Pat Kelsey knows score for Louisville basketball, and he's ready to deliver results | Opinion
Kenny Payne often described the Louisville men’s basketball program he took over two years ago as “broken.”
Newly hired coach Pat Kelsey had a very different perspective of it at his introductory news conference Thursday.
“Ready,” Kelsey said. “Ready to rock.”
Kelsey did not preach patience. He did not temper expectations. He did not back down from the challenge of rebuilding a program that’s won 12 games total the past two seasons.
He’s accepted, from Day 1, the entire weight of the Louisville program. And he’s not making any excuses why the Cards can’t live up to the program’s traditional standards from the start of his tenure.
“If you don't plan on winning, don’t put your shoes on,” Kelsey said. “That may not be the right thing to say at a press conference and you’re trying to build this thing and they won 12 games over the last two years. I don’t know how to play any other way.”
The news conference was held at the Cardinals’ practice facility on campus. It had an assortment of former men’s basketball players, L-Club members, season ticket holders, university administrators, and coaches including Jeff Brohm from football and Jeff Walz from women's basketball.
Kelsey described his dream of a neighborhood in heaven 90 seconds into his opening remarks. By the time he hit the punchline that the immaculate red house with a giant Cards mascot was where God lived, he’d won the news conference.
There’s already a T-shirt available for purchase with the word “broken” crossed out and “READY” in all caps with the dunking Cardinals logo beneath it.
The fan base is eager to see the team win and win big again. Kelsey knows that’s what matters more than getting applause from the room Thursday.
“My exact quote to him is nobody’s going to be throwing you or me a parade today just because of the circumstance,” U of L athletics director Josh Heird said. "So, we’re not going to worry about today; we’re going to worry about eight months from now when we got to win basketball games. And that is what he’s focused on.”
Payne took over a program that had a lingering albatross of the NCAA’s Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) and potential sanctions hovering over the program. Even before the IARP ultimately did not administer a harsh penalty for violations in the recruitment of Brian Bowen, the years of waiting for an outcome was a de facto punishment.
It made recruiting more difficult because potential players feared a postseason ban and everyone in college basketball wants the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Kelsey merely takes over a program that’s finished in last place in the ACC standings the past two seasons.
He knows how to turn that situation around. He did so at Winthrop, and he led College of Charleston to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since it made three consecutive from 1997-99.
Heird emphasized head coaching experience during his search. He believes the program is in a better position to win sooner than later because the learning curve “isn’t nearly as steep” as it was two years ago.
“He’s going to get in here and he’s gonna move fast as far as putting the staff together, evaluating talent — in the transfer portal and the guys that are here — and then having a very specific philosophy around the culture and what he wants to create here,” Heird said. “Once again, you go back to, I think Kenny had ideas and theories, but he’d never done that, he’d never been a head coach.”
The last thing Louisville needs right now is ideas and theories. They need results, and Kelsey is ready to deliver.
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: Pat Kelsey: Louisville basketball coach ready for results from Day 1
