Louisville Basketball: Takeaways from Cardinals win over Duke at Cameron Indoor

David Johnson is game-changer

David Johnson appears to be “back” in a big way. The freshman guard and Louisville, Kentucky-native played a season-high 27 minutes and was the driving force—bot literally and figuratively—in Louisville’s win over Duke at Cameron Indoor.

Johnson scored 19 points on 66.7% shooting from the field. He hit his lone 3-point attempt and went 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Johnson’s scoring, off the bench no less, was able to help run out to an early lead against Duke. Johnson’s energy was the central reason that the Cardinals looked like a team ready for a tough battle from the start. Johnson was in such an early groove that Coach K started to run two defenders at him near the end of the first half, resulting in a wide-open 3-point shot for Malik Williams.

Johnson’s no-brainer assist to Williams was just one of the many great passes he made on Saturday. Johnson finished with seven assists and five turnovers in the win over Duke, the result of Chris Mack trusting him with the ball in his hands a lot in this game. The concern for Louisville over whether they can get enough production from the perimeter is a silly one if Johnson performs at this level for the rest of the season. Of course, that is a very big if, but Johnson’s awesome performance came against the No. 2 team in KenPom and in an extremely tough road environment.

Contributions from Johnson on Saturday weren’t limited to the offensive end of the floor. He collected four rebounds, two blocks, and three steals in a great two-way performance. Johnson doesn’t need to be a 19-point per game player, but if he continues to be aggressive on offense while at the same time only taking smart shots, the Cardinals’ chances at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney look a lot better.