Louisville basketball’s Jordan Nwora went from averaging 5.7 points per game to 17.3 in his sophomore season, and was rewarded by being named the ACC’s Most Improved Player and Third Team All-ACC.
With Louisville basketball losing four of their top five scorers heading into the 2018-19 season, there were heavy expectations being placed on some of the returning role players from last season to carry the burden of scoring for Chris Mack. None more so than Jordan Nwora, the 6’8 wing out of New York.
His freshman season was less than stellar to say the least, as he played in 28 games, starting zero and averaged 5.7 per game. While a lot of that had to do with David Padgett and the depth at the wing position, specifically with Deng Adel and VJ King, there was still a lot of hope that one day Nwora could develop into a star at Louisville. There was potential there, and if you needed proof, than the best game to look at was the Boston College game – where he dropped 15 points in just 16 minutes of play.
Nwora decided to stick around even after David Padgett was let go and took a chance playing for Chris Mack. In a summer where Mack had to find players to fill out his roster, his best recruiting job without question was convincing Nwora to stay.
Playing for his dad on the Nigerian National Team, Nwora showed Chris Mack and Louisville fans a glimpse of the player he could be. Though he never got off the bench to play more than 20+ minutes, Nwora broke a record at 19 years old for most poitns scored in a Nigerian national game at 36.
That’s when we all knew.
Louisville would be picked 11th in the ACC during Preseason Media Day, a selection that made sense seeing as how Louisville lost four out of five starters. Little did the country know, what we knew; the breakout player of the year was going to be Jordan Nwora.
Here we are on March 11th and Jordan Nwora is just that. As today the ACC announced that Nwora was named the league’s Most Improved Player of the Year, by way of 139 votes (second closest was 125) as well as being named to the All-ACC Third Team.
Jordan Nwora of @LouisvilleMBB is the 2019 #ACCMBB Most Improved Player! https://t.co/6Yv10ABkAR pic.twitter.com/LijBHvR7av
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 11, 2019
The sophomore wing finished the season averaging 17.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, leading the Cards in both categories, as well as fifth overall in the ACC. His 11.6 points per game increase from last season to this season was the second highest total on the season across the ACC.
This was an easy decision for the voters in the ACC and one that will only help to push Jordan Nwora’s game forward. The sophomore wing has caught the eyes of NBA front offices with his incredible ability to fill it up fast, especially from deep. Plus he did this:
Nwora’s all around improvement of his entire game from shooting, scoring off the dribble, his body, and defense, as well as propensity to take over games with his scoring, made him the easy selection for the award. Not only did he lead the team in scoring on 17 occasions this season, but he also led in rebounding 13 times (the most on the team) and finished the year with the most double-doubles with eight.
If Nwora returns for his junior campaign the next step is moving into the upper tier of players in the ACC by continuing to improve his game offensively and defensively. Whether it’s passing, shot selection, taking better care of the ball, or being able to guard more athletic players, Nwora still has a lot of work to do to reach the potential that we all know he has.
But for now, the guy who many thought was done as a Cardinal after played 18 minutes and scored 7 points in the 2017-18 season finale against Mississippi State can revel in the work he’s put in and the name he’s made for himself as a member of Chris Mack’s first Louisville squad.
Congratulations Jordan, you deserved it.