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

Samuell Williamson

Lastly, let’s talk Sam Williamson, because, in my opinion, this is the missing piece Louisville has in its arsenal.

What we’ve learned: Over the last decade, there have been a few Louisville players who just felt like they belonged on the court from their first career game. Quentin Snider, Donovan Mitchell, and Terry Rozier come to mind as recent players who felt like they belonged in a major college basketball game, and we were just glad that they chose our school to play for.

The same can be said of Samuell Williamson. While most freshmen are projects, Williamson just appeared to be comfortable from his first game with the Cards, when he hit 6 of 9 shot attempts in a route at Miami in early November.

Williamson has a really polished game. He is smooth to the rack and just feels like things move more slowly for him. He has been playing at college game speed since day one.

However, as the season has progressed, something has happened. Maybe it has been an uptick in competition, or maybe he is just hitting a slump, but whatever the case, Williamson has seen fewer and fewer minutes for Mack and his role on this team has gone from the sixth man to case-by-case basis player.

Williamson has been by far the best freshman, but as the roster kinks are worked out and the rotation is tightening up a bit, Williamson has gone from a 20 minute per game guy to playing 8, 7, and 9 minutes over the last three games. He only had one single-digit minute game, against Michigan, prior to the holiday break.

Looking ahead: The lessened playing time is likely a byproduct of an increased role for Darius Perry, Fresh Kimble, and David Johnson. Mack has played three guards at times, and, as a result, has dipped into the minutes from Williamson.

Whether this is a trend remains to be seen, but what does need to happen is Williamson’s game needs to level out at some point.

After scoring 13 against Miami, 15 against Indiana State, and 9 vs. Youngstown State to start the season, Williamson’s scoring numbers have taken a dive.

Louisville is desperately searching for a third player that can help carry the load for Nwora and Enoch, and Williamson seems like a prime candidate. Outside of Nwora and maybe Darius Perry, Williamson is probably the best isolation scorer on the team. Williamson can score at every level but has simply failed to do so of late.

His 3-3 performance in only 9 minutes of action at home against Miami is a good start. But, if I’m nitpicking, I would love nothing more than to see Williamson keep his foot on the gas and get up 5+ shot attempts per game.

Williamson is shooting 55 percent from inside the arc, yet he has not attempted more than three two-point field goals in a game since November 20th.

It’s time for a third option to step up, and while Darius Perry is trying to help soften the blow of a midseason slump, I believe Sam Williamson to be the guy who can really do some damage in multiple facets on offense.

Long-term impact: Next season and beyond, Williamson is the next Jordan Nwora for this team. He has the full package on both ends of the floor. Mack has been critical of his defense, but offensively, Williamson is the real deal and he makes it look easy.

Williamson’s role will obviously be much increased in 2020-21, and he could be a guy that we are not talking about if he is drafted after next season, but how high in the lottery he goes.

Louisville might feel like it’s rebuilding next year after having such a loaded squad in 2019-20, but if the Cardinals can retain Samuell Williamson, they will have a budding star on the roster.