Louisville Basketball: 3 keys to a successful 2023-24 season for Cardinals
By Caleb Hall
No. 1 – Running TEAM Offense and Defense
The Louisville Cardinals nearly ran an isolation or a pick-and-roll on nearly every offensive possession last season. On occasion, they would run actual half-court sets or plays that would get some motion and movement between the players. When they ran plays the offense did not look as bad as the stats would tell you, however, most of the time the Cardinals ran a four-out motion that would result in either a missed 3-pointer or a highly contested shot in the paint.
Half of the made points in their games were contested threes that went in because there is actual talent on this team. Payne needs to get his players to run more sets/plays for players and get more movement around the ball. Hopefully, now that Louisville has more than one ball handler they will be able to run a more effective offense. Louisville has the talent, it’s just a matter of getting the right sets practiced and putting them into effect in game.
The same logic goes for the Louisville defense. The defense looked decent at times in the 2022 season, however, it seemed like there was a lack of effort on the court. Louisville was constantly getting beat on fast breaks, getting beat off the dribble, and plainly just leaving players wide open from the 3-point line. Payne needs to get his team motivated to play and if the team is simply just playing hard it will eventually show on the court. Louisville has the talent to succeed, it’s just a matter of putting it all together as a team for the Cardinals.