Well, Cards fans, the season is winding down. It’s just about to be tourney season. However, before we get to my personal favorite time of year, this Sunday, it is Senior Night for our Cards. The women first at noon, then the men in the night cap at 6. One last time to pack the Yum during the regular season and send off these young athletes, these Cardinals Forever, the best way we know; to honor them for all they have given us, and to tell them in yelling form just how much they have meant to the teams and to us as fans.
Before Sunday, I wanted to take a look at these soon-to-be former Cardinals and honor them the best way I know how: in writing.
#1 Keith Oddo (Grad Transfer from Richmond)
Keith is a guard hailing from Roanoke, Virginia, who played his high school ball at North Cross. As a grad transfer, this may have been his only season as a Cardinal, but he has been such a great teammate all season long. As a walk-on, he has not seen as much playing time as his fellow transfer on the team, but he has not complained the tiniest bit. He is proud to wear the Cardinal colors, and we will miss him as he goes on his way after the season!
Major: Master in Sports Administration (Already has a bachelor’s with a double major in communication and history at Richmond)
Fun Fact: Oddo hails from the same hometown as Cardinal great Luke Hancock
Stats: Oddo has appeared in 7 games for the Cards this season, scoring 3 points.
Thank you, @KeithOddo.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/lb6Rel327X
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) February 28, 2020
#0 Lamarr “Fresh” Kimble (Grad Transfer from St Josephs)
The one we will always refer to as Fresh is a guard that hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He played his high school ball at Neumann-Goretti. While Fresh was extremely hyped up coming over from St Joes as a grad transfer, it took him a few games to get completely used to Coach Mack’s system. And while he has had an up and down year at times, the true grit that every Louisville Cardinal shows is evident in the sweat that Kimble sheds every single game. Between his always reliable ball handling, to his somehow perfect ability to always hit a shot right when we need one, Kimble has been every bit of a perfect grad transfer for us in the same veins as Christen Cunningham was the previous year. We are so appeciative of Kimble and are so thankful that he picked Louisville to finish off his college career!
Major:
Fun Fact: ONLY player in St Joes history to serve as captain for 3 years.
Stats: 113 Games Played (29 this year), 5.1 Points per game (9.8 Career), 1.6 Rebounds per game (2.5 Career), 2.7 Assists per game (3.0 Career), 37.1 Field Goal % (38.2% Career), 30.8 3PT % (32.1% Career), 72.2 Free Throw % (73.4% Career)
Thank you, @FreshKimble.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/q6tWmo0YiD
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) February 28, 2020
#23 Steven Enoch (Redshirt Senior)
A center that hails from Norwalk, Connecticut, Enoch played high school ball at St Thomas More. Originally playing for UCONN, Enoch has played the last 2 seasons for the Louisville Cardinals, and we are very glad he decided to come to the Ville. Over the past 2 seasons, Enoch has played hard every single minute he is on the court. He seems like a friendly giant off the court, but as soon as he steps foot on the hardwood, it’s all business. Although recently moved out of the starting line up, Enoch has continued playing with the same ferocity off the bench as he did when he was the one jumping center court for first possession. We will miss the beast that Enoch was when he was on the court.
Major: Sport Communication
Fun Fact: He feels that Denzel Washington would be the best actor to play him in a movie
Stats: 119 Games Played (29 This Year) (Split between UCONN and UofL), 9.4 PPG (6.2 Career), 5.4 RPG (3.7 Career), 0.4 APG (0.2 Career), 52.7 FG% (51.1% Career), 32.0 3PT% (33.8% Career), 74.6 FT% (73.8% Career)
Thank you, @StevenEnoch.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/dNBaJNGNt8
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) February 29, 2020
#24 Dwayne Sutton (Redshirt Senior)
The hometown hero. The heart and soul of the team. The basketball equivalent of a swiss-army knife. He has been known by many different names. We simply know him as Dwayne, a player who in my mind should go down as a Cardinal Legend just for the effort he puts on the court every single time he steps on it. Sutton is a forward who hails from where else but Louisville, Kentucky, and attended high school at Manual. Originally committing to UNC Asheville, he transfered back home after his freshman season. After redshirting a year, we have been able to witness his transformation into one of the top “glue guys” in ALL of college basketball. Many fans are often quoted as saying “This team goes as far as Sutton carries them.” And while saying that would be a disservice to the rest of the team, I will say many people, myself included, wouldn’t want Dwayne finishing his career anywhere else besides his home in the Ville. For all you do for the team, and for how well you represent the great city of Louisville, we salute you Dwayne!
Major: Sport Administration
Fun Fact: Self-Described as “The best 2K player in the City” (Author’s note: Dwayne, I know I’m not a resident of the city, but if you ever wanna put that title to the test after the season, I’m all game!)
Stats: 133 Games Played (29 This Year), 9.3 PPG (8.8 Career), 8.3 RPG (6.6 Career), 1.9 APG (1.4 Career), 50.3 FG% (46.2% Career), 35.4 3PT% (34.3% Career), 69.4 FT% (67.6% Career)
Thank you, @DwayneSutton.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/x0UleuRZsy
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) March 1, 2020
#30 Ryan McMahon (Redshirt Senior)
One of my personal all-time faves at the Ville, and one of the BEST shooters in all of college basketball, is Ryan McMahon. Everyone knows the story about how Dickie V led us to McMahon (who hails from Sarasota, Florida, and played his high school ball at Cardinal Mooney), and I honestly think we will will hear about it until the end of time. I will take hearing that story a million times, however, because of McMahon playing his college ball here. When Ryan squares his feet up, cash money every single time. Although we know very well about his 3-point shooting, he has shown this year he CAN drive to the rim when he wants to. Although often maligned by our fan base, he also has learned to play extremely tough defense, especially for a guard of his size. In my opinion, there is no sweeter shot in America than the one that Ryan has (and who is more clutch at the free throw line? Go ahead I’ll wait). He’s been one of my favorites since the day he arrived on campus, and while we still have work to do, he will always be one of my favorites to wear the Cardinal bird. Besides, what other fan base can tweet gifs of the one and only Vince Mcmahon anytime Ryan is going off and it make sense?
Major: Business (Finance)
Fun Fact: Also played Lacrosse (playing Midfielder) in high school
Stats: 120 Games Played (29 This Year), 8.7 PPG (6.2 Career), 1.1 RPG (1.0 Career), 1.8 APG (1.4 Career), 41.2 FG% (39.4% Career), 42.7 3PT% (39.1% Career), 92.7 FT% (91.2% Career)
Thank you, @RyanMcMahon.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/byL4BwtqSa
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) March 1, 2020
#33 Jordan Nwora (Junior)
Obviously we all know Nwora is only a junior, but it is also well-known that he will be making the jump to the professional level after the season after strongly considering it following the previous season. Although we only got to have him on the team for 3 years, he has improved leaps and bounds over the player that arrived on campus just 3 short years ago. Hailing from Buffalo, New York and playing his high school ball at Vermont Academy, Nwora was a bit of an unpolished player as he arrived here. But as we stand here today, he is a serious contender for ACC Player of the Year and is our team’s superstar. His ultra-quick release has doomed many defenses over the past 3 years, and although he will always be known as a score first player, his defense has improved tremendously to this day. I firmly believe without Nwora, we are not the team we are at this point. He has endured criticisms and pot shots from so many people this year, but he has not wavered. We thank you Nwora, for your loyalty to the Ville, and like you said, We’re not done yet!
Major: Exercise Science (Special shouts to Nwora for graduating in 3 years!)
Fun Fact: 1 of 5 players from Vermont Academy in his class to sign with a Division 1 program
Stats: 91 Games Played (29 This Year), 17.9 PPG (13.8 Career), 7.4 RPG (5.9 Career), 1.3 APG (1.0 Career), 44.1 FG% (44.6% Career), 40.7 3PT% (39.5% Career), 81.3 FT% (78.5% Career)
Thank you, @JordanNwora.#GoCards pic.twitter.com/JlVV2JhW0m
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) February 29, 2020
It makes no sense for Nwora to be on the Senior list when he’s a junior.