Louisville basketball home to college basketball’s most versatile player

Louisville basketball had no idea that an under-recruited local forward would turn into the most versatile player in college basketball.

Oxford Dictionary defines the word versatile as “able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities. In fact, if you look up the word in a physical dictionary the first thing you may see is Louisville basketball redshirt senior Dwayne Sutton.

While that last part is not true (although it should be), Dwayne Sutton has developed into what I believe to be the most versatile player across all of college basketball, thanks to the intangibles he brings to the table.

As Chris Mack reminded his team after their 76-50 victory over South Carolina Upstate, Dwayne Sutton had just three scholarship offers coming out of Dupont Manual High School back in 2015, ultimately landing at UNC Asheville of the Big South conference, the same conference that is home to USC Upstate.

"“Dwayne got recruited by a school like USC Upstate. I asked him in the locker room in front of his teammates how many Division 1 offers did you have coming out of high school, he said three. It just shows what heart, will, competitive character and a kick-ass attitude can do for a kid. 15 rebounds, 15. He’s not 6’9, he’s 6’5. He doesn’t look much different than a lot of the kids guarding him tonight. HE’s a warrior. WARRIOR. We need more of those on our team.”"

To try and capture the essence of what makes Dwayne Sutton so special just using words, isn’t really possible nor effective. You can say it all but it’s still not enough. He works hard. He has grit. He fights for everything. Nothing is given to him, it’s all earned. Or as Chris Mack said, “he’s a warrior.” But still, it doesn’t fully describe the person and player that is Dwayne Sutton.

There’s something special about a “junkyard dog” “glue guy” type of player like Sutton playing in a blue-collar, hard-working city like Louisville.

Every day the same fans who fill the KFC Yum! Center, go to work to provide for their family and to make the city an even better place to live. It’s not something that’s taught. People in Louisville fight and earn everything.

Sutton represents that every night he steps on the floor, essentially putting the entire city on his back each and every time he checks in as a member of the Cardinal.

He takes nothing for granted.

He plays with great pride.

He gives maximum effort, plus some, each and every night and he does anything and everything asked of him to help his program win.

Simply, he’s special.

After transferring to Louisville from UNC Asheville and sitting out his NCAA required season, Sutton quickly showed that he wasn’t coming back home with a handout.

Most knew he was talented based on his showings at Manual but also during his one and only season in North Carolina, where he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Big South Tournament as just a freshman.

In his first year of eligibility, Sutton played an integral role for a team that was dealing with identity issues following the firing of a long-time coach, Rick Pitino, and the interim season under rookie head coach, David Padgett.

His role wasn’t as prominent as guys like Ray Spalding and Deng Adel, but what Sutton brought to the table was more valuable in a sense. The 4.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game didn’t capture the hustle, determination, and pure grit that he brought to the floor every night for a team that had their identities taken from them just weeks before the season. Whatever Coach Padgett asked of Sutton he did and most of it was dirty work. That set the foundation for the player that Sutton would evolve into.

In his second season as a Cardinal, Sutton quickly became a favorite of Chris Mack due to his tough-mindedness and win at all costs mentality, developing into more than just a dirty work type of player.

Due to necessity, Sutton became a guy who played an average of nearly 32 minutes per game becoming a secondary wing scorer behind Jordan Nwora, while dramatically increasing his rebounding numbers. He was the heartbeat of Chris Mack’s first team, furthering his message that hard work and being tougher than opponents would be the difference in winning and losing.

Now in his senior season, Sutton has continued to impress with his play on the floor in areas where he’s thrived his entire career. The difference this season has been his role as the “swiss army knife” has been a taller task than he may have imagined.

With Malik Williams out for the early portion of the season and Steven Enoch sidelined with a thigh injury, Chris Mack made the decision to start Sutton at the center spot and potentially found a dangerous lineup. At 6’5. Sutton wasn’t phased by the ask of banging inside with bigger players. While Bellarmine didn’t have great height, the senior forward proved more than capable of playing the five, giving Louisville 18 points and 13 rebounds – literally willing the team to victory.

Through early portions of the season, Sutton has continued to play the center spot in small stretches when Steven Enoch would take a sit as freshman Aidan Igiehon showed he still needed time to develop. Louisville didn’t miss a beat offensively or defensively with those lineups thanks to Sutton’s ability to rebound like a guy five or inches taller as well as his versatility of being able to shoot three’s and pass the ball.

After five games Sutton is the team’s third-leading scorer averaging 10.6 points per game, second in rebounding with 7.6 per, and first in steals at 1.2 per game, and has scored in double figures four times while reaching double-digit rebounding twice, including his career-high 15 against USC Upstate.

That takes us back to Chris Mack’s comments after Louisville’s scare vs. KenPom’s 344th ranked team.

"“He’s not 6’9, he’s 6’5. He doesn’t look much different than a lot of the kids guarding him tonight. HE’s a warrior. WARRIOR.”"

Dwayne Sutton may not be the most athletic, the tallest, the strongest, or the best player on his team, but what he brings is irreplaceable and could be the difference-maker in Louisville’s pursuit of a National Championship.