Louisville basketball: Chris Mack’s challenge for Samuell Williamson

Louisville basketball head coach Chris Mack’s challenge to Samuell Williamson.

With the nation’s top junior college prospect and Louisville basketball signee Jay Scrubb announcing that he’d be going pro in 2020 rather than playing for Chris Mack and the Cards, the need for Samuell Williamson to step into the team’s vacant star/go-to scorer role sooner rather than later became extremely apparent.

Scrubb was set to bring elite level scoring to the Louisville backcourt that would translate right away after averaging 21.9 points per game at John A. Logan College and being named the Junior College Player of the year. That would allow for Williamson, to step into a secondary scoring role next to Scrubb with the potential to develop into the team’s go-to guy over time.

Now with no Scrubb (ha, get it?), Williamson will look to step into a primary or secondary scoring role along with incoming graduate transfer, Carlik Jones, something we know he’s more than capable of doing. The former McDonald’s All-American came to Louisville in 2019-20 with a ton of hype, including some one-and-done type buzz for the 2020 NBA Draft, but experienced wings and guards like Jordan Nwora, Fresh Kimble, Ryan McMahon, and Dwayne Sutton mostly kept him relegated to backup minutes.

Read more: Who Did Chris Mack Say He Believes Will Be This Year’s Dwayne Sutton?

The stats and performances from Williamson showed he had sky-high potential but was still a work in progress, though we saw incredible flashes at several points of the season. Defense was what mostly kept Williamson on the bench, as Mack said: “Defense prevented him from being on the floor in longer stretches earlier,” but once he was able to pick it up he became a much needed asset with his length and athleticism.

How Chris Mack challenged Louisville basketball’s Samuell Williamson

In year two, there won’t be the same learning curve defensively which should allow Williamson to play more freely and with less worry of being pulled due to mistakes. With Nwora, Kimble, Sutton, McMahon, and Darius Perry all gone, Williamson will see a huge boost in minutes this season and Mack will rely upon him to bring energy, scoring, defense, and leadership to a relatively young group.

This offseason Mack has acknowledged on several occasions what is expected of Williamson in 2020-21 as the team’s top or secondary scorer and why he believes there will be a big leap from freshman to sophomore year. Simultaneously, Mack was challenging his star forward behind the scenes to bring something to the floor that team 107 will desperately need; energy. That included bringing energy in practice once the group returned to the floor following the shut down of the basketball facilities due to multiple positive COVID tests.

Mack was asked about Williamson during his media availability on Thursday, and provided a unique metaphor describing the troubles he experienced early throughout his career. He said:

“He’s (Sam Williamson) ready from minute one. It seemed like Sam was that lawn mower you had in the shed for the entire winter before you started to cut your grass in the spring. It just took him a long time to get going everyday in practice. Now we’re doing a warm up drill and Sam’s out there dunking, and I think he understands the intensity that’s needed at this level.”

We saw how impactful Williamson could be from the get go last year, as he came off the bench in the team’s season opener against Miami (on the road) and contributed 13 points in a blowout win. However, as most freshman do, he struggled to be consistent. There’s a lot to like about the season ahead for Louisville if Williamson shows off major improvement, something Coach Mack expects to see.

We’ve seen Mack successfully challenge his players through the media on a few different occasions now during his time at Louisville, including last season with Perry and Nwora, and it seems to be working here with Williamson. Mack told the media on Thursday:

“I think he’s become a much better shooter. Like every freshman that becomes a sophomore, his confidence has grown, he knows what to expect from his coaching staff and the game of college basketball, I expect a lot out of Sam this year.”

With two new graduate transfers, one redshirt freshman, two freshmen (not including Gabe Wiznitzer who will redshirt), and five other sophomores on the roster, there will be a lot of moving pieces and it will likely take time for Louisville to gel and figure things out. If that’s the case, they’ll need Williamson to provide the scoring punch and help to push Louisville’s development time line up.

Don’t be shocked to see Williamson push his scoring up to 13 or 14 points per game, and my guess is for the most part things will look pretty effortless. His smoothness with the ball and sharpshooting ability, amongst other intangibles, will make him a matchup nightmare and because of it he very well could compete for the ACC Most Improved Player of the Year award.