Nick Burch
Aug 18 2015
Most fans and/or members of the media would not take the time to over-analyze the performances of a college basketball team (who has been practicing together for just over a month) against a group of pros, especially when those pros are coached by a man who knows this particular college team better than anyone. Most fans and/or media members, however, don’t cheer for or cover the University of Louisville men’s basketball team.
As one of the nation’s premier programs with one of the most passionate fan bases, of course these meaningless games are going to be broken down with as much detail and analysis than Phil Steele’s college football preview magazine. Fans in this city are college basketball addicts, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
As such, though, every missed shot, every highlight-worthy play, every performance, and every substitution pattern will be discussed by several members of the fan base with as much interest and importance as though it were March.
Will this Louisville team’s performance last week against the Puerto Rico national team coached by Rick Pitino have any bearing on what is to come this season? In all likelihood, of course not, as it is only August, but it did serve as a nice preview to the season, giving people a glimpse of what could come and what could be improved upon.
Reviewing the stats over the seven-game period, there are many reasons for feeling optimistic about this team’s outlook, but there are obvious areas that need shoring up. Luckily, the Cards have plenty of team for that, but in the meantime, here is what we know.
STAT TO CHEER
Damion Lee: 23.6 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, 49% field goal percentage, 40% 3PT percentage
Lee, whom ESPN listed as the top-rated transfer entering this season, looked every bit worthy of the hype during the team’s trip. He averaged 21.4 points per game at Drexel last season, good enough for fourth in the nation, but given the talent he would be joining at Louisville, would he need to score that much for his new team?
For one week in August he did, and he appeared ready to embrace that role from the opening play of the first game, in which he drained a deep three in Portland Trail Blazers’ forward Moe Harkless’ face for the first basket of the week. He finished that game with 36 points on 11-18 shooting, and over the week, he scored over 100 points (118 to be exact). No one else scored over 55.
He scored from everywhere on the court, was 29 of 35 from the free throw line, and he also proved to be a valuable rebounder, finishing second on the team with 6.2 per game. He looks to be the on-the-court leader and go-to-scorer Louisville lacked for much of last season.
STAT TO FEAR
Trey Lewis: 36% field goal percentage, ~2:4 assist-to-turnover ratio
The other member of Louisville’s graduate transfer tandem, Lewis did not quite have the week that Lee did. He struggled with shot consistency, made questionable shot selections, and had trouble controlling the ball.
After shooting 45% at Cleveland State last season and 43% from three, he was expected to give Louisville another offensive boost. That was not quite the case in Puerto Rico, as he shot nine percent less than his previous season’s field goal percentage and ten percent less than his three point percentage. He also led the team with 18 turnovers on the week.
Despite his veteran status, he still appears to be catching up to the speed at which Pitino likes his teams to operate, and with a few more months of practice, there is no reason to think he won’t catch up sooner than later. He did show he has the ability to play a major role this season, regardless, as evidenced by his 21 point, 7 rebound performance on 7-12 shooting in the week’s second-to-last game. Rick Pitino has raved about his leadership, which will come in handy, but if he can combine that quality with playing at that level more often than not, he will be a very dangerous backcourt weapon.
STAT TO CHEER
Ray Spalding: 6 points, 54% field goal percentage in 13 minutes per game, 9 blocks in 7 games
Spalding was considered a five-star power forward prospect according to 247Sports.com, but questions lingered about his mental toughness and aggressiveness in high school. His quiet performance in the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic only raised more of those questions. Fortunately for Louisville, he was able to showcase the skills that earned him that five-star status during his week in Puerto Rico.
He played in all seven games, and while his minutes were sporadic, he made his presence known every time he was on the court. He ran the court well, proved to be a matchup problem, and played with some fire. He had one of the best overall performances of the week following a 79-77 loss to Puerto Rico’s “B” squad in which he finished with a stat line of 19 points on 7-10 shooting, eight rebounds, five blocks, and four steals. He also showed an ability to handle the ball as well as a winning determination towards the end of that game when we went coast to coast for a quick bucket.
He led the team in blocked shots with nine total, and while he still needs development in multiple areas (particularly in not turning the ball over), he showed he can be a difference maker on this team and has star potential.
STAT TO FEAR
Jaylen Johnson: 5.3 points per game, 37% field goal percentage, 2.8 rebounds per game
The man many have pegged as this season’s starting power forward had Rick Pitino raving about his potential this past March, but last week, that was about all that was on display: flashes of potential.
There is no doubt Johnson is a talented, hard-working player who can thrive in the ACC, but Louisville is going to need him to really step up in the frontcourt to make another deep run come March. If he has trouble finding the bucket and is averaging less than three rebounds per game, that will be tough to do.
Now that he is fully aware that not only Spalding, but 6-7 freshman Deng Adel (who also had an impressive week), is breathing down his neck, it should provide him even more motivation to get better.
When asked if he thought the trip was beneficial to his team, Pitino said, “Times two.” Johnson is likely one of the players who will benefit that much from it, as he now can see exactly where he needs to improve and how much.
STAT TO CHEER
Mangok Mathiang: 8.2 points per game, 53% field goal percentage, 6.2 rebounds per game
Fair or not, Mathiang was easily the favorite punching bag of the fan base last season, as he played several minutes per game with not a whole lot to show for it in any box scores. During his week in Puerto Rico, though, he looked much improved on the offensive end and was able to use his size as an advantage.
He moved well on the offensive side of the ball, positioned himself well, and played the role of vocal on-the-court leader well.
Aug 18 2015
Most fans and/or members of the media would not take the time to over-analyze the performances of a college basketball team (who has been practicing together for just over a month) against a group of pros, especially when those pros are coached by a man who knows this particular college team better than anyone. Most fans and/or media members, however, don’t cheer for or cover the University of Louisville men’s basketball team.
As one of the nation’s premier programs with one of the most passionate fan bases, of course these meaningless games are going to be broken down with as much detail and analysis than Phil Steele’s college football preview magazine. Fans in this city are college basketball addicts, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
As such, though, every missed shot, every highlight-worthy play, every performance, and every substitution pattern will be discussed by several members of the fan base with as much interest and importance as though it were March.
Will this Louisville team’s performance last week against the Puerto Rico national team coached by Rick Pitino have any bearing on what is to come this season? In all likelihood, of course not, as it is only August, but it did serve as a nice preview to the season, giving people a glimpse of what could come and what could be improved upon.
Reviewing the stats over the seven-game period, there are many reasons for feeling optimistic about this team’s outlook, but there are obvious areas that need shoring up. Luckily, the Cards have plenty of team for that, but in the meantime, here is what we know.
STAT TO CHEER
Damion Lee: 23.6 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game, 49% field goal percentage, 40% 3PT percentage
Lee, whom ESPN listed as the top-rated transfer entering this season, looked every bit worthy of the hype during the team’s trip. He averaged 21.4 points per game at Drexel last season, good enough for fourth in the nation, but given the talent he would be joining at Louisville, would he need to score that much for his new team?
For one week in August he did, and he appeared ready to embrace that role from the opening play of the first game, in which he drained a deep three in Portland Trail Blazers’ forward Moe Harkless’ face for the first basket of the week. He finished that game with 36 points on 11-18 shooting, and over the week, he scored over 100 points (118 to be exact). No one else scored over 55.
He scored from everywhere on the court, was 29 of 35 from the free throw line, and he also proved to be a valuable rebounder, finishing second on the team with 6.2 per game. He looks to be the on-the-court leader and go-to-scorer Louisville lacked for much of last season.
STAT TO FEAR
Trey Lewis: 36% field goal percentage, ~2:4 assist-to-turnover ratio
The other member of Louisville’s graduate transfer tandem, Lewis did not quite have the week that Lee did. He struggled with shot consistency, made questionable shot selections, and had trouble controlling the ball.
After shooting 45% at Cleveland State last season and 43% from three, he was expected to give Louisville another offensive boost. That was not quite the case in Puerto Rico, as he shot nine percent less than his previous season’s field goal percentage and ten percent less than his three point percentage. He also led the team with 18 turnovers on the week.
Despite his veteran status, he still appears to be catching up to the speed at which Pitino likes his teams to operate, and with a few more months of practice, there is no reason to think he won’t catch up sooner than later. He did show he has the ability to play a major role this season, regardless, as evidenced by his 21 point, 7 rebound performance on 7-12 shooting in the week’s second-to-last game. Rick Pitino has raved about his leadership, which will come in handy, but if he can combine that quality with playing at that level more often than not, he will be a very dangerous backcourt weapon.
STAT TO CHEER
Ray Spalding: 6 points, 54% field goal percentage in 13 minutes per game, 9 blocks in 7 games
Spalding was considered a five-star power forward prospect according to 247Sports.com, but questions lingered about his mental toughness and aggressiveness in high school. His quiet performance in the Kentucky Derby Festival Classic only raised more of those questions. Fortunately for Louisville, he was able to showcase the skills that earned him that five-star status during his week in Puerto Rico.
He played in all seven games, and while his minutes were sporadic, he made his presence known every time he was on the court. He ran the court well, proved to be a matchup problem, and played with some fire. He had one of the best overall performances of the week following a 79-77 loss to Puerto Rico’s “B” squad in which he finished with a stat line of 19 points on 7-10 shooting, eight rebounds, five blocks, and four steals. He also showed an ability to handle the ball as well as a winning determination towards the end of that game when we went coast to coast for a quick bucket.
He led the team in blocked shots with nine total, and while he still needs development in multiple areas (particularly in not turning the ball over), he showed he can be a difference maker on this team and has star potential.
STAT TO FEAR
Jaylen Johnson: 5.3 points per game, 37% field goal percentage, 2.8 rebounds per game
The man many have pegged as this season’s starting power forward had Rick Pitino raving about his potential this past March, but last week, that was about all that was on display: flashes of potential.
There is no doubt Johnson is a talented, hard-working player who can thrive in the ACC, but Louisville is going to need him to really step up in the frontcourt to make another deep run come March. If he has trouble finding the bucket and is averaging less than three rebounds per game, that will be tough to do.
Now that he is fully aware that not only Spalding, but 6-7 freshman Deng Adel (who also had an impressive week), is breathing down his neck, it should provide him even more motivation to get better.
When asked if he thought the trip was beneficial to his team, Pitino said, “Times two.” Johnson is likely one of the players who will benefit that much from it, as he now can see exactly where he needs to improve and how much.
STAT TO CHEER
Mangok Mathiang: 8.2 points per game, 53% field goal percentage, 6.2 rebounds per game
Fair or not, Mathiang was easily the favorite punching bag of the fan base last season, as he played several minutes per game with not a whole lot to show for it in any box scores. During his week in Puerto Rico, though, he looked much improved on the offensive end and was able to use his size as an advantage.
He moved well on the offensive side of the ball, positioned himself well, and played the role of vocal on-the-court leader well.
