Louisville basketball roundtable: Midseason review part I

Which player on Chris Mack’s roster has been your biggest surprise of the season so far?

Charlie Thomas (@_CharlieThomas): Christen Cunningham, because I had no idea what the Cards were getting with him and knew the point guard spot was a glaring gap on Mack’s roster. CC has stayed the course in crunch time of close games and is the floor general this team needs. So much so Card Nation is calling on finding someway to get Cunningham another year of eligibility.

Thomas Grasch (@ThomasGrasch):  I think the biggest surprise this season has been Christen Cunningham. Coming in a transfer from Samford with good numbers I expected him to play an important role in running the offense. I did not expect him to be such a gem. He’s calm under pressure, he can attack the basket and finish, and is a very capable shooter. He’s been such a leader that this team would not be where its at if he hadn’t arrived.

Jacob Lane (@JacobLane_BRL): This is a toss up for me as I’m torn between Malik Williams and Darius Perry (in a negative way), but I’ll go with Malik Williams. I don’t think anyone saw the development of Malik Williams going the way it has thus far this season. Williams spent the entire season playing out on perimeter last year, even with David Padgett pleading with him to try and grab rebounds and defend in the past.

This season Williams has developed into Louisville’s best interior defender, and has provided a true rim protector averaging 1.5 blocks per game. His energy and effort game in and game out has a been huge part of Louisville’s success and it has really helped his confidence on both defense and offense. He’s only going to continue to get better and being an outside threat makes him a huge mismatch for a lot of teams.

Ethan Sprowles (@EthanSprowles): Malik Williams. Coming into the season, I didn’t have very high expectations for Malik. Not only has he become a great rim protector, he’s been hitting the three, and he’s become a lot more comfortable in the post.

Ross Prophater (@RossPro): Surely CC, Sutton and some others are noteworthy here, but the biggest surprise for me is easily Malik Williams. His emergence as a big man around the basket on both ends of the court has been catalyzed by a toughness and physicality I didn’t think he was necessarily capable of. His ability to effect opposing team’s shots, help on the defensive glass, and be active on the offensive glass has helped give the Cards balance.

Not only has Malik been the biggest surprise, but in my mind he’s achieved the greatest improvement. He is very capable of pulling defenders away from the basket and shooting from the perimeter, but his willingness to accept his role and what Chris Mack has asked from him has made the difference.

Madison Wood (@Tostadamadz): My biggest surprise is Steve Enoch. He was just such an unknown at the beginning of the year, I didn’t expect him to be this skilled or this dominant. Especially now that he’s giving us such big production even after becoming the 6th man.

Tanner Hickman (@KodakNap): The biggest surprise on the roster so far this year for me is Malik Williams. I was going to go with Steven Enoch, but I was personally high on him after I watched him in person during the red-white scrimmage from a season ago going up against Ray Spalding. For Malik, I was always impressed with his offensive skill set coming out of high school, but his progress on the defensive end as a rim protector is awesome to see. I also love the energy he brings on the defensive end, it is refreshing to see him have some attitude after he spikes a ball into the fourth row.