Fans concerned about where the points are going to come from for the University of Louisville basketball team this season may be encouraged after the Red team edged the White 105-102 in the first inter-squad scrimmage.
A crowd of 7,896 at the KFC Yum! Center saw lots of sharing, plenty of points to go around. Scoring not a problem. Defense maybe, but UofL has only been practicing a week. No doubt that’s where Rick Pitino’s attention will be in the immediate future.
Tony Hicks led the Red with 26 points, followed by Donovan Mitchell with 22, V.J. King with 19, and Ray Spalding with 18. Quentin Snider paced the White with 27, Jaylen Johnson had 21, and Deng Adel had 14. Most of those were quiet points, excepting for a couple of Ding dunks.
What will be remembered from this scrimmage is the shooting of Ryan McMahon, who has matured significantly since his panicky debut during pre-season games a year ago.
McMahon, a redshirt freshman from Sarasota, Fla., was the personification of confidence, obviously at ease, wanting the ball, drilling six out of eight 3-point attempts. He made quite the impression on Jerry Jones, a former UofL basketball assistant.
“He’s a good one, you can’t leave him alone,” said Jones, who was seated on media row. “Rick knew what he was doing when he recruited him, and going to find a place for this young man.”
— Snider appears to have trimmed down, streamlining, adding more flow to his game.
— Hicks, a graduate transfer from Penn, brings some speed with him, maybe not Russ Smith-like but speedy, along the ability to penetrate.
— King obviously adjusting to the college game, learning the playbook, taking advantage of opportunities.
— Mitchell no longer in the shadows of Damion Lee and Trey Lewis, obviously at ease in a leadership role during this scrimmage.
— Adel hitting four of eight shots in the first half, wearing down in the second half, making one of three in the second.
— Matz Stockman, with four blocked shots but with 10 fouls, falling just short of a unique triple double, with 10 points and nine rebounds.
— Anas Mahmoud, looking thinner, needing more second helpings at the training table.