Matt Cross Sees Noticeable Difference in Louisville

Forward Matt Cross has been on Louisville's campus for only a couple weeks, but in that short time, he has already picked up that this is a much different Cardinals team than the one he faced in Miami.

(Photo of Matt Cross: Andrew Lentz - University of Louisville Athletics)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Back on Jan. 16, the Louisville men's basketball program suffered arguably their worst loss of the 2020-21 season. Traveling down to Coral Cables to face Miami, who at that point in time was 5-6 on the year and just 1-6 in the ACC, the 9-1 and 4-0 Cardinals laid an egg against the Hurricanes, falling 78-72 to spark a second half slide.

A key component in the Canes pulling off the upset victory was the play from Matt Cross. Coming off of the bench, the freshman forward proceeded to light up Louisville from the perimeter, sinking a game-high four three-pointers and pouring in 16 points.

As fate would have it, the matchup proved to be one of the last games that Cross would play in a Miami uniform, as the two parties agreed to part ways just two weeks later. In another twist, or as Cross would put it, "a coincidence", the 6-foot-7, 225-pound wing announced in February his intention to transfer to the the team he had just torched.

"It wasn't the best fit for me. Probably didn't see that coming out of high school that I probably should have," Cross said. "Now the second time around, I really realized it's about the fit, and about where I can help at the end of the day."

After having to first take care of academic obligations down at Miami, Cross finally arrived on campus at the beginning of July. Having played against this very team earlier in the calendar year, one would think there would be some semblance of familiarity. There wasn't.

"When we played them, I realized: one - that it's a lot of new guys here from when you guys played us," Cross said. "A lot of people left or graduated. But the biggest thing is a lot of change. Mainly the style of offense that we've been running, compared to what they were running here last year."

He's not wrong. Since the mid-January matchup, Louisville has welcomed seven new players to the roster to make up for those lost to the NBA Draft, the transfer portal and graduation. On top of that, assistant coaches Luke Murray and Dino Gaudio were replaced by Kahil Fennell and Ross McMains.

But all this change is not necessarily a bad thing in Cross' eyes. Louisville was plagued by a slow pace and offensive stagnation in 2020-21, something that the McMains hire immediately addresses. The transition to a faster paced offense has not only opened up his own game, by Cross believes it will have a profound impact to everyone else's performance.

"If some guy doesn't get back or are scrambling, and they're running out on a man, it gets me transition threes, and a lot of open shots," he said. "It's really good to see an NBA-style offense. It's not robotic, and it's really, personally, helped me along with the team."

But kicking the motor into high gear is having more than an offensive impact. It's also forcing Louisville to be a lot more disciplined on the defensive end, and counteracting a team that could also be playing at a high rate of speed.

"Stay on your feet, a lot of full speed run out close outs, if you're running out there and you jump, that's 'triggering dominoes' for the rest of the defense," Cross said. "It's really been: stay disciplined, stay on your feet don't let the guy beat you, and pretty much guard your yard".

Pace of play is not the only change he has noticed on Louisville. While he hasn't been able to take part in many summer practices compared to others on the team, in his limited exposure, he believes the Cardinals can be a deadly shooting team.

"After everyone got adjusted, not thinking as much, a lot of guys are making a lot of shots," he said. "I think that we could end up being a really good shooting team, overall field goal percentage and three point percentage. I think it'll be a big change from what they said they had last year."

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Matthew McGavic
MATTHEW MCGAVIC

McGavic is a 2016 Sport Administration graduate of the University of Louisville, and a native of the Derby City. He has been covering the Cardinals in various capacities since 2017, with a brief stop in Atlanta, Ga. on the Georgia Tech beat. He is also a co-host of the 'From The Pink Seats' podcast on the State of Louisville network. Video gamer, bourbon drinker and dog lover. Find him on Twitter at @Matt_McGavic