How 4-28 season in Year 1 under Kenny Payne is fueling Louisville basketball's 4 returners

Skyy Clark watched them work.

Louisville men's basketball coach Kenny Payne is known for his grueling conditioning drills. On this day, he put the players returning from his 2022-23 team through the wringer while Clark, a sophomore point guard who had just transferred in from Illinois, observed.

Clark said he was "intimidated."

"They didn't give up; they were pushing through it," Clark told The Courier Journal last month. "From right there, I was like, 'Yeah, they got my respect.'"

Everything went according to Payne's plan — although it's far from complete.

If U of L is going to bounce back from the worst season in modern program history, it's going to need the four scholarship players who stuck around after the disastrous 4-28 campaign to take a major step forward on the stat sheet and in the leadership department.

So Payne went to his strength and conditioning staff and told them to get Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Mike James, Emmanuel Okorafor and JJ Traynor "head and shoulders" ahead of a collection of incoming talent that ranked among the top 10 in the country on 247Sports' national leaderboard.

"I don't want these guys to come into an environment where they are already on top," Payne said Oct. 26. "I want them to see that (the returners) work hard and that, (with) their bodies, their conditioning, they can handle whatever is thrown at them — and then they follow suit.

"If the new guys are the ones leading the pack straight out the gate, that's a problem."

And yet, four days after Payne's remarks, production and leadership from the returners were lacking during Louisville's 71-68 exhibition loss to Kentucky Wesleyan — their second to a Division II opponent in as many seasons.

James was the only one of the four to reach double digits (16 points). Huntley-Hatfield and Traynor combined for three rebounds, while Okorafor didn't see the court, on a night when the Cardinals were outworked on the boards and outscored in the paint.

Afterward, Traynor said, "It's good to get hit in the mouth early."

That happened early and often during the 2022-23 campaign. But, as Payne said in July, "Until you experience failure, how can you really talk about leadership?"

It was on display during Monday night's 94-93 win against UMBC. James' first collegiate double-double fueled the Cards' second-half comeback; and Traynor finished it with a decisive two-handed slam in the final seconds.

"We’ve been in these situations before," Traynor said. "We can't fold."

Here's a look at how the holdovers processed hitting rock bottom in hopes of turning things around in 2023-24.

JJ Traynor: 'I can do anything'

For Traynor, resetting mentally meant enjoying the final days with his eight teammates who were entering the NCAA transfer portal, focusing on school and going on a cruise to Mexico with his family when the semester ended.

Louisville, he said, was "toxic for a little bit." Everywhere he went, he was reminded of a season he'd rather forget.

He came back refreshed. The news of Payne landing guys such as Southern California standout Tre White and Dennis Evans, a 7-foot-1 freshman center, rejuvenated him. And now that he's tasked with leading the team as its lone senior, he uses the 2022-23 campaign as affirmation: "I'm strong. I got through this; and now I can do anything."

His coach has noticed a difference, too.

"He's more sure of himself," Payne said last month. "He's made so many strides as a player. When I walked through these doors, (after) every mistake he made, he slumped his shoulders, his head was down — he had no belief.

"We probably beat belief into him, but there are times now where he's dominant."

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield: 'I knew what was at stake'

Huntley-Hatfield went home to Clarksville, Tennessee, for some rest and relaxation. But it didn't last long.

"I didn't really want to take too much time off," he said, "because I knew what was at stake coming up for this next season and where I envision seeing myself going and where I envision I can help our team go."

So he hit the gym hard and implemented a strict diet. And in July, Payne reported the junior was down to 8% body fat after playing in the 12% to 20% range for most of his career.

Huntley-Hatfield credits his teammates — both returners and newcomers — for cultivating the competition that has helped him shake a disappointing year.

It started with five minutes of sled pushes from baseline to baseline. No one wanted to lose.

"As a collective," he said, "the energy was totally different."

Emmanuel Okorafor: 'We created this bond real quick'

Okorafor's impact was instant when he arrived in Louisville from NBA Academy Africa. Payne lauded the enthusiasm he injected into practices and his voracious studying of the game.

But an ankle injury limited the Nigerian big man to five appearances between Jan. 28 and Feb. 11, cutting short a promising trial by fire.

"It was kind of challenging for me," he said, "but I was like, 'God was using that to prepare me for this season.'"

Okorafor didn't waste any time when he was cleared to return to the court. After the semester ended, he went home to prepare with his fellow countrymen for the GLOBL JAM tournament in Toronto, where he had a stellar performance against Kentucky.

He's hoping that play carries over to his first full season in the collegiate ranks, during which Payne is asking him and Huntley-Hatfield to set the tone physically in the post while Evans continues to develop physically.

And on a roster with so many new faces, he's paying forward the open arms that greeted him upon touching down in the 502.

"The togetherness we created during the summer was really a big thing," he said. "You don't see guys create that bond real quick. We created this bond real quick."

Mike James: 'Put my best foot forward'

James was itching to get into the gym after a few beach days with family and friends back home in Orlando, Florida.

"My mom told me I needed more time," he said, "but I felt like I needed a couple of days to just forget about the season, move on and put my best foot forward (with) my training and preparation."

James lost 22 pounds after playing at 220 as a redshirt freshman. The strides he made as a ballhandler and as a shooter — he got plenty of lessons from Peyton Siva and Russ Smith over the summer — has Payne confident in his ability to play anywhere from point guard to power forward.

To boot, multiple teammates said he is the group's most vocal leader, pushing them to follow suit.

"He's not afraid to speak up at all," Clark said. "That makes it easier for someone like me who's more of a reserved kid — I'm only going to say my opinion if someone asks — to speak up, seeing him do it."

Added Payne, "If I had six, seven guys like Mike James, regardless of position, (I) don't lose."

Now, he and the rest of the holdovers have one goal: win.

"We got to get back to the (NCAA) Tournament; that's the first step," James said. "Got to get back to the tournament. We got to change the culture, for real.

"Last year was not Louisville basketball. The past couple of years were not Louisville basketball."

C.L. Brown column: Nothing is going to come easy for Louisville basketball in Year 2 under Kenny Payne

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball's 4 returners, Kenny Payne fueled by 4-28 season