Louisville Basketball: Five early season observations

Jordan Nwora is our number one scoring option

This may seem silly considering pretty much everyone tabbed Jordan as our best player before the season even started, but hear me out on this one.

The first couple games into the season, Steven Enoch was playing so well a lot of us thought that maybe he would end up being our go-to guy, even though Jordan was dropping double digit points and had back to back 20 point games.

Especially when Jordan was benched in favor of McMahon – we had no way of knowing whether or not he would come out playing to get his starting spot back, or with a bad attitude. Of course, this team is so full of high character guys, we got a determined Nwora who was ready to show just why people call him the best player on the team.

When Nwora isn’t scoring  (like the first half against Seton Hall), he’s rebounding, passing, and steadily improving on defense. But again, this point is about him being our number one option when it comes to getting the ball in the basket.

Nwora hadn’t been lighting it up against Michigan St. but when the Cards needed a bucket in crunch time, there he was with a catch and shoot 3 to give Louisville the lead. Even though he hadn’t scored against Seton Hall for the first 20 minutes, the first possession of the second half he gets the ball, drives the lane and takes it to the rim for two.

This guy is still growing and developing, and probably still some time away from averaging 20+ a game (even though he’s already averaging 16). Consistency will be the goal with Jordan as a scorer, but he’s coming along nicely. So far, no matter what kind of game he’s been having or whether he’s started or not, he’s delivered some big time buckets.

There is a lot to like about this Louisville team, especially since it’s so early in the year. And of course it all ties together as the team continues to learn Mack’s new system and implement winning ways again in the Louisville basketball program.

Hopefully everything comes full circle in the form of a deep tournament run? We can dream. This team has surprised Cardinal fans and college basketball fans across the nation with their potential, talent, and toughness. But let’s continue to take it one game at a time, keep getting better, and keep winning – Go Cards!