It was another harsh shooting performance overall for the Cardinals this past Saturday, as they fell to the Clemson Tigers 80-75 on the road. Louisville as a team shot 28% from behind the arc (10 for 36) in the disappointing loss. It was an effort in which, for long stretches in the afternoon, Louisville was unable to find and take the highest-quality outside shots to tally the needed points.
Isaac McKneely, one of the sharpshooting outside threats Louisville has leaned on most of the season, was one of the starting lineup members who failed to make the outside shot consistently for Pat Kelsey, making only 2 of 7 shots from behind the arc. It’s been a growing trend for McKneely as he has struggled to produce in big-time games against talented teams with the size, length, and ability to completely take away great-quality looks from deep.
McKneely has struggled mightily in the Cardinals' recent games, and it begs the question whether McKneely’s minutes during games such as these should be used elsewhere rather than with himself if this situation were to arise again.
Related: Louisville basketball facing uncomfortable truth as March arrives
Pat Kelsey must think about making a key change to his starting lineup
One name that stepped up when his name was called on Saturday was Adrian Wooley. With freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. beginning to have injury issues persist once again, Wooley was thrust back into the starting lineup, where he had been needed for a few-game stretch back in January. Wooley took full advantage of the opportunity, leading the Cardinals in points with 17 on 7 of 12 shooting, including 3-of-6 from behind the arc.
Wooley’s game is a bit different from McKneely’s when it comes to the offensive end of the court. He has a better ability to work off of screens and through tougher defenses to get good shots either at the basket or from distance. He also has a keen ability to make shots under duress that McKneely has just shown he fails to make.
It’s an aspect of his game that can show an improvement to the Louisville offense on a consistent basis, in particular when teams of size, length, and physicality are encountered. With March officially starting just a couple of days ago, the time to pull out all the stops and make any final adjustments to rotations and lineups is now.
It will soon be a survive-and-advance situation not only for the ACC tournament but also for the prized NCAA Tournament. It ultimately should be the 5 best players that give you the highest probability of winning tough games during this stretch. Having Wooley enter the starting lineup and gain more playing time appears to be one tweak that could pay major dividends for this Louisville Cardinals team.
Wooley is averaging 8.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from downtown. While McKneely is averaging seven whole minutes more and just 10.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists, while shooting 41 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from 3-point range.
Related:Louisville basketball needs to have an honest conversation about its rotation
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