Louisville basketball: 3 takeaways from 2020-21 roster unveiling
By Jacob Lane
Youth > Experience
Chris Mack was very fortunate to take over a roster mostly made up of rising upperclassmen back in 2018, which included pieces that would be foundational cornerstones including Dwayne Sutton, Malik Williams, Jordan Nwora, Steven Enoch, Darius Perry, Ryan McMahon, and a few others.
This season, Mack won’t have that same benefit as his roster for the first time is made up of primarily underclassmen including five sophomores, one redshirt freshman, and three freshman (Gabe Wiznitzer included) compared to just three seniors.
It’s going to take time for Louisville to find themselves this season having so many players who will be stepping into primary roles for the first time, including all three seniors Malik Williams (Williams won’t be in a new role, but likely will play quite a few more minutes than he has in years prior) Carlik Jones, and Charles Minlend Jr. But, there should be a ton of optimism about the season because of the potential and ceiling of the Cardinals roster.
The opportunity cost of what could be by seasons end vs. what will be early in the season is something to watch for, as Louisville will deal with growing pains working in their new players while getting their six players from the class of 2020.
It may cost them a few games that we aren’t used to seeing them lose, but as the younger players learn and get comfortable in their new roles (especially DJ and Sam) and the two graduates get more familar with the ACC, this could be a dangerous team.
It feels like it’s been forever since Louisville could be classified as a “young team” but that’s exactly what they’ll be this season.
We asked Coach Mack about this during our sit down with him, to which the told us:
“I think that we have some talent that’s going to make a step forward. Guys like David Johnson and Samuell Williamson need to grow from being inconsistent, spectacular at times, to player we can really count on night in and night out. I know that they are really looking forward to that challenge, they are talented enough to do that and their mental makeup has grown since entering college. We’re really excited to get our hands on those guys and forming what I think could be a really talented and good team this coming year.”
Next. Way-too-early bold predictions for Louisville basketball in 2020. dark
It may take a little time, but team 108 has the potential to be damn good.