2017
2018
LOUISVILLE
A DON’T-MISS SEASON FOR THE CARDS IS AHEAD
BY JEFF NUNN OF CARDINALSPORTSZONE.COM
For the first time since 2001, the Louisville
Cardinals will open the basketball season without
Rick Pitino roaming the sideline. Pitino was
officially fired Oct. 16, less than one month prior
to the Nov. 12 season opener vs. George Mason.
But Pitino would not have been there anyway
due to serving a five-game suspension issued by
the NCAA as part of his punishment for failure
to monitor his program.
Assistant coaches Kenny Johnson and Jordan
Fair also will not be on the sideline. Fair was
fired for his involvement in the Adidas scandal
that is currently being investigated by the FBI.
Johnson is still on administrative leave as the
investigation continues.
The lone returning coach is former Louisville
player, David Padgett. Padgett played at Kansas
for his freshman year and then transferred to
Louisville. He had to sit out the 2004-2005 year
but played for Louisville under Rick Pitino from
2005- 2008. After playing a couple of seasons
in Spain and on a couple NBA summer league
teams, he unofficially retired from playing and
turned his attention to coaching. Padgett returned
to Louisville where he was the team’s assistant
strength coach for the 2010-2011 year. He then
left to become an assistant at IUPUI and stayed
there until the end of the 2013-2014 season.
Then, he returned to Louisville and was named
director of basketball operations starting in the
2014-2015 season. On Sept. 29, he was named
acting head coach, and when Pitino was officially
fired, he was named interim head coach and
given a one-year contract.
Padgett has hired former LSU, Stanford and
TCU head coach Trent Johnson as an assistant
coach. He also hired former Duke point guard
and Ohio State assistant basketball coach Greg
Paulus as another assistant. The final assistant spot
was filled from within. R.J. Evans, who has been
a program assistant since May, was elevated to
acting assistant coach for the Cardinals on Oct. 20.
It seems as though Padgett has been thrust
into a nearly impossible situation but his saving
grace is that, despite losing a few key pieces from
last year, his roster is loaded with talent.
Gone From Last Year: Donovan Mitchell,
Jaylen Johnson, Mangok Mathiang, Tony Hicks
and David Levitch.
Mitchell is the biggest loss, as he averaged 15.9
points per game. He was drafted 13th overall by
Denver in the NBA draft. Johnson (8.0 ppg and
5.8 rpg) and Mathiang ( 7.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg) were
also major contributors. Hicks was a graduate
transfer who had limited time due to injury while
Levitch was a fan favorite.
RETURNING PLAYERS: Louisville returns
seven scholarship players, including two
starters and three who started various games
throughout last season.
Quentin Snider: The 6-2 senior is from
Louisville Ballard High School. This will be his
third straight season as the starting point guard.
He has started 62 games and appeared in every
game for which he was healthy. He is a team
co-captain for the second straight year and is
expected to help lead this team through the
turbulence of the coaching changes. He averaged
12.4 ppg, 4.1 apg and 2.7 rpg last season and his
assist to turnover ratio is excellent at 2.7:1.
Deng Adel: Adel is a junior who flirted with
going to the NBA draft after his sophomore season.
The 6-7 forward averaged 12.1 ppg and 4.5 rpg
last season and those numbers are expected to
rise. He is most versatile Cardinal and will play
both forward positions. He could play the two-
guard spot if needed. It’s amazing how good he is
considering he has only been playing basketball
since he was 14. He is also a co-captain as voted
by his teammates.
Raymond Spalding: This junior is a Louisville
native out of Trinity High School. The athletic
6-10 big man will be expected to play both the
power forward and center positions. He averaged
5.9 ppg and 5.5 rpg last year but will need to step
up after the losses of the two big guys from last
season. I expect a big season for him probably
averaging 10 points and 8 rebounds per game.
Anas Mahmoud: The mobile seven-footer is
another co-captain and has steadily improved
each season. This is his senior year and I expect
that improvement to continue. He is a great rim
protector and the anchor on defense. He averages
2.1 blocks per game but is limited offensively.
He averaged 5.7 ppg and 4 rpg last season and I
look for those numbers to be close to the same
this year.
VJ King: A 6-7 wing scored 5.5 ppg last season
in limited time. This sophomore is expected to
take a huge step forward. He was the prize recruit
in the 2016 class and has a wealth of talent. He
looks poised for a breakout year and I think he
will get 20+ minutes a game and average 12 points
and 5 rebounds a game.
Ryan McMahon: Mc Ma h o n i s a 6 - 0
sharpshooter who frequently comes off the
bench to give the team a scoring lift. This kid
shoots and shoots with confidence. He hasn’t
met a 3-pointer he doesn’t like. Last year as a
freshman, he attempted only 8 two-point field
goals compared to 52 three-point field goals. I
expect more of the same this year.
Dwayne Sutton: After playing his freshman
year at UNC-Asheville, the Louisville native came
home and had to sit out last year due to transfer
rules. As a sophomore he is expected to have an
immediate impact. The 6-5 wing averaged 12
ppg and 7.7 rpg as a freshman but it was against
lesser competition. Look for him to get better as
he gets accustomed to ACC basketball.
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