CARDINALS

Report Card | Grading U of L's Puerto Rico finale

Jeff Greer
Louisville Courier Journal

TRUJILLO ALTO, Puerto Rico – The last game of this week-long tour of Puerto Rico was a sloppy -- and slippery -- affair.

On a playing court with numerous slick spots, Louisville won an ugly game against Puerto Rico's B team, 77-72.

The Cardinals finished their trip here with back-to-back wins, but coach Rick Pitino was happiest with his team's performance after the overtime loss on Thursday.

This game, much like Louisville's win in Manati on Friday, had more turnovers and fewer assists than Pitino would have liked.

And this time, with Pitino coaching his Louisville team for the first time this trip, he rather emphatically let them know of his disgust during timeouts.

Still, as has been the case all week, the exhibition provided U of L (and Puerto Rico) with lots of material for practices in the coming weeks and months, and several Cards got the chance to show their summer progress for Pitino.

Damion Lee was the star of the week, and freshmen Deng Adel, Ray Spalding and Donovan Mitchell each showed in various ways how they can contribute to the team right away.

Here's a full breakdown of the final game of Louisville's tour here in Puerto Rico. They'll relax on Sunday and head home Monday.

Damion Lee: He didn't have the best game in Manati, but he finished strong, and that carried over to Saturday. The 6-foot-6 wing took over the game, especially in the second half. He was an effective rebounder. He got to the basket. He drew fouls. He made jump shots. He was the best player on the floor and finished with 28 points and nine rebounds. Grade: A.

Trey Lewis: He had 21 points and seven rebounds in Friday's win, but Lewis frustrated Pitino a few times on Saturday, mostly on defense. This is a complex system to learn, particularly the 2-3 matchup zone, so it's expected. But Pitino still had to remind Lewis, in no uncertain terms, about his assignments. Having six turnovers didn't help Lewis's cause. Grade: B.

Quentin Snider: Probably Snider's best game of the trip. He was confident getting to the basket. He looked comfortable on the ball, as he usually does, and was assertive in attacking the basket. He finally seemed to be in a rhythm, finishing with 10 points and six assists, though he also had five turnovers. Grade: B-plus.

Deng Adel: He is so smooth and athletic that it always seems like he is doing everything right. Adel took an ill-advised, challenged 3-pointer at one point, but he was once again an effective defender and active on offense. Grade: B.

Jaylen Johnson: Not a whole lot to say this time about Johnson, who wasn't really much of a factor. He had a few moments, but Louisville's best frontcourt duo on Saturday was Mangok Mathiang and Chinanu Onuaku. Grade: C.

Mangok Mathiang: He was very, very good on Friday night, with 19 points and eight rebounds. Much of those stats came in the first half. In Trujillo Alto, he was less of a scorer, but Mathiang (10 points, five rebounds) still showed a soft touch on a few different post moves. He looks so much more natural trying to score than he once did. Grade: A-minus.

Chinanu Onuaku: He is probably Louisville's most improved player after a few months of summer workouts -- and a trip to the U19 FIBA World Championships with Team USA. He is far more energetic and he runs the floor better than he did all of last season. He was solid on Saturday, with seven points and seven rebounds. Grade: B.

Donovan Mitchell: Similar to Friday night, Mitchell was at his best on defense, especially in the fullcourt. He is a menace on the ball, harrying handlers up the floor. He is physical and tough for a guard, and that makes him a load to handle for opponents. A good finish to his trip. Grade: B-plus.

Anas Mahmoud: He did play a little bit on Saturday, but Mahmoud wasn't all that effective. He missed one assignment on defense that got him ripped by Pitino in a timeout. He did have one or two solid post moves on offense, though. Grade: C-plus.

Ray Spalding: It's hard to say how much impact he had because he didn't play much. Grade: N/A.

David Levitch: In the same vein as Spalding, Levitch just didn't get a ton of time to really get much of a report. Grade: N/A.

Follow U of L hoops writer Jeff Greer on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj) for regular Puerto Rico updates.