V.J. King’s teammates aren’t giving up on him and neither should Cardnation. The experienced guard keeps putting in the work and might just be the key to ultimate success for Louisville basketball.
It’s not (nor will it ever be) time to give up on Louisville basketball guard, V.J. King. The Junior from Cleveland, OH has been a hot topic of the 18-19 edition of the Louisville team and for good reason.
The former McDonald’s All-American has seen the least amount of court time since his freshman year (17.1 mins), is only averaging 5.6 points/game, and has looked less than confident offensively.
His production simply has not been anything close to as expected at Louisville despite constant public encouragement from Head Coach Chris Mack (and formerly under that other guy).
Chris Mack has already changed the culture in the Ville. Mack has made the program so, so much more about the players and fans than the previous head man–including players’ use of social media throughout the season.
The camaraderie and confidence this team has in one another is on display weekly on Instagram and Twitter and last night this was on full display after the Cards stormed back against the Canes and almost blew the lid off the Yum! Center. The tide shifted a bit for King last night in the Cards’ conference-opening win over the Miami Hurricanes. King was efficient offensively in just ten minutes and had two crucial put-back baskets and finished with four points, three rebounds, and an assist.
However, last night’s ultimate encouragement came in through the eloquent words of fellow guard, Ryan McMahon. The Athletic’s Jeff Greer tweeted McMahon’s comments on King early this morning:
Louisville’s Ryan McMahon on how he and his teammates are encouraging V.J. King through a frustrating season. pic.twitter.com/pAenTRzYz8
— Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer) January 7, 2019
Bottom line, King’s fellow teammates and coaches are not abandoning him or expecting anything less than improvement from number thirteen in white.
He’s still putting in the work necessary to compete at the highest of levels and to continue to gain the respect of his teammates. As Ryan alluded to there will certainly come a time in ACC play–and dare I say March–when V.J. King has a breakout performance and propels the Cards to a massive victory.
The talent is still there, the passion is still there, and the character has always been present for King. Cardnation, it’s once again time to take the team’s lead and rally behind one of our own who has worked his butt off for this city and this institution.
Simply put, V.J. King will deliver for Cardnation when the time is right and the question is if fans in red are willing to will it to fruition and cheer on the Junior from Cleveland until then.