Christen Cunningham Louisville basketball’s MVP
He might not be superior to any player in any aspect of the game, but Louisville basketball’s Christen Cunningham is the most valuable player for the Cards.
When Chris Mack was hired as Louisville basketball’s head coach, he was tasked with the complete rebuilding of a program’s culture. He wow-ed with his vision for the future, and executed on the recruiting trail, hauling in a top-5 class for 2019.
However, Mack still faced a daunting task in 2018-19 after Louisville lost four starters- Deng Adel, Ray Spalding, Quentin Snider, and Anas Mahmoud- and had no incoming recruits. The Cards’s best returning players contributed sparingly in 2017-18, and Mack knew the cupboard was pretty bare. He had to somehow figure out a way to assemble a roster of 9-10 scholarship players in order to even have a chance at finishing above .500 this season.
Mack’s search was not easy. He went after, and whiffed on, multiple grad transfers. As Jay Bilas told it during Saturday’s game against North Carolina, Mack literally found a recruiting analyst’s list of available graduate transfers and just went down the list of players until he found three to fill vacant roster spots.
Louisville was just desperate for bodies. The staff brought in former Louisville, and Georgetown, and SMU, forward and 6th year grad transfer Akoy Agau. Agau is a steadying force in the locker room, but he is 24 and his knees react like they are 64. The staff also snagged Kwan Fore, a graduate transfer who is a stellar on-ball defender, but was only intended to contribute minutes when needed off the bench behind Darius Perry.
What Louisville really needed was a guy who could contribute effectively. And that’s when Mack and the staff found Christen Cunningham. Cunningham, a Georgetown, Kentucky native, was Samford University’s all-time leader in assists, and started all 110 games he was eligible for over his 3 years with the Bulldogs. Still, Cunningham’s game didn’t “wow” you on tape, necessarily, and it was tough to gauge if the consistency in his game would transfer to Louisville.
Pre-season, we expected Cunningham to start, but labeled him as “a steady presence at point guard who isn’t too flashy.” And while that couldn’t be more true, it also doesn’t highlight who he truly is as a player. It’s time to change that narrative.
At Samford in 2016, Cunningham averaged 14.4 points per game, and in 2017, he dropped 6.3 assists per game. It was hard to envision him continuing that trend at Louisville, but through 15 games, Cunningham is averaging 10.6 points and 3.5 assists. What’s even more impressive is that he improved his 3 point field goal percentage from 35% in his last full season to 46% this season- best on the Louisville squad.
Cunningham is a steadying presence, sure. He is the primary ball handler, yet only turns it over 1.8 times per game. But he is more than just that. Cunningham is the lifeblood of this Louisville team. And when Louisville’s season was seemingly taking a turn for the worst in mid-December, Cunningham helped right the ship. Over the last five games, he has averaged 16.2 points, 4.6 assists, and has only turned it over 11 times.
“At what point are people going to realize he’s not just serviceable… He’s valuable,” Chris Mack said on Monday morning. And it’s true. Cunningham isn’t just a solid player, he is Louisville’s most valuable player to this point. Jordan Nwora is Louisville’s most versatile scorer, Ryan McMahon it’s most lethal shooter, Dwayne Sutton the do everything glue guy- But, Cunningham? Well, he’s simply the most valuable.
Without Cunningham, this is a true bridge year for the Cards. He brings all of the intangibles. He is excellent on defense (particularly of late), he makes the biggest shots at the most important times, he is Louisville’s go-to guy when they need a basket. Simply put, he is their MVP.
Cunningham’s efforts in-game are a microcosm of his play this season; When Louisville is down and needs him the most is when he performs. The lights on this stage will only get brighter for “CC.” The Cards are 26th in this weeks AP Top 25 poll, and they face the toughest schedule in the country the rest of the way. Don’t be surprised, however, when Cunningham has yet another clutch performance.