After the Buzzer: NC Central

Quick Hitters

-Louisville did what they were supposed to do against an inferior team. Although it was never in doubt, the game was a little too close at 24-15 with 5:45 left in the first half. Then the Cards “boomed” the Eagles with a 19-4 run to close the half and lead 43-19. They coasted the rest of the way.

-Being at the game (and just a few rows off the court) definitely gave me a different perspective. You don’t always hear the communication on the floor when watching on TV. I can say that Steven Enoch talks on defense A LOT, which is great. The big man can see the entire defense in front of him and he keeps his teammates informed on what is going on. Darius Perry is another one that is very vocal and is constantly telling the on-ball defender that he has his help on whatever side he is on. These little things are very important, and it was good to pick up on those things in person.

-Speaking of talking, I wanted to pay attention to who was doing that when the team was huddled up on the court after warmups and before the National Anthem. It was Malik Williams. It’s really tough to still be the vocal leader when you are injured and not playing, but he is still taking on that role. That says a lot about his character and selflessness. He was the only one talking and everyone else was bought in and listening to one of their captains.

-Malik and David Johnson did go through warmups and didn’t look restricted. They were dunking and going through what everyone else was. Chris Mack said he could have played them but that they don’t have their basketball legs just yet. That was encouraging to see and hear. Hopefully they get a couple games under their belt before the December schedule picks up.

-Louisville had 20 assists on 30 made baskets. They shared the ball pretty well.

-Jordan Nwora assist/turnover watch: zero assists and one turnover. Season total now four assists and seven turnovers.

-Steven Enoch picked up his first two assists of the season. He only had six in all of last season, so he is well on his way to shattering that mark. I hope.

-Louisville is shooting the ball incredibly well lately and that continued in this game. They were 30-45 (66.7%) from the floor and 10-21 (47.6%) from three.

-The starters did pretty much what you would expect them to do. They scored anywhere from eight to 17 points each and had 14 of the team’s 20 assists. Not much more to add on them.

-It was good to see Aidan Igiehon get extended minutes and respond with seven rebounds and one very nice block. Just play solid defense, rebound, and run the floor. Every minute of game action he gets is valuable for his growth.

-I LOVE the play you will see in the film review that Louisville runs against a 2-3 zone. I mention this in the tweet, but my wife’s cousin took me to the game and asked for some things he could watch for. After seeing NC Central go to a 2-3 zone, I told him that the next time down court, if they stay in the 2-3, watch for two of the bottom guys to get screened and we end up with an open dunk. That was the quickest way I could describe it without going into too much detail that may not make sense. I expected it to happen at some point, but they did it on the very next possession. The pass got deflected, but I was still proud of myself for calling it out. That play is so good and worked multiple times last season and sometimes it would work two or three times in the same game. Look for it the next time an opponent plays a 2-3 zone.

-This has been more than enough chatter about a game against NC Central. The Cards looked good and it’s the best we could ask for in a game like this. As always, there are still a few things I point out in the film review that need to be cleaned up. But sometimes I am nitpicking. Let’s get another win on Wednesday.

Film Review