Louisville basketball: Darius Perry has one job this offseason

Louisville basketball head coach Chris Mack made it clear that guard Darius Perry has one job this summer.

If you asked second-year Louisville basketball head coach Chris Mack to define the phrase “everyday guy,” one that he uses quite frequently when talking about his expectations for his players, I bet it would go something like this.

Eve·ry·day guy:

To be the same person and do the things required of you to help your team or organization be successful every single day, regardless of any internal or external circumstances.

That’s a phrase that Louisville basketball fans weren’t used to hearing until last season when Chris Mack took over as head coach of the program, and since then it’s been a constant descriptor of what he is looking for from his players, coaches, staff, and anyone who plays an integral role in the success of the Cards.

When taking over a new program with players you didn’t recruit and who don’t know you very well, transitions can be tough.

That seemed to be the case last season for sophomore guard Darius Perry, who looked to be on the verge of a breakout season in 2018-19. On paper, Perry looked like a perfect fit at the point guard position in Mack’s offense. His non-stop energy, lockdown on-ball defending, and a knack for highlight plays all looked to translate into the new scheme, especially considering the potential he flashed as a freshman.

Unfortunately, that breakout never happened. While all players go through growing pains, Perry never seemed to grasp what Mack was asking of him. When he played well, he looked like a potential starter and maybe even star for the Cards. When he didn’t, it hurt the entire team and often led to extended minutes and games on the bench.

During his Tuesday press conference with local reporters, Mack was asked about Darius Perry and had plenty to say.

"“I’d say this if Darius was right here. Darius didn’t know how to be an everyday guy and I’m big on that. If you show up and you’re in a bad mood, or things don’t go well for you and you’re different on different days, it’s going to create some problems. I think Darius had to learn the hard way.”"

Perry started one game in conference play in the Cards, a game against Miami (the ACC opener) in which he played just four minutes. From that point on, the sophomore guard played 15 minutes on just seven contests for the Cards.

While his statistics don’t tell the full story, it’s easy to see that Perry didn’t pass the eye test and it wasn’t hard to tell why the coaching staff simply couldn’t trust him.

Perry’s tendency’s to gamble for steals, which led to silly fouls or easy baskets for the opposing offenses, take bad shots at inopportune times, overthink easy plays, and reach for highlights were all reasons why the staff decided to roll with senior guard Khwan Fore, despite his offensive limitations.

As Mack said, the harder the staff coached him, the more Perry shut down.

At the end of the season, however, there was a much-needed breakthrough. As the Louisville guards began to wear down and struggle with opposing defenses pressing, an opportunity presented itself for Perry and things began to click.

During the course of Louisville’s three post-season games (two in the ACC Tournament and one in the NCAA Tournament), Perry stepped into the role (or at least a portion of it) when the Cards needed it most.

Perry averaged 21 minutes, scoring nearly 10 points per game – including 12 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in last-ditch comeback effort against Minnesota, while only turning the ball over one time compared to eight assists.

Chris Mack continued Tuesday on Perry’s performance saying,

"“I give him a lot of credit. A lot of guys nowadays put their name in the transfer portal and it’s the coaches fault. I’m sure there were some hard days for Darius to think should I do that or not. I was proud of how he stuck it out in the last ten games and became a guy that we had trust of putting him in because I didn’t in the middle and beginning of the season and he re-earned that.”"

As Louisville heads toward the 2019-2020 season, one that, unlike last season, includes National Championship potential, Darius Perry has one job.

Become an everyday guy.

“I’m hopeful he takes his offseason to do what he did in the last month of the season; be an everyday guy, Mack said. Compete at a very high level, be our best on-ball defender, cut his turnovers way down, play with a higher IQ, and shoot the ball like he’s more than capable of doing, and I’m going to coach him just as hard as I did when he didn’t like being coached hard, and if he takes to it I think he’ll have a much better experience as a junior.”

If Darius Perry can do that this offseason it would go a long way in giving Louisville another dynamic guard with experience to help them make a deep run at the Final Four and potentially even more.