Montrezl Harrell is the engine for the Louisville Cardinals.
The team's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, Harrell sets the tone for Rick Pitino's squad with his energy and effort. His style is such that the observer's eyes are drawn to him, and if that was the case in the first half of the Elite Eight on Sunday, said observers surely walked away impressed.
The junior forward and likely first-round pick if he declares for the NBA Draft was everywhere, leading Louisville to a 40-32 halftime lead against Michigan State. He shot 6-of-7 from the floor for 12 points, adding three rebounds, four assists and a steal.
But it was the myriad ways in which he contributed to the offense more than his stat line that stood out. Docked marks to a degree because he lacks an outside shot, Harrell showed that it's about the only thing he's lacking, flashing his strength, finishing, athleticism, vision and awareness on different offensive possessions (and this is to mention nothing of holding Branden Dawson to 1-of-5 from the floor on the other end).
Those four assists tie a career-high already, so let's start there.
Midway through the half, Harrell displayed some great vision, finding Terry Rozier open on a cut to the rim with a beautiful find from up top. The pass wasn't picture-perfect but found Rozier quickly enough and with enough space to finish.
Just a minute later, Harrell showed inside-out passing ability from the block. After establishing post position, Harrell swung to drive to the middle of the floor, drawing a double-team (or a light triple-team, really) and hitting Wayne Blackshear immediately with the kick-out for three.
One of Harrell's assists was far less flashy but showed off his strength, as he freed Blackshear for another triple with a hand-off and a solid screen, one his man couldn't switch onto Blackshear out of because Harrell on the move is too dangerous a proposition.
And then there's his scoring. Everyone knows about Harrell's dunking, but two of Harrell's 12 points came on an athletic non-dunk finish. As Chinanu Onuaku hands the ball off to Rozier, Harrell cuts beneath the basket, then quickly peddles back to the other side of the net for an alley-oop toss.
The strength to make that finish amid several Spartan bodies, and the awareness to reverse course as Rozier drove right, are impressive. His whole half – defense, finishing, playmaking, rebounding – was.
