Ryan McMahon adjusting to reserve role for Louisville

Removed from the starting lineup against Florida State in order to afford freshman David Johnson more playing time, Ryan McMahon has settled into a role as a reserve for Louisville men’s basketball. The fifth-year senior had six points, going 2 of 5 from the field along with an assist in 22 minutes in the Cardinals’ 74-58 victory over Miami at the KFC Yum! Center Jan. 7.

McMahon checked in five minutes into the first half following the first media timeout, making an immediate impact. The 6-foot guard made a 3-pointer and then had two passes that led to points on consecutive possessions.

McMahon passed from the wing in transition to Malik Williams, who was fouled. On Louisville’s next possession, McMahon led a fast break that ended with him lobbing an alley-oop to Williams to give the Cardinals’ a 16-8 lead.

Louisville coach Chris Mack had been critical of McMahon in recent weeks, saying he wanted the senior to play more productively. Mack said it was nice to see McMahon played better against Miami.

“I really liked how he played with some emotion and some fire, I think he needs to do that,” Mack said. “We all know Ryan can shoot. He has gone through a little bit of a slump, but he has to bring those other things to the table.”

McMahon made a 3-pointer with 3:16 left that returned Louisville’s lead to double digits after Miami cut its deficit to five points in the second half. McMahon went into Louisville’s game against Miami shooting 30 percent from behind the arc in his last eight games, but was 2 of 4 on 3-point attempts in the Cardinals’ third conference win.

“It was good to see Ryan play with a lot of passion and talk to his teammates and we need that from all the older guys,” Mack said.