Louisville basketball: Darius Perry’s Miami performance should bring hope

It may be an unpopular opinion, but Louisville basketball’s x-factor could be Darius Perry rounding the corner, at point guard.

The offseason message sent by Chris Mack to Louisville basketball guard Darius Perry was simple; become an everyday guy. The 2018-19 season wasn’t what we had hoped for out of the sophomore guard, but

Everyone loved what they saw out of Perry as a freshman while playing under David Padgett, following the firing of Rick Pitino. He played in a way much like Russ Smith which featured incredibly athletic plays that made your jaw drop to the floor mixed with a myriad of head-scratching bamboozling decisions that made you wonder whether he was playing the same sport as everyone else.

As a sophomore many expected Perry to become “the guy” for coach Mack considering Perry’s aggressiveness, ability to lock down opposing guards, and his knack for playmaking – but it never really materialized. You hoped for the good, and occasionally got it, but more than not Mack watched as the sophomore struggled to play behind Christen Cunningham, never really finding his groove in the offense.

It resulted in Mack completely taking Perry out of the rotation at one point, before ultimately putting him back (and relying on him) after earning the needed trust. The Minnesota game gave us another glimpse of the ultimate Darius Perry; a guy capable of scoring, making plays and providing lockdown defense in big moments.

After the upset, Mack addressed the media about the offseason and spoke truthfully about what he wanted to see.

"“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.”"

The summer of 2019 was the summer of Darius Perry. Even with a graduate-transfer coming in to play the guard spot, Mack was relying on Perry to develop into his point guard and to start the season it looked like he had gotten the most out of the now upperclassman.

Perry dished out a career-high 12 assists while notching his first double-double at Louisville during the team’s pounding of Youngstown State, following it up with a seven-point, three-assist performance and then an 11 point, seven assist game against NC Central.

Then things began to go down-hill starting with Akron followed by Michigan, and not only did it affect what Mack did at guard (playing more Ryan McMahon and Fresh Kimble) it affected the play of the entire team.

The next 10 games ended with Perry scoring in single-digits while totaling 11 turnovers compared to just seven assists over a three-game span against power five programs including the zero assist, six turnover performance in a confounding loss against Texas Tech.

Have we been over-hyping the guy we once thought was the next star point guard at Louisville? Is he really just not that good? Does he have the basketball IQ to play in the ACC and compete with the top guards nationally?

Those were just a handful of the questions I had, and I’m sure many of you had. Someone else had to step up because the guy we thought would run the show at the point wasn’t giving Mack what he needed.

The next two games against Kentucky and Florida State weren’t pretty, but Perry showed improvement. Though he only combined to score 11 points to go along with three assists, he did go without a single turnover – which was a huge accomplishment. Both teams played tall, long guards and the impact it had on Louisville was undeniable, and as Mack said the guards, in general, were “manhandled.”

Miami was the ultimate get right game. 20 days without a win seemed like an eternity and the Hurricanes and their seven healthy players was exactly what was needed.

Once again Fresh Kimble started at the one, allowing Perry to slide over into his natural position of the two-guard. The performance wasn’t pretty, as Louisville got up early only allow the trio of McGusty, Lykes, and Vasiljevic to keep Miami in the game for much longer than needed but it forced Mack to try a ton of different things.

Ultimately, the lineup that got the Cards ahead for good included Perry at the one. With Fresh Kimble really struggling offensively, Mack turned to Perry to be the spark – and that’s exactly what he got.

With just under six minutes to go, Perry got going. He found two quick assists on back-to-back offensive possessions, helping Sutton and Nwora (and a cold Louisville offense) get key buckets that extended the Cards lead. He took good shots, going two of four down that stretch, including two big layups, as well as an and-one that ultimately sealed the victory for Louisville.

I’ve said it five times, but I’ll say it again. It wasn’t pretty. But this season when Mack asked Perry to be the same guy, every day, regardless of circumstances, I have a feeling that this type of performance, one that Chris Mack said made him “the best one out there,” is the jump-start needed for Perry to develop into the lead guard we all knew he’d be.

“We may have to do it by committee. Each of those guys has shown during different periods of time that they can do the job but haven’t been consistent like we need them to be. It was great to see Darius, as a junior, step up and make some plays down the stretch, not just on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end,” Mack said during his post-game press conference, and he’s right. Louisville will need Perry, Fresh or David Johnson to step up and take the role when others aren’t able to reach that level, and the Miami game showed it’s possible.

Mack needs Darius Perry to be the best Darius Perry he can be if this team has any hope of making a deep run in April. A team lacking a killer mentality and the mental fortitude needs a leader, a galvanizer.

It may be crazy to think, but the way I see it Perry can be that galvanizer. If Perry is trusted to play his style of game while playing within the constraints of the Mack offense, he can do just what he did last night against Miami.

Yes, it was Miami, but going up against guards like Chris Lykes, Kam McGusty, and DJ Vasiljevic isn’t easy. If it weren’t for the steady play of Perry late, I have no idea if Louisville is able to pull away and close that game out.

Perry may not be traditional and his numbers may not always look pretty. But when Perry comes to play in the right mindset, what he provides could be the difference in Louisville going home in the first weekend or making a run.