Louisville basketball: How the “Super Six” can impact the Cards going forward

Louisville basketball brought in one of its most highly thought of recruiting classes ever in 2019, but head coach Chris Mack is still working on how to fit all of the pieces together. Let’s dive into each of the five players who have seen the floor this season, assess their impact thus far, what they will provide going forward, and how they will fit for years to come.

The Super Six. Louisville basketball finally landed its dream class after years of just “meh” recruiting for a fringe blue blood school under Rick Pitino, and fans could not have been more excited for it.

There is a McDonald’s All-American, a physical specimen, a pure scorer, two highly regarded project wings, and a hometown hero point guard. Everything you can ask for and more in a recruiting class had fans stoked for an already-loaded team in 2019-20.

However, through 15 games, Louisville has not seen much of its vaunted recruiting class. Jae’lyn Withers took a redshirt to start the season, and players like Josh Nickelberry and Aidan Igiehon are much more of projects than we initially thought.

With that being said, these freshmen just started their second semester of college and appear ready for big things in the future. So, let’s break down their performances thus far and put things a bit more into perspective.

Quinn Slazinski

What we’ve learned: Quinn Slazinski is one of the youngest players on this Louisville team, but his immediate impact upon his arrival on campus led to the coaching staff changing their tune on Slazinski’s role on team 106.

After reclassifying in order to enroll early at Louisville, the original plan was for the 18-year-old from Houston to redshirt, but coaches quickly realized that Slazinski was ready to roll right away.

Though he hasn’t seen much time on the floor, Slazinski has made his minutes count. In only 33 minutes played, he is 2-4 from three-point range and 6-for-8 from the free-throw line. In that time, he has recorded 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Looking ahead: Slazinski has made his impact felt when he has gotten in, but a big reason why the coaches were looking at him as a potential redshirt was that he is slotted at the deepest position on the roster.

All-American Jordan Nwora, captain Dwayne Sutton, and co-captain Malik Williams have seen the lions share of minutes at the four spot, and should one go down to injury, it seems like the team would adjust by moving other players around on the roster rather than rely on Slazinski at this juncture.

For now, Slazinski is going to be what he is. He may be relied upon to give a few minutes situationally if there is foul trouble or injuries, and a huge positive is that there isn’t going to be an impactful drop-off in the short term.

Slazinski has shown his willingness to be an aggressor on offense, and he possesses solid defensive instinct. And you never know what could happen. Mack has been known to reward players for a good week of practice, and, of recent, he has adjusted the rotation a bit. If Slazinski is any part of a tweak down the line, he can be relied upon as a great scorer and match-up problem for opposing teams.

Long-term impact: Look, there’s a reason why Slazinski didn’t take a redshirt and Jae’lyn Withers did. The coaches see something in him, and in his limited time, they appear justified in their actions.

Slazinski is going to be a key contributor down the road, and playing the same position as Jordan Nwora and Dwayne Sutton in practice every day is only going to serve to better him in the future.

Those two veterans will be gone in 2020-21, and Slazinski is going to be asked to take a huge step forward as far as minutes played and expectations on both ends of the floor.

He will almost certainly compete for a starting role over the next two seasons, and when his time comes, expect him to be ready.