‘It’s how I was raised’ Pat Kelsey on how competition is in his DNA
Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey talks about how competition is in the DNA of the Cardinal’s basketball program.
Only one ex-Louisville men’s basketball player earned an invite to the 2024 NBA Draft Combine.
He never logged a minute in a Cardinals uniform.
We’re talking, of course, about Trentyn Flowers — the lone five-star recruit former head coach Kenny Payne landed from the high school ranks during his disastrous two-year tenure, who left U of L less than three months before the 2023-24 season tipped off to jump-start his professional career in Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL).
To jog your memory: Flowers committed to Louisville on March 17, 2023, as a junior at Combine Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina. When he did, the 6-foot-8 guard/forward also announced he was reclassifying to begin his collegiate career a year ahead of schedule. The other finalists for his pledge were Alabama, Arkansas, Creighton, Kansas and North Carolina.
Three days after his commitment, Flowers told The Courier Journal picking the Cards was a “no-brainer.” His ties to former assistant Nolan Smith, his primary recruiter, date back to Smith’s stint on Mike Krzyzewski’s staff at Duke; and, at the time, he believed Payne was the coach who could make his NBA dreams a reality.
“It’s a blessing,” Flowers said. “To be able to play at a place like Louisville, where they’ve always won and (produced) a bunch of NBA draft picks, you just have a great support system around you. I’m taking it very personally stepping in the door.”
Flowers reported for Louisville’s summer workouts, and his family moved to the city. Not long after his arrival, he went to Colorado and turned heads during tryouts for USA Basketball’s U19 team but failed to make the final cut.
On Aug. 14, 2023, seven days before the start of U of L’s fall semester, Flowers announced his signing with the Adelaide 36ers as part of the NBL’s Next Star program. The league has produced NBA standouts such as LaMelo Ball, who won Rookie of the Year in 2021, and will likely have a top-two pick in this year’s draft with Alexandre Sarr.
In a statement posted to his social media accounts, Flowers said the decision to do so was not easy “because playing for Louisville was also a dream of mine.” In another post to X, formerly Twitter, that was quickly deleted after the announcement, he said, “I’m a point guard now let’s get that right.”
“Nothing against nobody, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime,” Flowers told Jeff Lightsy Jr., formerly of 35KY Sports, during an exclusive interview the day after his announcement. “This was something, down the line, I didn’t want to walk out of my life and be like, ‘Man, I wish; I should have taken that opportunity.'”
Flowers and his father, Travis, told Lightsy that, although the 36ers’ offer materialized quickly, they gave Louisville coaches nearly two days’ notice of their decision to leave the program. They said they had an in-person meeting with Smith but “couldn’t get in touch with” Payne.
“I’ve given him about seven, eight calls; and he still hasn’t returned one of mine,” Flowers said.
In a statement issued during the immediate aftermath of Flowers’ announcement, Payne said: “We’re confident that Trentyn could have achieved his dreams by making Louisville his home. However, we wish Trentyn and his family well in all of their future endeavors.”
When asked about the situation before the start of the 2023-24 season, the head coach said he felt as if it was “a mistake; because he was learning. He wasn’t a finished product.”
He did, however, say he respected the decision, adding, “What can I do? (Am) I going to fight you to keep you here?”
We’ll never know what kind of impact Flowers could have had on U of L’s 8-24 campaign, which ended in Payne’s ouster, or how playing in the college ranks would have affected his path to the pros. But with the 2024 NBA Draft running Wednesday through Thursday, it’s time to find out how much, if any, heading Down Under helped his stock.
Here’s where things stand:
How did ex-Louisville basketball signee Trentyn Flowers play in the NBL?
Flowers appeared in 18 of the 36ers’ 28 games this past season. He averaged 5.2 points on 45.8% shooting (42.1% from 3) with 2.89 rebounds across 12.7 minutes per contest.
Flowers’ best performance of the campaign was when he dropped 23 points, 18 during the final 10 minutes, in an Oct. 14 win over the Illawarra Hawks.
The 36ers finished in ninth place at 12-16 overall.
At the NBA draft combine in May, Flowers told reporters he got what he wanted out of the experience.
“I learned a lot,” he said. “For me, it was, ‘How can I become the best pro I want to become?’ I just think that situation out there taught me how to be able to go through adversity.
“I was able to do it all. There were games where I was a (key) guy. There were games where I had to take a step back; I had to sit and learn. For me, whatever situation I’m stepping into next, I feel like I’m prepared and ready for anything.”
As for the “I’m a point guard now” remark, it hasn’t come to fruition yet. Per his official draft profile, he totaled just 13 assists against 31 turnovers while playing more of a wing role. When asked at the combine to compare his game to a current pro, he went with a “utility guy” — Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
NBA draft projections for ex-Louisville basketball signee Trentyn Flowers
Flowers was one of the biggest winners of the combine in the eyes of Bryan Kalbrosky, a senior NBA staff writer at USA TODAY’s For The Win. He led all forwards, and finished among the top four overall players, in the standing vertical leap (34.5 inches) and the max vertical leap (42).
During scrimmages, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony said, Flowers “ran the floor energetically in transition, stepped into a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer smoothly and looked more competitive defensively than his reputation indicates, fighting over screens and holding his own.
“It was a good reminder of why he was a top-25 high school recruit,” Givony added, “and should give him some positive momentum.”
Flowers is far from a projected lottery pick, however; which was the case in a (very) early mock draft Kalbrosky published June 28, 2023 — while he was still at Louisville.
Here’s a look at when Flowers could hear his name called based on the latest projections.
Note: Some of the mock drafts linked below include only first-round picks.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.