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Ville’ns Yearbook – Louisville Basketball Season Recap

By Ethan Sprowles

LOUISVILLE, KY - JANUARY 26: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts after a dunk against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second half of the game at KFC YUM! Center on January 26, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 66-51. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY - JANUARY 26: Jordan Nwora #33 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts after a dunk against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second half of the game at KFC YUM! Center on January 26, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville won 66-51. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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The inaugural season of the Chris Mack era is now complete, and for the first time in a while, things are looking up around the men’s Louisville basketball program.

It’s no secret what the state of the program was when Coach Mack arrived in Louisville last March as the new coach of the Louisville basketball program.

We had zero commits, the historic program’s image was essentially decimated, 2 major scandals in 3 years, Hall of Fame coach fired, this has all been discussed ad nauseum.

However, it’s important to consider these conditions and remember what we’ve been through as we continue our climb back to the top.

Our fanbase and our program has been through a lot, and in the end I really do believe it’s gonna make us stronger.

These players and this staff have been a light in dark times, and they have been as likable as can be – and we should be grateful for that. These guys could’ve complained about the hand they were dealt, or made excuses along the way. They have carried the burden of past transgressions that had nothing to do with them and they have done so admirably.

Yeah they may have not had a story book ending with a magical run to the Elite 8, or even a fun Sweet 16 run. But Louisville Basketball’s image is being restored and will certainly be back, and largely thanks to this team setting the right tone as we begin this new era.

Sure the way the season closed out was disappointing, but we had a lot of great memories this year, in a year that could’ve gone much differently.

Let’s be honest, this year could’ve been a disaster. They lost a lot of production and leadership with the departures of Snider, Spalding, and Adel. Not to mention our front court got even thinner with the departure of Lance Thomas.

Not many people were giving this team a chance going into the season. They were picked 11th in the ACC and nearly every national analyst said that Louisville would be lucky to make the tournament.

For many fans, I think simply feeling that gameday buzz again in downtown and  hearing the crowd roar like it hasn’t roared in years was really relieving to see. As I talked about in my article when we first hired Coach Mack, the fanbase was in a really fragile and tough spot, along with the program, and is still recovering. But I think we took a lot of strides this year thanks to Coach Mack and these guys.

With that, it’s time for the Team 105 Superlatives:

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