How Louisville basketball is writing an incredible comeback story

As the 2019-20 Louisville basketball season approaches, let’s put into perspective how far ahead of schedule the Cardinals and Chris Mack already are.

Often times, it’s difficult for us to envision a finished product when we are in the middle of the chaotic storm around us. Those who are successful are able to create a vision and work to manifest their own destiny. When Chris Mack took over the Louisville basketball program, he accepted the job with the knowledge that nothing he did would be easy, and that nothing he accomplished would come without criticism.

He knew of the dark clouds of past scandals lingering over the program, and he knew there was a risk in taking the job.

The life he left behind at Xavier, his alma mater, was a cushy one. He is a hero to fans of the small Catholic college in Cincinnati who saw their team rise to new heights both in his playing days and in his nine years as the head coach. Mack left a program that had just won a Big East regular-season title and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament- the first in school history- for a school coming off of an NIT appearance and waiting for further punishment for yet another scandal.

Former head coach Denny Crum set the bar high for three decades and his successor, Rick Pitino, kept the expectations at that same level for nearly two. Accepting the job at Louisville was knowing that he’d be leaving everything behind that he’d built to take over for a program with fifty-plus years of winning pedigree and lofty expectations that it was unlikely he’d reach any time soon.

That’s the thing about visionaries in any given field, though. Those on the outside saw a challenge ahead for Mack, but he saw an opportunity. And although he was met with criticism, Mack trusted his instinct in taking the job and began building.

The first task was simply getting the current players to buy-in. After all, with the number of transfers at an all-time high, no one could blame any Cardinal if they headed for greener pastures as soon as Mack took over in March of 2018. But they stayed. Players bought in, and Mack’s family-oriented culture began paying dividends in a major way.

Nine weeks after accepting the job, Mack turned heads by landing his first commitment: top 100 shooting guard Josh Nickleberry. The incoming 2019 freshman laid the groundwork on the recruiting trail for the Cards, and soon Mack and his staff began to garner serious attention from four and five-star recruits around the country.

As the basketball season began, skepticism was still abound nationally, but the product Mack placed on the floor was miles ahead of what many expected. After being picked to finish 11th in the ACC, the Cardinals found themselves tied for first place weeks into conference play. Along the way, Louisville took out eventual final four participant Michigan State, blew out a top 10 North Carolina on the road, and hung tough with teams like Tennessee, Kentucky, and Marquette. They eventually led big against a historically great Duke team, and the eventual national champion Virginia Cavaliers.

Though the season ended on a down note with a loss to Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA tournament, it was a surprise to many that the Mack’s Cardinals were even in the tournament in the first place. The Cards finished sixth in the toughest conference in America after being expected to be near the bottom. Louisville did so without any sort of depth. The 2018-19 team realistically went eight-deep, and their lone returning starter, VJ King, didn’t even play in some games because of a mystifying mental slump.

For Mack to somehow salvage a 20-win season against one of the toughest schedules in the county from a squad that was in complete rebuilding mode and had no depth to speak of was a near-miraculous feat. He fielded a team that had to use walk-ons and a sixth year senior with the knees of a 70-year-old just to run a full-court scrimmage.

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Now, a year later, his team returns a roster that includes the core of it’s scoring and rebounding. And that afore-mentioned 2019 recruiting class? It became one of the best in the country.

Louisville brings in six freshmen that all have their sites set on a professional career, and have the talent and athleticism to do so. They also have a graduate transfer in Fresh Kimble who brings a hard-nosed, winners mentality to a team that has a rare mix of experience and youth.

The lack of depth in 2019 led to a rare scenario where Louisville could pair some of their best players from this past season with a large group of newcomers. The result is a wealth of talent, depth, and options in Mack’s arsenal.

This Louisville squad has all of the key components of a national championship contender.

There’s experienced guard play– Kimble has advanced in the NCAA tournament before as a player at St. Joseph’s. He is accompanied in the backcourt by Darius Perry, a junior two-guard primed for a monster season, and Ryan McMahon, a fifth-year long-range sniper who is the ultimate slump-buster.

The Cards also have tremendous talent up front. Redshirt senior Steven Enoch returns after finding the NBA waters were a little too choppy. He will share time with Malik Williams– a seven-foot forward with some guard-like abilities. They will both be pushed by incoming freshman Aidan Igiehon who will demand playing time with his unlimited motor and menacing attitude towards circular orange objects.

Don’t forget the go-to guy, Jordan Nwora, who was the ACC’s Most Improved Player during his sophomore campaign. He surprised many when he opted to return to school and is the team’s leading returning scorer and rebounder. He will take incoming All-American Samuell Williamson under his wing, and they could form one of the better scoring tandems in the league.

Depth is what separates the 2019-20 Cardinals from the competition. Dwayne Sutton started all 34 games for Louisville at forward last year and it’s hard to envision him not doing the same redshirt senior season. The freshman Nickelberry is joined by local product David Johnson in the backcourt as solid options behind Kimble and Perry, and Jae’Lyn Withers is a dark horse to find time in the rotation at power forward.

Pair all of that with Mack and his well-tenured coaching staff, and all of a sudden the narrative in Louisville has gone from hoping to make the postseason to final four expectations in just over a year.

Not many questioned if Mack was the right man for the job when he took the reins fifteen months ago, but many doubted his ability to place Louisville basketball squarely into the national conversation after one season.

It was Mack though that saw the possibilities. He stepped out of his comfort zone, and he has been hitting nothing but home runs since day one on the job.

Mack hasn’t coached a single game of his second season in Louisville, but if he remains on this trajectory in 2019-20, Louisville basketball is destined for great things during his tenure.

The story is still being written, but don’t forget where Louisville basketball was just months ago. A game in mid-February in which the Cards led against eventual No. 1 seed Duke by as many as 23 points ended in an epic collapse that resulted in a nauseating barrage of replays on ESPN and across the sports world. It was a turning point in a season where Louisville was geared towards top-four ACC tournament and NCAA tournament seeds.

In the end, the lack of depth and experience depleted a Louisville squad who flashed serious potential, but couldn’t seem to find the right equation to finish strong.

In 2020, as spring rolls around and the excitement of March Madness is in the air, Louisville will hope to finish writing a comeback story of their own. Winning a national title takes a little luck, and there’s no way of knowing how every scenario this season will pan out.

However, in the end, it may not take the Cardinals hoisting the NCAA Championship trophy above their heads in Mercedes Benz Stadium in April to call this story a success. Although it would be poetic justice to win a title in the same location that the Cards won it all only to have it taken away, Louisville basketball fans should be ecstatic about another chance to watch a team that will be making national headlines on a weekly basis.

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The pieces are in place for a historic run, and things are way ahead of schedule. The comeback story and season that the program and city of Louisville deserve is being written. And it won’t take a fairytale ending to make this story a memorable one.

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