Louisville head coach Chris Mack congratulates Ryan McMahon

RALEIGH, N.C. (WDRB) — Your job is simple: Write the scouting report for how to stop the University of Louisville basketball team.

Give me the name of the first guy you must take away if you're going to beat Chris Mack's dynamic team.

Has to be Jordan Nwora, right?

He is the guy who scored 37 points at Boston College the other night. Louisville has played 22 games. Nwora has led the Cardinals in scoring 17 times.

Draw a bright circle around Nwora's name. He's in front row in the discussion for Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year.

Then watch Ryan McMahon score 23 as Louisville dispatched North Carolina State, 77-57, at PNC Bank Arena Saturday, punishing the Wolfpack with their worst loss this season.

"It's a deep team," U of L guard Lamarr "Fresh" Kimble said. "You pick your poison. Whoever you want to choose to take away, somebody else is going to step up.

"That's the mentality we've got," he continued. "We already know that it's not going to be somebody's night every time."

When this season began, Nwora was always The Guy for Louisville. He led Louisville in scoring in the Cardinals' first 12 games.

That's not the way Louisville is dominating the ACC any more. This was the fifth consecutive game a different guy has led Mack's team in scoring.

David Johnson at Duke. Steven Enoch and Malik Williams against Georgia Tech. Darrius Perry had 19 against Clemson. Nwora at Boston College.

Then McMahon embarrassed the Wolfpack by making more 3-point shots (seven) than the five made by Kevin Keatts' entire team.

That is the kind of balance and selfless play that coaches always discuss but rarely get. If it continues, it is also a characteristic that will make this Louisville team the ACC regular-season champion as well as a team to fear in March.

In an era where guys are pouting and leaving teams in the middle of the season, the guys on this Louisville team have shown the value of waiting their turn.

"I told our team in the locker room that Ryan was sitting on a couple of games when he played 12 or 13 minutes," Mack said. "Never complained. Never turned up his nose. Never came to practice quiet.

"That's a credit to not just Ryan, but Darius Perry was the same way when it wasn't his night," he continued. "I hear Darius on the bench (Saturday) barking on defensive signals when he's in foul trouble.

"As I told those guys when they look back 20 years from now, whatever our team ends up doing, they're not going to remember, 'Hey, I only played 18 minutes in a certain game or remember how many points they scored.'

"So I think there's a really good camaraderie with the veteran group. And our freshmen, the ones who play and don't play, really add to that spirit. We're going to need it. We've got to continue to improve and get better."

Credit McMahon with improving and getting better, not long after his critics wanted to force him into a diminished role. McMahon made more 3-point shots in the first half (six) than he had made in the Cardinals' last five games.

The guy who started 6 for 6 from distance had made 2 of his last 7 behind the arc. McMahon had played 17 minutes or less in Louisville's last four games. As a sub, McMahon was likely the seventh or eighth option on the NC State scouting report.

Against NC State, McMahon made a career-best seven 3-pointers and played more than 33 minutes. The bench enjoyed what McMahon delivered more than McMahon did.

"I know he's been getting some bad media with his shooting performances but I'll go 100 percent with Ryan any day," Kimble said.

Here's the thing about McMahon: He is always looking for an edge. Before the game, McMahon and Nwora decided they did not like the game balls the officials planned to use.

So McMahon went to official Ted Valentine and made his case to change the basketballs.

"The game ball we were going to play with was not good," McMahon said. "Mr. Valentine said the away team gets to pick the game ball.

"So I went and sifted through five or six balls and finally found one that was like really, really good. I gave him that one because I had shot with that one earlier ... and once I saw the first one drop, I was like, 'All right, it's time to go.'"

Had you ever picked the game ball before?

"I didn't even know that was a rule, that the away team gets to pick the game ball," McMahon said. "Jordan and I had been shooting with the (original game) balls earlier and we didn't like the feel of some of them. We saw some of them kind of wobble."

Louisville did not wobble Saturday. They Cardinals have not wobbled over their last eight games, defeating eight ACC opponents by an average of 11 points. They're 19-3 overall and 10-1 in the league, bearing down on a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

Saturday it was McMahon. Wednesday it was Nwora. The previous Saturday it was Perry.

"That's the beauty of our team," McMahon said. "We have so many different weapons … we have so many guys who can contribute. The coaches are smart. They play the guys who are playing well that night."

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