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Six bold predictions for Louisville basketball in 2019-2020

By Jacob Lane

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville basketball program looks on during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville basketball program looks on during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Daniel Oturu #25 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers goes up for a shot against Malik Williams #5 of the Louisville Cardinals during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 21: Daniel Oturu #25 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers goes up for a shot against Malik Williams #5 of the Louisville Cardinals during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Stephen Kalayil (@stephenkalayil): Malik Williams will make the ACC All-Defensive team

After a season of learning Chris Mack’s hybrid pack-line defense, the Cardinal’s are poised to become a defensive powerhouse and the main beneficiary will be Malik Williams. In year one of the Mack era, arguably no player overall benefitted more than Williams. The rising junior transformed his body by adding weight and was able to learn from one of the best big men coaches in Mike Pegues. It’s been noted that Williams picked up the defensive system earlier than many on the Cardinals roster and it was noticeable.

In the 2018-2019 season, Williams registered a block in every game but 8. He had over 2 blocks or more over 9 times, including 4 against an excellent Seton Hall team. This equated to Williams finishing 11th in the ACC in blocks per game. Many of the players ranked ahead of him in the blocks category have graduated or moved on, so he’s poised to be near the top, barring health.

Despite being in a timeshare last season with Steven Enoch, look for Williams to get more playing time due to his defensive prowess and Enoch’s defensive woes. Last season, Enoch was a defensive liability but a unique offensive threat with the ability to stretch the defense with his impressive outside touch for a big. This upcoming season, Mack will play both of them together for stretches to have a defensive/offensive punch upfront with touted freshman, Aidan Ighieon coming off the bench to spell them. From a defensive rebounding perspective, Williams averaged 4.3 DRP which will surely go up with added minutes.

All of this is the perfect mix for Williams to not just be a defensive anchor for UofL, but to be one of the best in the ACC this season.

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