By Russ Brown
Special to NKyTribune
LOUISVILLE — It doesn’t reach the level of John Calipari’s platoon system with his University of Kentucky’s star-studded roster last season, but University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino has certainly made good use of his bench this year.
While there are no wholesale substitutions, with nine or 10 players that he feels are close in talent and offer a variety of skills, Pitino has subbed liberally and been able to tailor his starting lineup to UofL’s opponent.
“I think the best thing about this team is you don’t substitute and get weakness,” Pitino says. “I think they’re all the same. They just do different things to help you.The toughest thing I have to decide sometimes is who is going to start and I’ve never had that difficulty.”
That depth will be crucial to Louisville’s hopes for ending its three-game losing streak against No. 12/11 UK (9-2) and trying to win for only the second time in the last nine meetings when the two teams tangle at noon Saturday in Rupp Arena on CBS.
Pitino has started six different combinations this season as the No. 16/15 Cards have steamrollered to an 11-1 record. Nine different players have started and 10 are averaging at least 12 minutes a game.
However, Pitino seems to have settled on a consistent starting unit lately, with fifth-year transfers 6-6 Damion Lee and 6-2 Trey Lewis at forward and guard, respectively; 6-10 freshman Ray Spalding at the other forward; 6-10 sophomore Chinanu Onuaku at center and 6-2 sophomore Quentin Snider at point guard.
Lee (17.9 ppg) and Lewis (14.7) were the only Cards averaging in double figures until Snider’s 15 points in Wednesday’s 98-68 romp past Utah Valley boosted his average to 10.1. Four others are contributing six points or more to the team’s 86.1 ppg.
Either Lee or Lewis has been UofL’s leading scorer in all but one game — Snider’s 16 points against Western Kentucky — although freshman guard Donovan Mitchell equaled Lee’s 14 points vs. Samford and Lee shared scoring honors with Onuaku against Hartford at 18.
“Our depth is huge for us,” says Mitchell, who came off the bench to hit all three of his 3-pointers against Utah Valley. “We want to make sure when we come in that we continue the spark and add an additional spark. Make sure there’s no dropoff and focus on making the right plays at the right time.”
Says Lee: “It’s a testament to the talent on this team that we’ve got a bunch of guys who can come in and score at a given time and cause havoc on defense.”
That depth has taken a hit with 7-0 Mangok Mathiang’s broken foot sidelining him for 6-8 weeks, but — unlike most seasons recently — the Cards will still have a depth and size advantage against the Wildcats, especially in the front line.
“We’re going to need a deep bench in this game,” Pitino says, “because Kentucky’s a dribble-drive team that gets people in foul trouble.”
Besides Spalding and Onuaku, UofL has three other players 6-9 or taller available Saturday — a trio of sophomores in 7-0 Anas Mahmoud, 7-0 Matz Stockman and 6-9 Jaylen Johnson. Mahmoud returned Wednesday after missing three games with a sprained ankle, and blocked four shots in just nine minutes.
“Coach P talks about how this team is bigger than some of the NBA teams he’s coached, and this is the biggest team I’ve ever played on,” Lewis says. “So it’s exciting to see bigs dominate the game like Nanu being able to use his size and strength to overpower people, and it’s great to see them blocking shots and getting after it. I’d put our bigs up against anybody. I feel very confident throwing the ball inside.”
By contrast, UK has only one starter taller than 6-8 — 6-9 freshman Skal Labissiere, and he has been a non-factor so far. The only reserves above 6-8 are 7-0 Isaac Humphries and 6-9 Derek Willis. The Cats have no solid low post presence like Onuaku, who is prone to foul trouble but is averaging 9.8 ppg and 7.6 rebounds and has blocked 20 shots.
But UofL’s statistics have been accomplished against undersized and overmatched opponents. In their lone game against a quality opponent from a Power Five conference, they lost to then-No.3-now-No.1 Michigan State 71-67 in East Lansing. So this is their chance to justify their national ranking and even move up in the polls. After UK, UofL won’t face another team that is currently in the Top-25 until hosting No. 5 Virginia on Jan. 30.
Lee and Lewis, who will experience the UofL-UK madness for the first time, played down the rivalry aspect, but not the importance of a possible win.
“It’s a chance to play a great team, and to try to show a little bit of what we’re about,” Lee says.
“It’s a big game because it’s a big test and it’s on the road,” Lewis says. “We’ve got a lot of those coming up. We just want to go in there and try to play great defense and see if we can win.”
Pitino has no complaints about the Cards’ offensive execution, but has been critical of their defense, citing opposing guards’ ability to “blow by” a defender and penetrate for a layup, assist or foul. That could be a big problem against UK’s talented backcourt trio of Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray.
“I’m really happy, not only with our record, but our passing has been brilliant,” Pitino says. “Our offense and the way we look for each other has been fun to watch. Now we just have to pick up our defense.”
“I like the way we’re playing,” says Snider. “We’ve got great ball movement and our defense is getting there. We’ve still got to stop penetration and the one-on-one, but I think offensively we’re all the way there.”
The game will serve as a gauge for the Cards as to where they stand heading into Atlantic Coast Conference play, which begins with a visit by Wake Forest (8-3) on Jan. 3.
“It should be a fun one,” Pitino says. “Now we’re going to see some real competition and going to be able to see what we’re all about right now. We played like a top 10 team at Michigan State. Whether we really are or not we’re going to find out. I know offensively we’ll be ready. We just have to really shore up our defense right away.”