Jordan Nwora sends message to Michigan: 'We had heard they wanted some smoke'

Hayes Gardner | Courier Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Louisville basketball: Nwora, Kimble, Enoch discuss win over Michigan Louisville's Jordan Nwora, Fresh Kimble and Steven Enoch talk about the team's impressive win over Michigan.

After a Battle 4 Atlantis championship, a couple wins over top-10 teams and a No. 5 ranking in the USA TODAY coaches poll, Michigan was eager for its next challenge: top-ranked Louisville.

“We want it all. We want all the smoke,” Michigan sophomore David DeJulius said, according to a tweet from Michigan Daily student reporter Daniel Dash's Twitter account.

You think Michigan is confident?



David DeJulius on facing top-ranked Louisville tomorrow night: “We want it all. We want all the smoke.” — Daniel Dash (@danieldash428) December 2, 2019

That tweet generated nearly 2,000 likes on Twitter, and Louisville’s Jordan Nwora took note. On the court, as No. 1-ranked Louisville topped Michigan 58-43 on Tuesday night at the KFC Yum Center, Nwora reveled in the victory, pumping the crowd up on several occasions. In the press conference, his excitement manifested in some rare postgame trash talk from the player who is now the face of the program as a top NBA prospect.

“We had heard they wanted some smoke yesterday, so they got some smoke. And they got smoked,” Nwora said.

“Yes, sir!” senior guard Fresh Kimble said, in support of Nwora.

More: No. 1 and not done: Louisville beats No. 5 Michigan in first game at top of polls

It was a hyped top-5 matchup between the two Final Four hopefuls, and Louisville never trailed. It wasn’t the best offensive showing — both teams struggled to score — but the Cardinals were able to keep the Wolverines at bay for a marquee win.

That allowed Nwora to engage in some postgame banter.

“None of us are going to talk about anything before the game, we’re just gonna settle it on the court, and that’s what we did,” he said before reinforcing: “They said they wanted some smoke, so we went out there and gave it to them.”

For those unsure of what "smoke," means, Kimble explained.

“When somebody says, ‘We want all the smoke,’ it’s just basically, they’re ready for anything. They're ready to take us on. Michigan players were saying that they were ready to face us and whatever we had to bring, they were going to get past that and get the win,” he said. “So basically they were talking into existence a win, and we’re not about that here. We’re about getting on the floor and playing, and we showed that for 40 minutes.”

Added Nwora: “They were talking, and we were able to quiet it up a little bit, and now we just gotta focus on the next game.”

Nwora missed some shots Tuesday, finishing 9 of 23 from the field, but the energy was there. The preseason ACC player of the year gesture to the crowd late in the game after connecting at the rim, asking fans behind the basket to get louder every time he scored. Nwora finished with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Louisville basketball: Breaking down U of L's win over Michigan CJ's Dominique Yates and Lucas Aulbach and Free Press' Orion Sang report on Louisville's win over Michigan at the KFC Yum! Center.

Louisville coach Chris Mack – who got in on the action himself, tweeting a GIF after the game of a person emerging through smoke – said Nwora's rebounding and ball security jumped out to him as impressive. The junior forward spent plenty of time handling the ball (he was on the court for nearly 36 minutes) and only turned it over once.

"Jordan, he's a talented guy," Mack said. "I thought he played on both ends of the floor. To only have one turnover and have the ball in his hands a lot – he missed some shots he normally makes but he also sealed the deal on a couple, and an and-one – I come to expect that."

Nwora has scored at least 20 points in 6 of Louisville's 8 games this season and is now averaging 21.9 points and 7.5 rebounds a night.

With the win, the Cardinals improved to 8-0. They’ll face Pittsburgh on Friday in their ACC home opener.

Reporter Lucas Aulbach contributed. Hayes Gardner can be reached at hgardner@gannett.com; Twitter: @HayesGardner; Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.

Louisville coach Chris Mack talks 'grinder of a game' vs. Michigan Louisville basketball coach Chris Mack talks after his No. 1 team wins over No. 4 Michigan.