He wasn’t their first choice or their second and maybe not even their third choice, but on Thursday the Louisville Cardinals officially announced Pat Kelsey as their head coach.
Kelsey comes to Louisville after three seasons and two NCAA Tournament appearances at the College of Charleston.
Frankly, of those on their board, Kelsey might have been the best pick. He can coach. He can recruit and acquire talent. And, he has an energetic and big personality which is an added bonus for a job like Louisville.
After weeks of this wild search, it’s imperative that Kelsey doesn’t follow suit and treat the portal like the athletic department treated their search. These next five weeks will be crucial for Kelsey and how quickly he can turn this program and roster around to compete in the ACC in year one.
It’s possible, very possible.
With its rich history, passionate fanbase, and resources, the Louisville basketball program is a sleeping giant in this NIL era. There are already rumors swirling about how much the Cardinals have in its collective. If the rumors are true, then Louisville arguably has the biggest collective in the country. With that comes loads of opportunity, but also will require careful management and vision in how Kelsey and his staff build out this roster.
What is most important for Kelsey is not doing what his predecessor did.
When Kenny Payne first got the job at Louisville on March 18, 2022, the portal was still firing and there was plenty of talent to be had. But, Payne resorted to cleaning out the roster and then was extremely selective in targeting transfers. As the saying goes, you have to strike while the iron is hot. Payne didn’t take a swing and that iron quickly froze. This resulted in a 4-28 season in 2022-23, that Payne and Louisville couldn’t recover from.
For Kelsey, he can’t do what Payne did. He must realize there is some value to salvage from his predecessor’s roster, particularly in Mike James and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.
Both are already in the transfer portal, but should be prioritized by Kelsey to get them to return to Louisville.
Kaleb Glenn is another Cardinal in the portal that would be of value to return. Glenn is a former four-star recruit who can contribute and provide team culture value with his motor and toughness.
After Kelsey tries to get Cardinal players back on the roster, he needs to hit the portal hard. With Louisville’s rumored NIL budget, they should have no issue gaining interest from several of the big fish that are already in the portal or will be hitting the market in the coming weeks.
However, Kelsey must be careful while also being aggressive. Just going after the big fish can backfire. It’s a delicate art. Culture must also be built and the pieces, personalities, and mentalities must work. Louisville needs talent, but it needs the right talent.
While at the College of Charleston, Kelsey showed that he was able to find pieces that fit. He is a good recruiter who landed high-level talent. College of Charleston secured multiple Top150 commitments during Kelsey’s tenure in The Holy City.
But Louisville isn’t Charleston. This is the big leagues of college basketball.
With Louisville’s rumored deep NIL collective, Kelsey and the Cardinals will have some great opportunities ahead of them. It’s a delicate balance in pursuing talent in this new NIL era while also fostering a culture that is conducive to winning.
As one coach stated: “You have to be careful in building out of the portal at a program like Louisville. You can get the best of the best but it’s easy to get trapped into a culture that revolves around NIL more than winning.”
Kelsey will have many spots to fill on this roster. He should and will target some of the biggest transfers on the market, but needs to also keep in mind culture guys who have multiple seasons of eligibility remaining play. Those can be the building blocks of the program moving forward. The 2024 signing class also needs to be examined. If I am Kelsey, I am making calls on Liam McNeeley, Khani Rooths and taking a look at Justin Pippen in the 2024 class.
I am also bringing two or three guys in from Charleston who know me and who know how I like to play and coach. Those veterans can contribute off the bench and smooth out the process of building a new team and program.
Lastly, of course, I am also targeting some of the biggest and most impactful transfers out there.
Multiple big-name transfers are already rumored to be interested in the Cardinals, and more top players will enter and have a watchful eye on what Kelsey and Louisville are doing.
The only grave mistake Kelsey could make is sitting on his hands like the previous regime.
