Louisville basketball just earned its 16th win of the season and its second one in a row as the Cards defeated Notre Dame 76-65. Pat Kelsey and the Cardinals improve to 6-4 in conference play with just nine games remaining, and the Cardinals fans are hoping for a bit of a run here in the home stretch.
With just one month of regular season basketball remaining, Louisville fans are hoping the Cardinals can rattle of a key winning streak as the Cards are the favorite in every game, according to ESPN’s Matchup Predictor. However, with games against SMU, North Carolina and Clemson, and all on the road, the Cardinals have to get off to faster starts.
One key adjustment Louisville fans have been asking Kelsey to make is moving Khani Rooths to the starting rotation, and while the forward earned his second straight double-double the Cards head coach made it clear where he stands on the lineup change.
Related: Louisville's perfect starting lineup move is staring Pat Kelsey in the face
Pat Kelsey makes it clear where he stands on his starting lineup
Rooths has been a massive spark plug for this team when he enters the game, as the 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward is causing chaos on defense with his length and athleticism and brings some physicality and size to the Cardinals' offense. The Cardinals went down 10-2 to start this game, and while McKneely finished with a game-high 13 points, many fans have been calling for moving the sharpshooter to the bench, Rooths to the power forward spot, and J’Vonne Hadley to small forward.
However, Kelsey made it clear where he stands on potentially moving his lineup.
"I'm not going to, but you could,” Kelsey stated on making changes to his starting lineup. It’s a good suggestion, though."
Rooths just earned his second double-double, posting 12 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 5-of-9 from the field and 1-of-2 from downtown. The forward continues to show how valuable he is to this team, as he also added two steals and brought in four offensive rebounds.
Hadley played just three minutes in this game due to back pain, and with Hadley missing most of the game, Rooths continues to make the case for being bumped to the starting lineup. The former 4-star recruit played 26 minutes in this game, and the Cardinals improved to 7-1 on the season when Rooths earns 20 minutes or more, and he is averaging 10.9 points and 8.0 rebounds in those eight games.
Rooths is a glaring solution to the Cardinals' physicality and length concerns, as he brings a lot to the Cardinals' frontcourt at 6-foot-10. Moving Rooths to the "4" also allows Hadley to play a more comfortable role at small forward at 6-foot-6, and while there is no question McKneely is a key piece to this team and its future, he is undersized at 6-foot-4 at the "3".
The sharpshooter playing more small forward minutes this year has clearly impacted his game, as he is shooting 38.8 percent from downtown, the lowest percentage of his college career, and averaging 11.7 points per game, the lowest since his freshman season.
McKneely would still earn similar minutes to what he is earning now, but starting Rooths could be an answer to help the Cardinals to get off to a faster start, and against these elite teams with size and length. For now it is a hard no from Kelsey, but it if Rooths continues to earn these double-doubles and make a strong case, Kelsey might be forced to rethink his answer.