Louisville Basketball: What to watch for at the red-white scrimmage

Louisville Basketball gets underway this weekend with the Tip-off Luncheon this weekend with the Red Vs. White inter-team scrimmage at the KFC Yum! Center

Louisville fans may never have been more ready for the college basketball season to get under way than they are this year. The football season went suddenly south so paired with the first season under new head coach Chris Mack and Card Nation has all eyes peeled on the upcoming basketball season.

While the Red – White scrimmage is nothing more than that, a scrimmage, there will still be plenty of things to watch for. Of course, this will be our first time getting to see what a Chris Mack led Louisville basketball team looks like, and we’ll also get to see several new faces (and not so new) including Christen Cunningham, Khwan Fore, Akoy Agau, and Steven Enoch.

This week we finally got to see which players would be paired together on the red and white teams, something that obviously holds some importance. Much like Pitino, Chris Mack tried to split his talent down the middle to make the scrimmage competitive for the fans.

Below are the rosters and the three things I’ll be watching for this weekend.

Red Team:

Christen Cunningham
Akoy Agau
Wyatt Battalie
Jo Griffin
Darius Perry
Dwayne Sutton
Malik Williams

White Team:

V.J. King
Steven Enoch
Khwan Fore
Ryan McMahon
Jordan Nwora
Will Rainey
Jacob Redding

Can V.J. King and Jordan Nwora become a dynamic duo?

I think Louisville makes up for the missing point production of Ray Spalding (12.3 ppg) and Deng Adel (15.0 ppg) from last season with a break out season from King and Nwora. I am expecting fast paced game play that will result in a lot of shots for the Cards. Nwora showed us in stints last year that he can get buckets at a quick clip.

While there have been questions surrounding King’s time at UL, I whole heartily believe this is the year he lives up to all the hype being one of leaders and top scorers on this team.

This Louisville team has a lot of question marks, especially with so many transfers and new players being asked to step up and be go-to scorers, but in my opinion this team will go as far VJ King and Jordan Nwora takes it. Both have been single digit scorers so far in their time at Louisville, but starting this season they should both be 12+ points per game scorers.

We’ll get our first look at what they can do together on Sunday.

Will a true point guard emerge?

Louisville has had a long storied history at point guard. Q, Siva, Sosa, Knowles, Wheat. The long list of UL point guards goes on and on. At first glance it looks almost like the White squad is mostly made up of starters but missing either Christen Cunningham, the senior graduate transfer from Samford, or sophomore Darius Perry at the one spot. These two guys are expected to handle the majority of the point guard duties this season with Quentin Snider graduating. Perry played some point guard last year when Q was on the bench, while also playing alongside of him at times.

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Perry has the ability to play point, as he’s a very good floor general with a pass first mentality. However, we saw how turnover prone he was at times last season. What Perry brings to the table is the ability to get to the basket at will, as well as perimeter shooting, something the Cards will desperately need this season.

Alongside of Perry will be Christen Cunningham, a player who is known for his ability to dish the ball out at a high level. In just a few short years, Cunningham was able to become the all-time leader in assists at Samford, a huge feat. Look for the senior point guard to bring leadership, a sense of calmness that should be a huge boost for a team looking to transition to a new system. While Cunningham is not a lethal scorer, he is able to get baskets as needed, which is why he’ll get heavy playing time this season. The other two options for the Cards are Ryan McMahon, who will suit for the white team, along with another graduate transfer, Khwan Fore.

McMahon and Fore will both probably see consistent minutes, but I believe it will be Cunningham and/or Perry who will be your starting point guard this season. Seeing them play on the floor at the same time for the red squad may give a better idea of which will be playing more off ball at the shooting guard slot this year.

Will Louisville have a post presence and improvement in rebounding?

The third thing I am looking for during the red-white scrimmage will be rebounding and post play. A few open practices over the summer has shown off the body transformations this team underwent under new Strength and Conditioning Coach Andy Kettler. I am looking forward to seeing the battles in the paint between Steven Enoch, Malik Williams and returning Cardinal, Akoy Agau.

Hearsay is Enoch has been a monster of late in practice and the big man UConn transfer could be just what this Cardinals team needs for a presence in the paint this season.

Have heard from multiple people that Steven Enoch has looked dominant for @LouisvilleMBB
— Big Red Louie (@TheBigRedLouie) October 13, 2018

Malik Williams is in store for a big season outside on the perimeter playing in the Chris Mack 4-in-1-out offensive system, but can he play big and strong in the paint with some of the more dynamic post players of the ACC? Sunday will give us an idea on how that part of his game has improved. If Williams is able to average five to eight rebounds per game, and score a couple of big baskets inside, boy watch out. I’m expecting a big season out of the former five star center.

While this is only a scrimmage it feels good to talking hoops again. If there was an actual betting line on this game the white team I believe would be heavily favored.

Led by King and Nwora with Enoch and sharp shooting McMahon I think the White team is going to be dominant offensively. Chris Mack’s offenses at Xavier nearly always average point totals into the 80’s, and this group should be able to score at a high clip.

The crowd will be getting it’s first look at a faster paced offense and see how this team is adjusting with some new faces and the pack line defense Coach Mack brings. It is hard not to over analyze with all the excitement for the upcoming season so lets just pack the YUM and enjoy some basketball.