Louisville’s Pat Kelsey on Bahamas trip: ‘It allows us to speed up the growth curve’
Louisville’s Pat Kelsey talks about Bahamas trip and what he’s looking to get out of it for his players.
“Heads are spinning” at the Planet Fitness Kueber Center, Louisville men’s basketball head coach Pat Kelsey said.
Understandably so. After Kelsey and his staff rebuilt the Cardinals’ roster from scratch, predominantly through the NCAA transfer portal, their focus has shifted toward summer workouts and 10 full-on practices to prepare for what he described as a hastily-organized exhibition tour of the Bahamas in July.
Maybe they click early, like Kelsey’s 2022-23 team at Charleston; which won a program-record 31 games. Maybe they stink out of the gate. The Cougars did last year, he said, before winning 23 of their final 26 to secure consecutive conference tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.
In short, make of the first look what you will. There’s a lot of ground to cover between now and then, but Kelsey is hopeful the coming weeks will build a strong foundation for Year 1 of his tenure.
“We get a great head start,” the coach told reporters during a news conference Thursday. “So, when we get back together when it really, really starts ramping up and it counts for real — when practice starts at the end of September and the beginning of October — we can look back to these 10 practices and go, ‘Man, we’re way further ahead than we should have been.'”
U of L’s trip to the Caribbean runs July 28 through Aug. 2. It’ll play July 30 and Aug. 1— opponents and tipoff times have not yet been determined — at the Baha Mar resort in Nassau.
NCAA bylaws allow players to participate in eight weeks of weight training, conditioning and skill instruction while enrolled in summer school. Programs are limited to conducting eight hours of workouts per week during that period; and only four hours per week can be spent on skill instruction.
So, Kelsey and his staff being granted 10 practices akin to what they’ll run during the season is the biggest draw of visiting the Bahamas ahead of schedule — the Cards are scheduled to play in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis in November — in addition to the camaraderie building that’ll no doubt occur while the team enjoys the waves and time beneath the palm trees.
Only three members of the roster, transfers from Charleston, have played in Kelsey’s system previously; and he said sometimes things can get lost in translation. They’ve got to install offensive coordinator Michael Cassidy‘s bevy of sets and have everyone on the same page in defensive coordinator Brian Kloman‘s half-court man.
Making their jobs easier is the fact that all but one player, freshman forward Khani Rooths, has at least a year at the Division I level under their belts; and even he “goes about his business like a veteran,” Kelsey said.
“They’re eager; they’re receptive,” the coach added. “It could be easy for somebody who’s been somewhere for a long time, who’s caught in their ways, (to say), ‘This is the way I’ve done it.’ They’ve been awesome.”
Have there been any players standing out above the others? Does he have any idea of who’s going to start?
No and no; because, although Kelsey tells his players they’re constantly being evaluated — considering he and his staff aren’t the type to promise playing time while recruiting — he said, “You don’t evaluate in June.”
But … he likes what he sees.
“These guys are going hard as crap every day,” Kelsey said. “That’s one of the things we hang our hat on, competing.”
Three players who spoke with reporters Thursday — Chucky Hepburn, J’Vonne Hadley and Reyne Smith — said that energy Kelsey alluded to is due, in large part, to the fact that most members of the team are entering their final season of eligibility.
“You kind of get this vibe that everybody’s in it to win,” Smith said, “and that’s the most important thing.”
“This is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity,” Hadley added.
“We’ve got goals of getting a national championship (and an) ACC championship,” Hepburn said.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.