Chris Mack: Changes Are Coming for Louisville Basketball

(Photo of Chris Mack: Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hours before the Louisville men's basketball program would tune into the Selection Show for the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Chris Mack was preparing for what he thought would be a practice session on Monday to get his team prepared for whoever they face.

Instead, the third-year head coach of the Cardinals found himself talking to the media for the season-ending press conference, after Louisville had been denied an at-large bid for the Big Dance and designated as the first team out of the field of 68.

"It's incredibly disappointing," Mack said. "It's everything that you work for in the offseason. It's everything that do you prepare for, to be a part of March Madness. It didn't happen. It wasn't reality. We came here as a coaching staff to be a part of the big tournament."

A variety of factors were at play that resulted in the Cardinals being on the outside looking in. Not having a true offseason for one of the youngest teams in Division I, two lengthy COVID pauses, and long-term injuries to two of the three most experienced players on the team.

Regardless of the reason, barring a withdrawal from a team currently in the tournament field prior to the deadline, Louisville is still at home. Mack knows that is not remotely close to program standards, and hinted that there could be a lot of moving parts over the offseason.

"I think there's certainly going to be changes," Mack said when asked if there could be shakeup within the roster or coaching staff. "Some decisions are going to happen sooner than others. College basketball is always about change, and I think this offseason will reflect that."

Not even 24 hours after the Cardinals found out they were not going dancing, roster management already started. Sophomore forward Aidan Igiehon, whose two-year career at Louisville was marred by injuries, officially entered the transfer portal.

He's not the only player who could end up leaving. Sophomore guard David Johnson has been the subject of a lot of NBA Draft buzz, with many thinking he could be a lottery pick. No matter what decision Johnson makes once, or if, he enters his name in the draft, Mack just wants to help him make the best decision.

"I want what's best for David Johnson," he said. "I don't know what that is yet. I don't think he knows what that is yet, because that process really gets crystallized when you put your name in, and you get feedback from the entity that ultimately selects you."

As for the three upperclassmen on the team, they have the opportunity to return to the team thanks to the extra year granted across college basketball by the NCAA. While Mack does not expect guard Charles Minlend to return, he is not sure where guard Carlik Jones and forward/center Malik Williams stand.

"Love to have both of those guys back, as you know. They're terrific players, they're great representatives of the university," he said. "But, we've also, and they also, have to look out for their future. I want whatever is best for them. Whether that's being in a Louisville uniform, or that's moving forward professionally, we're going to be very supportive of that."

As far as replacing players who do decided to leave, Mack recognizes the urgency when recruiting players in the transfer portal. However, he does not want to rush the process and risk making the wrong decision, and wants to bring in players who can help Louisville be the best team they can be.

No matter who decides to return or join the program over the offseason, Mack know there are two areas where the teams needs vast improvement - three-point shooting and pace of play. The Cardinals shot just 30.8% on three-point attempts, and were 303rd in tempo according to KenPom.

Louisville has already started to address their shooting by landing a commitment from former Miami forward Matt Cross, who shot a team-best 40.0% on threes in his freshman year with the Canes. When it comes to the tempo, Mack thinks it will get better once their backcourt gets healthy again and they bring in more depth.

"We want to play faster. We're not going to be Rick Pitino and pressing all over the place, but we want to play full court, and we want to push the ball," he said. "We made efforts to try and play faster. But again, we had conditioning issues, and we had injury issues where two of our fastest guys played 40 minutes a game. You couple that - we had 12 scholarship players, three of which were out almost the entire year."

At the end of the day, Mack is hoping that the offseason will return to a more normal state than it was this time last year, and that his team can take advantage of it to make bigger strides towards next season.

"We need to have a great offseason in front of us, one that we needed last summer to be quite honest," he said. "Both in the weight room and on the court to develop our players, so that we could we could be a better team. That's what this team needs."

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