Louisville Basketball: Unknown roster fits Pitino's scheme perfectly
Does Louisville basketball have an outside shot of sneaking into the mix as a NCAA basketball title contender?
Fast, long, athletic and deep.
That’s the scouting report on the 2016-17 Louisville Cardinals. They possess the perfect personnel (even better than year’s past) to execute Rick Pitino’s scheme.
The head coach loves to pressure opposing guards from end to end, while also creating easy opportunities off turnovers. The Cardinals are normally excellent in transition and have backcourt players that are impossible to keep in front of you in the half court. They also protect the rim, using their long arms and shot blocking skills.
Just think of the players that have superbly fit the system over the last few years: Gorgui Dieng, Russ Smith, Peyton Siva, Wayne Blackshear and Chinanu Onuaku.
None of the players on the 2016-17 roster are are nearly as good as any of those guys, but as a unit, Louisville looks to be awfully dangerous.
Rick Pitino even dished out an interesting comparison back in May.
In a high compliment to his current team, Pitino said he’d like to use their depth to try to play like his 1996 Kentucky team, though he was quick to also say this Louisville squad has nowhere near the talent that Kentucky team had. “We’re hoping to emulate that basketball team in terms of style of play,” he said.
In the back court, the Cardinals have a great mix of players. Quentin Snider will be one of the leaders of this team due to his experience, ability to run the offense successfully and limit turnovers.
Donovan Mitchell is expected to breakout in 2016-17. The guard is an terrific competitor, who locks into his role defensively and has some talent to score on offense.
Then there’s Penn graduate transfer Tony Hicks, who averaged double digits in all three of his seasons in the Ivy League. Hicks tends to turn the ball over a lot, but he will give the Cardinals valuable outside shooting.
More from Busting Brackets
While freshman V.J. King is listed as a forward and will play the majority of his minutes at the three-position, he could also slide up a position and play the two.
Even David Levitch, who can shoot the rock, will be a part of the rotation.
Mitchell and Snider will likely create all the pressure needed defensively and take the reins on offense, however, the front court is where opponents will have a massive amount of trouble matching Louisville’s production.
The Cardinals have SEVEN legitimate bodies that will either play the two forward spots or center.
King and Deng Adel will play on the wing, but Adel has the potential to slide down to the four position because of his absurd wingspan and athleticism. King is projected to be a great transition scorer and distributor, while Adel is expected to be a tough defender to crack with his tremendous physical tools.
In the paint, the Cardinals are likely to have a rotation that will consist of Matz Stockman, Jaylen Johnson, Mangok Mathiang, Raymond Spalding and Anas Mahmoud. Even though they all have different strengths and weaknesses, they have the requisite skills to keep Pitino happy throughout the season.
Depth is always a good thing, but for Louisville, it’s a savior. Because of their fast pace and up-and-down style, it’s a huge positive that they have the pieces that can give the starters a rest while also not dropping the level of play.
Louisville has the potential to be a top-10 team and jump into the mix as a possible title contender.
But that’s before digging deeper.
We truly have no idea how this team is going to handle the pressure of playing in the ACC. Most of the players are unknowns and haven’t played large roles in college.
Quentin Snider is the only player on the roster that played 20+ minutes for the Cardinals last season.
Beyond Snider, Mitchell is the biggest candidate to be the team’s top player. But even he was vastly inconsistent last season.
Mathiang dealt with a foot injury in 2015-16. Adel is coming off a knee injury. Johnson, Levitch, Stockman and Spalding averaged under 18 minutes a game last year. Hicks hasn’t played in a high major conference yet. King is a freshman and Mahmoud hasn’t lived up to expectations despite standing at 7’0″.
There’s no question that Louisville is a top four-or-five team (depending on where you rank Syracuse) in the ACC and will be at their best when March rolls around. However, putting Louisville in the class (below Duke and Kentucky) of Villanova, Oregon, Xavier, Kansas and others is a stretch at this point.
This article originally appeared on 
