INDIANAPOLIS — Kobe Rodgers can score?

That’s not been his role this season for Louisville basketball, serving as the backup point guard to freshman Mikel Brown Jr. He’s pretty much just come in for relief minutes in the Cardinals’ games against power conference opponents. 

UofL needed more Saturday in its 87-78 victory over Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, as Brown got in early foul trouble and never really made himself a factor in the game. Rodgers responded, maybe with a reminder to himself as well as to anyone watching the Cards play.

Kobe Rodgers can score.

The senior from Cincinnati made his first four shots en route to a season-high 12 points. Rodgers was scoreless in nine minutes of the Cards loss at Arkansas on Wednesday. He had three points in nine minutes of his homecoming against Cincinnati. And he had two points in seven minutes in the win over Kentucky.

But go back to his season at Charleston in 2023-24 when he scored 20 or more three times including his career-high of 24 against Towson.

It’s not that he can’t do it for UofL. He’s just not asked to.

The Cards bench as a whole doesn’t have a microwave scorer coach Pat Kelsey can put in the game to light up the offense. That’s why it’s good to have a wildcard like Rodgers.

This column will be updated.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville vs Indiana shows others beyond Mikel Brown Jr. can key wins