at my prediction of the top three leading scorers for the Louisville Cardinals in 2018-19.