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Louisville basketball: 3 unique lineup options for Chris Mack in 2020-21

By Alex Payton

DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville basketball program looks on during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA - MARCH 21: Head coach Chris Mack of the Louisville basketball program looks on during their game in the First Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Wells Fargo Arena on March 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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Louisville basketball could have one of its most unique group of lineups in Chris Mack’s time as head coach. We look at three lineups you could see in 2020-21.

In the 2020-21 season, Louisville basketball will be losing its top four scorers from the previous year. Spring players have been granted an extra year of eligibility, leaving out basketball. This means Fresh Kimble, Steven Enoch, Dwayne Sutton, and Ryan McMahon will have to depart with no eligibility left.

Another guard that will be leaving is Darius Perry. He only played 19.7 minutes per game this past season. With the improving play of David Johnson, he saw himself becoming a smaller part of the rotation. He will be entering the transfer portal hopefully attracting a good fit to finish out his eligibility with.

Jordan Nwora has also played his last game in a Louisville jersey. After being honored on Senior Day, Nwora will be headed for the NBA draft. He showed glimpses of the type of scorer he could be at the next level earning him some attention from NBA executives. Currently, NBADRAFT.NET has Nwora as a 90 rating overall, going 22nd overall to the Memphis Grizzlies.

With these players departing, Chris Mack has added some guys that can hopefully fill their spots. Unfortunately, Mack’s biggest recruit Jay Scrubb has decided to declare for the 2020 NBA Draft. This leaves Chris Mack with an additional scholarship spot to fill to go along with some new faces that will be seeing the floor for the Cardinals this year. Maybe that could mean adding Matt Haarms or Mattias Markusson for the center position.

Sam Williamson, Josh Nickelberry, Jae’Lyn Withers, JJ Traynor, Quinn Slazinski, and Carlik Jones are guys that Louisville fans will become familiar with, potentially in the starting lineup. Returning players Johnson, Williamson, and Malik Williams will have to be leaders and will most likely all be in the starting lineup on day 1 of 2020.

While the starting lineup will be worth watching, the versatility that Chris Mack will have on the roster in 2020-21 will be unlike what we’ve seen during his time at Louisville. We’ve learned over the last few seasons what happens when you try to plug holdover players into a system that they were recruited to play in, and while the Cards never awful, you saw struggles and limitations.

This season we’ll see a few new lineups that will pair youth, length, elite athleticism with experience, leadership, and a lot of grit. With that in mind, let’s take a look at three unique lineups that we could see next year.

DAYTON, OH – MARCH 13: Carlik Jones #1 of the Radford Highlanders handles the ball on offense against the Long Island Blackbirds during the second half of the First Four game in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 13, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
DAYTON, OH – MARCH 13: Carlik Jones #1 of the Radford Highlanders handles the ball on offense against the Long Island Blackbirds during the second half of the First Four game in the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at UD Arena on March 13, 2018 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Lineup no. 1 –

G – David Johnson
G – Carlik Jones
F – Samuell Williamson 
F – Jae’Lyn Withers
C – Malik Williams

David Johnson is going to be key piece next season. He will have to quickly grow as a player and become a leader on this team. His breakout game against Duke showed Cardinal fans the reason behind the excitement of bringing him in from Trinity High School in Louisville.

Carlik Jones was a key recruit from Mack after Jay Scrubb decided to enter the NBA Draft. He is the number one graduate transfer in the country and received the Big South Player of the Year last season. He will immediately step into a key role for the Cards and more than likely start. It will be important that him and David Johnson form chemistry at the guards positions, as they’ll be the primary drivers for the team next year.

Samuell Williamson will be a staple at the three spot for Mack. His minutes are going to go up and hopefully his production does as well. He is attempting to live up to his All-American hype that he received coming into Louisville. He will be the play-maker on the floor with incredible athleticism. When this lineup needs a bucket, let Williamson drive and try for an easy one. Williamson is the player that could benefit the most from Scrubbb deciding to go to the NBA. His role will have to be larger than ever.

The four and five spots would be Withers and Williams. Jae’Lyn Withers might be the most underrated player that has landed in Louisville the past couple of years. The 6’9,” 215-pound forward from Charlotte chose the Cards over schools like Arizona, Florida, Virginia, and others. It will be fun to see how much he has developed this past season.

Malik Williams will need to be one of the emotional leaders of this team. Chris Mack is potentially looking for an additional recruit for the five spot, but Williams is going to be seeing the floor plenty. As a senior that developed a lot last year, his production will be key to the success of this Cardinal lineup.

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