LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's just one of those little lines in the pregame notes but it's nonetheless jarring when you see it in black and white. In advance of the University of Louisville's trip to The Bahamas for a pair of exhibitions this week, the media is reminded that Louisville, "returns virtually zero percent of every statistical category from 2023-24."
On Wednesday night, we begin to see how much addition Louisville has done by subtraction.
It is a sneak peak, to be sure. The team has had relatively little time to bond and practice itself into a cohesive unit, compared to the team that will return to the Bahamas for a trio of games against real college competition in November. Still, early progress has been made, and that will be a benefit.
This trip, in reality, is a gift. Both for the coaches — who have gotten 10 live practices to begin putting their team together and installing a system as well as establishing culture — as well as for fans, who, after two abysmal seasons, will get a preview of how the next chapter of Louisville basketball will begin.
Kelsey described the arc of the summer this way:
"We signed 13 new players, 13 new personalities, 13 guys that have never been together, never played together, have never played in my system, have never heard the type of terminology we use," he said. "So, you know, June is a little bit of a breaking down period, where they get their butts kicked from a physical standpoint in the weight room. I like to think that we have the best strength and conditioning coach in the country. And a lot of skill development, a lot of implementation of how we do things and what we do. And then as we turned the corner here into July, especially as we're going on this foreign tour and we get additional practices and additional hours, you can start to see the pieces falling into place. Guys are comfortable playing together. Obviously, the chemistry off the floor is a very, very important component. I feel great about where things are moving in that direction."
Not only is there curiosity about a new roster of players, but about how they will play, about the strategy and tactics behind the energy and optimism Kelsey has demonstrated. The coach is fond of quoting Steve Kerr, who says, "culture eats strategy for breakfast."
At the same time, there has to be something on the plate.
Kelsey summarized his offense as, "generally high-percentage shots and a lot of them."
"We play fast, we push the pace," he said. "There's a lot of possessions in our game. But I say all the time, just because we play fast doesn't necessarily mean we shoot quick. We are in the business of generating high percentage shots, right? The highest percentage shots in the game are obviously free throws, rim shots, and then threes. And the added value of the extra point of the three-point shot makes that a very valuable shot. But we're not shooting them just to shoot him. We want to shoot what we call big advantage shots, which are shots that are in range and in rhythm, and ones that we work on every single day. So, our system is all predicated on generating high percentage shots. It makes a lot of sense to me. You want the highest volume of your shots to be the highest percentage shots in the game."
Kelsey has been increasingly optimistic in his public statements in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, when he sat down with WDRB's Rick Bozich and Eric Crawford, he provided a quick one-sentence thought on each player.
The group was put together with equal parts emphasis of analytics on past-performance and intangibles, attitude markers that Kelsey is looking for. He calls it "back of the bubble gum card" information. So far, he likes the way his parts are meshing.
"I love the makeup of our team, right?" he said. "From a personnel standpoint, the character, the toughness, the competitiveness, the basketball IQ, those things that we value. It's fun to see guys start to click, and sort of get it. No team is complete in July, and we sure as heck aren't either. This is a process and a trajectory. You want to continue to move in (the right) direction. And I love the direction that this team is going. I'm very, very excited about the possibilities what we can accomplish this year."
Kelsey's first Louisville roster includes four 1,000-point scorers Reyne Smith (Charleston), Terrence Edwards Jr. (James Madison), Aboubacar Traore (Long Beach State) and Chucky Hepburn (Wisconsin). Ten Louisville players were on teams that played in last season's NCAA Tournament and six of them have logged more than 2,000 minutes at the Division I level.
Among the top transfers, Chucky Hepburn from Wisconsin should be a major asset. He's played and delivered in big games, and was among the best at his position in the Big Ten last season.
"He's the quarterback on the floor," Kelsey said. "I always say give him the ball at 7 at night he gives it back to you safe and sound at 9. That's what great point guards are."
Edwards was the Sun Belt Player of the year and led James Madison to a 32-4 record and the NCAA Tournament last season. The 6-6 combo guard from Atlanta led the Dukes in scoring at 17.2 points per game, as well as in assists with 123. His 4.4 rebounds were third-best on the team. He shot 42 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from three point range.
"Just a winner," Kelsey said of him. "Just a dog. When the lights are on, he's at his best."
One way of flushing the stigma of losing from a program – and Louisville has developed that after going 12-54 the past two seasons – is to bring players in who are used to winning. Kelsey certainly has done that.
"The majority of our team, if not the entire team, comes from winning programs," Kelsey said. "A very large percentage of the guys come from programs that played the NCAA Tournament last year. And I think that's a plus."
How good they can be under a first-year coach in the ACC remains to be seen, but the first glimpses begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a game against a Bahamas Select team in the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center in Nassau. Paul Rogers and Jody Demling will provide radio broadcasts via 93.9 The Ville FM, while a free broadcast is available via Floyd Street Media's YouTube page.
Louisville Basketball Coverage:
- Pat Kelsey releases 1st non-conference schedule as Louisville coach
- CRAWFORD | Confident Kelsey spreads gospel of "ReviVILLE," on the court and off
- BOZICH | Louisville basketball newcomers here to win now, starting with head start in Bahamas
- 1-on-1 | Louisville's Pat Kelsey talks players, expectations and his first 70 days on the job
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