Jeff Greer

@jeffgreer_cj

Up next: U of L vs. Michigan, 12:10 p.m. Sunday, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis. TV: CBS.

INDIANAPOLIS – The first time Deng Adel broke out his Naruto impression in Louisville was two summers ago, when he and Donovan Mitchell were walking to 4th & Cardinal Food Mart on U of L's campus late one night.

The roommates, then newly enrolled freshmen, were bantering back and forth when Adel took off sprinting, his head out over his feet, his arms back, almost like airplane wings. He was screaming at the top of his lungs.

Mitchell had no clue what his friend was doing, but he found out later that Adel was imitating the main character from a Japanese manga comic and anime television series that he grew up watching in Melbourne, Australia.

"Every time he screams now I think of that time," Mitchell said, laughing and shaking his head in unison.

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It took Adel another 18 months to make the Naruto run and scream his regular "thing" in actual basketball games, but it's a good sign for U of L if he is doing it. That means it's "go-time" for Adel, that he is making big plays, said long-time friend and fellow Australian Mangok Mathiang, who is also a fan of the comic and show.

It has been go-time lately for Adel, who is Louisville's leading scorer over the past five games and perhaps its most important player when the Cards take on Michigan in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 12:10 p.m. Sunday here at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The 6-foot-7 sophomore swingman with a 6-10 wingspan averaged 16.4 points, four rebounds and 2.2 assists in the previous five contests, and he stuck out to Michigan coach John Beilein on film as the perfect partner with Mitchell and fellow guard Quentin Snider, the Cards' two leading scorers.

"I like what I see from him because his length is incredible," Beilein said. "He can shoot just enough where you have to guard him. He's the perfect complement to the two guards. His length is really, really good. ... (He's) a very, very versatile player."

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Adel couldn't believe anyone besides his teammates noticed his celebration when he was asked about it Thursday. He could not stop laughing. But it does have a special meaning to him.

He first did it in a game as a freshman as fifth-year senior Damion Lee nailed a big shot, then he began regularly doing it this campaign after big dunks or shots. He ran down the KFC Yum Center court, arms out and yelling, after making one of his several critical jump shots in Louisville's 73-70 win over Kentucky in December.

"I was just hyped and I didn't know how to celebrate, so I just started doing it," Adel said. "Everybody was hitting me up, showing me videos, like, 'Yo, DA, what are you doing? What is this?'"

U of L guard Ryan McMahon came across several memes on various social media platforms of people doing the Naruto run, and they usually include a quip about "that one weird kid at school." Tony Hicks said he loved that Adel had "owned it" and made it his celebration.

Mitchell has come to love it, too.

"It's just hilarious," McMahon said. "It gets us all hyped up."

Mathiang said it was not uncommon for him to roll out of his dorm room on his scooter to see Adel doing the Naruto run from room to room. The redshirt senior, who compared the show to popular anime series "Dragon Ball Z" but "with weird shapes and stuff," believes Adel can make it "a movement."

"That's when I know, 'OK, DA's in his bag. It's go-time for DA,'" Mathiang said. "It's not even the Naruto anymore; it's the DA."

Adel scored 16 points in Louisville's 78-63 first-round NCAA Tournament win over Jacksonville State on Friday. He was the Cards' constant scoring threat, even as they labored through a miserable start.

U of L coach Rick Pitino had a long conversation with Adel toward the end of the season, hoping to pep up the Sudanese-born 20-year-old, who was disappointed with his solid but inconsistent campaign. Since that talk, Adel has thrived, saying he embraced Pitino's message that the postseason was a chance for a fresh start.

If he keeps playing the way he has been, he'll have more opportunities to show off his Naruto run and scream. The Cards would like to see it Sunday.

"I'm definitely doing it the whole tournament," Adel said. "It's fun. It's funny. I'm going to keep doing it. ... When I get excited and just run off, my arms just flare out. In the game, when I'm really hyped, it just happens. I don't try to force it. I don't try to fight it. I'm just going to let it happen."