Louisville basketball: 3 quick takeaways from Notre Dame victory
By Jacob Lane
VJ King & Darius Perry provide a new element to this Louisville basketball team
To me the biggest takeaway from Sunday’s game was the performance of VJ King. Though he didn’t have a huge scoring performance, going just 3/7 from the field and 0/3 from three, his impact on the game was beyond important.
Playing his highest minutes total since December 5th against Central Arkansas, King totaled 6 points, 10 rebounds(!!!!) and 2 assists in what was without question his best game of ACC play.
His hustle and effort on both sides of the floor were contagious and without questions were a huge reason why the Cards were able to control the game for the entire 40 minutes.
Darius Perry also provided a nice punch of the bench, playing 19 minutes and scoring seven points grabbing two boards, and most important turning the ball over ZERO times (!!!!). The biggest takeaway from DP’s performance was how controlled he played. As mentioned he didn’t turn the ball over, didn’t take a bad shot, and it showed, as Mack played him for 19 minutes – his highest total since the first matchup with Notre Dame.
If Chris Mack is able to get consistent minutes out of Perry and King as well as similar production to what he got on Sunday, Louisville becomes a different team. Of course neither are going to score 20+ points or take over a game, but it allows the opportunity to play different lineups, depending on your opponent, as well as get guys like Sutton, Nwora, and Cunningham extra breathers without feeling like you’re shooting yourself in the foot.