Big Red Louie
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Let’s have an honest discussion about Louisville basketball

By Presley Meyer

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - MARCH 07: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville Cardinals is assessed a technical foul in the first half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - MARCH 07: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville Cardinals is assessed a technical foul in the first half during a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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LOUISVILLE, KY – FEBRUARY 19: David Johnson #13 of the Louisville Cardinals listens to head coach Chris Mack during a game against the Syracuse Orange at KFC YUM! Center on February 19, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Syracuse 90-66. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
LOUISVILLE, KY – FEBRUARY 19: David Johnson #13 of the Louisville Cardinals listens to head coach Chris Mack during a game against the Syracuse Orange at KFC YUM! Center on February 19, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville defeated Syracuse 90-66. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Chris Mack is still a damn good coach

Perhaps the most frustrating post-game caller, tipsy tweeter, or water cooler whiner to deal with is the “sky is falling, fire the coach” type of guy or gal.

I get that this season isn’t living up to your ultra-realistic 40-0 standards, but the sky is not falling. You’re going to wake up the day after Louisville basketball’s next loss- hopefully in the very distant future- and Chris Mack is still going to be an elite-level coach.

By every possible metric, Mack is an outstanding coach. You could look at his overall win record. He’s won 68 percent of his games over his first two years.

For comparison’s sake, Rick Pitino boasted an identical win percentage in his first two seasons with the Cards- albeit in conference USA. The Cardinals dropped 5 of their last 8 games during Pitino’s second season after reeling off 17 straight wins. Sound familiar?

But, if that doesn’t suit your fancy, you could see how Mack stacks up against coaches like Archie Miller at Indiana, Mike White at Florida, Jamie Dixon at TCU, or Mick Cronin at UCLA. Any one of those coaches could have wound up at Louisville two years ago, and I highly doubt anyone would want to trade places with those coaches.

Louisville has suffered its growing pains this season under Mack, but some of the losses for the Cards have been part of the ebbs and flows of the game.

During Louisville’s 10-game winning streak early in conference play, the Cardinals won three games in come from behind fashion and two in overtime. In its poor stretch to finish the season, the Cardinals were literally a couple of plays away from being 5-2 instead of 3-4 over the last 7 games.

Let’s also not forget about the player development we’ve seen take place with this team specifically. David Johnson has evolved into a player NBA teams are taking note of after missing the first few months of the season. Malik Williams has developed into arguably Louisville’s second or third best player after showing flashes last season. Samuell Williamson’s game has taken longer to come around, but just watch a few minutes when he’s on the floor and tell me the Cards aren’t noticeably better. That’s just a few examples.

The narrative on teams and coaches can change quickly, and Mack’s Cardinals are only a few small tweaks away from exceeding expectations.

Chris Mack is a great coach, he’s great for this program and city, and we are blessed to have him.

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