Louisville's Luke Hancock Named Final Four's Most Outstanding Player

A crucial part of the Louisville Cardinals' NCAA championship run, Luke Hancock has been named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2013 Final Four.

Per ESPN College Basketball's official Twitter account:

"

Luke Hancock is your #FinalFour Most Outstanding Player.

— ESPN College BBall (@ESPNCBB) April 9, 2013"

The star reserve was instrumental for the Cardinals against both Wichita State and Michigan, as they came back from huge deficits in both to win.

With Russ Smith struggling to find his range throughout both games—and the Cardinals bench already depleted courtesy of Kevin Ware's gruesome leg injury—Hancock's performances could not have been more significant.

In the championship game alone, Hancock chalked up a team-high 22 points on a 5-of-5 performance from beyond the arc.

What's more, those points came at incredibly crucial times for his team and took defensive attention off Smith and Peyton Siva.

Down 33-21 toward the end of the first half, Hancock rattled off 14 straight points to close the gap to one, 38-37, at intermission.

He would also knock down a dagger three late in the second half to extend Louisville's lead to 10 at one point. He finished it off with two clutch free throws with 29 seconds remaining to give the Cardinals a six-point lead they would carry to the end.

The junior guard finished with 42 points on 11-of-15 shooting, five rebounds, five assists and four steals in the Cardinals' last two games en route to MOP honors.

What exactly the future holds for Hancock is somewhat unclear, but the 6'6" G-F is likely to form a big part of the Cardinals offense again next season.

However, one thing is for certain given his performances in this year's March Madness—expect to hear a lot more of Luke Hancock's name heading into next season.

Hit me up on Twitter for more sports goodness: