Louisville's Chris Mack on Duke: They're No. 1 in the ACC For a Reason
David Johnson was the hero of Louisville’s win over Duke at Cameron on Saturday. The freshman has battled injury all year and was averaging just nine points before exploding for 17 first-half points, on 7-of-8 shooting, against the Blue Devils.
“I wish I would have had him game one, to start the year,” Louisville coach Chris Mack said. “He lost four months, two of those months he couldn’t do anything but ride a bike. He wasn’t even allowed to run up and down the floor, because of the motion with running. So, it’s really hard for a freshman at this level, and you add on top of it, no preseason experience, no preseason practices, then we’re trying to acclimate him, not with some of our earlier games, not an exhibition game, we’re trying to acclimate him against Michigan, who had just come off winning the Atlantis.
Louisville built a 15-point lead and led by 10 at the half, but Duke made a run to start the second half, eventually tying the score twice.
“I think our identity needs to be what it was tonight,” Mack said. “A tough team to score on, a team that really guards the lane and doesn’t give up second shots. We’re trying to give Duke a lot of credit. They’re number one in the ACC for a reason. We knew it (the run) was going to happen when they put Jack White in for (Jordan) Goldwire to start the half. They were going to be a little bit slower, but they were going to be meaner on the glass … bigger”
