Louisville basketball: Gabe Wiznitzer checks all the boxes for Cards

Breaking down Gabe Wiznitzer’s game

What does Wiznitzer bring to the table?

Quite a bit, actually. A look at his tape at Hargrave reveals that he is a player with a lot of intricacies to his game- And that’s a huge plus for the Cards.

Here’s a bit more of an in-depth breakdown of Wiznitzer’s game from our view.

Jacob Lane, Site Expert

In a world where the “traditional” big men are being replaced left and right, Wiznitzer brings a game that could translate across all eras and playing style. Even at 7’0, the North Carolina product moves very fluidly and is more than able to get up and down the court in transition and finish fast breaks with dunks or even provide clean up around the rim.

Wiznitzer told Adam Zagoria earlier this year that he had spent a lot of time working on his body, losing 15 pounds in the process, becoming a much more modern big.

While he can hurt you on the break, where Wiznitzer does the most damage on both offense and defense is in half-court situations. Offensively, Wiznitzer has both a traditional game with a touch of modern to it as he’s capable of scoring just as effectively with his back to the basket as he is off of a pick-and-pop or from a spot-up jumper both in the mid-range and from deep.

As you watch highlights it’s easy to make a comparison to several former Xavier bigs, mostly Sean O’ Mara. While Wiznitzer is a much more talented player overall, he brings similar traits to the floor and is a near-perfect fit for what Mack likes to do in the four-out-one-in offensive scheme.

He’s got several low-post moves that he’s nearly perfected, which should put a little pep into the step of big man whisperer Mike Pegues, he’s a very strong and physical rebounder, he’s effective from the free-throw line, and he’s not afraid to get down and dirty on defense as both a rim protector and big who can switch onto smaller players.

Wiznitzer isn’t overly athletic but thrives in getting the upper hand on positioning against defending big men and finding the right angles to attack.

Presley Meyer, Site Expert

The first thing that stands out to me about Wiznitzer immediately is his excellent size. Hovering right around 7 feet and 240-250 pounds, Wiznitzer is built like a tree already at 17 or 18 years old.

Wiznitzer is not afraid, as the kids say, to catch a body. He loves to face up and finish with authority- Then let the opponent know about it. For Louisville basketball fans, seeing a big man just put opponents on a poster over and over and finish plays is a welcome sight.

Like all of Louisville’s recent bigs, Wiznitzer has developed a really solid looking stroke from outside, which is huge in regards to opening up the floor. He reminds me a lot of Stephen Enoch the way he squares to the basket from beyond the arc, and displays good shooting form and touch for a seven-footer.

With all of that being said, Wiz’s bread and butter is as a back to the basket post-up big man. You can tell Wiznitzer works hard at his craft. He creates space and makes himself wide in the low post, and when he gets the ball, even if he’s out of position, he uses great footwork and strength to gain position on the opponent.

Wiznitzer isn’t going to have a long highlight tape of him passing out of the post, but it’s really interesting to me to see that he is always looking to facilitate as he’s working in the low post. That keeps things opened up on offense, and ultimately frees him up to go to work against the defender by ball-faking. His signature low-post move is an excellent head fake and drop step move. He doesn’t often utilize an arcing shot over his left shoulder, but his head fakes are good enough to keep the defender off balance. When he gets into the circle area, he keeps the ball away from the defender and with his length, his final drop step towards the basket is deadly. The defender has to give up space or foul more often than not, and he finishes well around the rim.

Overall, you can tell Wiznitzer is just really well-coached and works extremely hard on his game. By the time he is ready to suit up for the Cards in 2021-2022, he should have a very polished game and be able to compete for the starting spot right away at center.