LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — This is what Jim Boeheim said about the University of Louisville basketball team after the Cardinals beat Syracuse, 90-66, which was badly as his Orange have been beaten all season:
“(Jordan) Nwora and (Ryan) McMahon, those are the guys we were concerned about. And their big guys inside. Those were the guys that concerned us.
“Again, David Johnson (U of L’s freshman guard), I’ve seen him this year. I’ve seen him do some good things. But he’s not a guy that I’m concerned about in our zone. I’m concerned about those guys. The big guys and Nwora and McMahon.”
Hmmm. It appears the Johnson was not on the first page of the scouting report.
This is what Louisville coach Chris Mack said after his team scored 90 for the first time in Atlantic Coast Conference play and 41 more points than the Cards scored in a defeat at Syracuse last season.
Mack said Johnson was his best playmaker and now that he put Johnson in the starting lineup for the first time that was precisely where Johnson would remain, starting again when North Carolina visits Saturday.
Which guy had it right?
I can predict what the 16,428 people in the KFC Yum! Center Wednesday night will say now that Louisville has forgotten its stumbles against Georgia Tech and Clemson and moved back into first place in the ACC, courtesy of North Carolina State’s jarring upset of Duke.
Boeheim is a Hall of Fame coach with 960 victories and a national championship.
Mack has his team back in first place and himself in the race for league’s coach of the year.
Johnson, the freshman from Trinity High School, played 23 efficient minutes. He attacked the Syracuse zone with patience and precision, earning seven assists without throwing the ball away. Not once.
Although he only made one field goal and scored three points, Johnson forced little, attempting four shots.
Again, which guy had it right?
Boeheim, who mostly shrugged about Johnson, or Mack, who still gives Johnson the business for canceling a recruiting visit to Xavier when Mack was coaching at that school in Cincinnati?
They both did.
Most of Boeheim’s knowledge about Louisville came from video.
Because Syracuse plays nothing but a 2-3 zone, Boeheim frets about shooters. Thus his concern about McMahon (who made four three-pointers and scored 13) and Nwora (who led Louisville with 17 on a 5-for-18 shooting) night.
Credit Boeheim for also acknowledging the strong play of Malik Williams, who contributed 14 points and 13 boards in his first start.
“We just couldn’t handle them inside,” Boeheim said. “I think they’re a top team. Top 10. Wherever you want to put them.”
Boeheim also knows that the development of a young player is rarely a straight line. He is a veteran coach who looks at Louisville as a team with a string of solid veterans,
Mack does not have Boeheim’s credentials but he has a considerably stronger grasp on his team. At 6 feet 5, Johnson is three to five inches taller than Mack’s other guards. That’s an edge, on both ends of the court.
Some guards pass the basketball because it is what they are supposed to do. Other pass the ball because they’re naturally creative and instinctive.
Put Johnson in the second category. The ball moved faster and with more purpose around, through and often over the Syracuse defense.
Johnson earned an assist on Louisville’s first possession, as he set up a three-point shot that Dwayne Sutton converted.
Coaches appreciate guys who do what they are supposed to do, especially after they’re put in the starting lineup.
“That was a change we’ve been contemplating for awhile,” Mack said. “He’s a great playmaker. I wouldn’t have recruited him and I believed in him when a lot of people didn’t.”
Maybe it was a coincidence that Louisville generated a season high 23 assists — after earning only 21 assists (10 against Georgia Tech and 11 against Clemson) while losing two games last week.
But ball movement certainly looked like a priority for Mack’s team against the Orange. More impressive than the assist total was the percentage of Louisville field goals created by passes — 76.7 (23 of 30), with seven players earning at least one assist.
That was an encouraging sign for Louisville, which improved to 22-5 and 13-3 in the league. After being upset, Duke slipped to 12-3, the same record as Florida State.
“I think (Louisville) has a very good chance to beat anybody,” Boeheim said.
Will Louisville continue to try to beat people with David Johnson at point guard, Ryan McMahon at shooting guard and Malik Williams in the starting frontcourt?
“Probably not,” Mack said. “Ryan doesn’t change expressions when you bring him off the bench or start him. It will depend on matchups.
“I do anticipate David being our starter moving forward. Malik as well. I’m not really sure what I’m going to do beyond that.”
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