Pat Kelsey for Coach of the Year? That and more in our Louisville basketball mailbag

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It’s only January, but Pat Kelsey has drastically changed the conversation surrounding Louisville basketball.

Before the calendar flipped to 2025, it was: Will the Cardinals, winners of only 12 games the previous two seasons under Kenny Payne, prove themselves worthy of their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019? Now, with U of L sitting at 12-5 (5-1 ACC), it’s: How good of a seed can it get?

That’s what happens when you rattle off six wins in a row — one Quad 4, three Quad 2 and two Quad 1. And the program’s longest winning streak in five years can be attributed to a simple motto Kelsey has ingrained among his players.

“It’s the next thing,” sophomore forward James Scott said after the Cards escaped with a crucial road win against Pittsburgh last weekend. “That’s what it’s all about: the next thing.”

Considering Kelsey’s one-track mindset, it’s safe to say he hasn’t spent much time entertaining the question leading off this edition of The Courier Journal’s Louisville basketball mailbag. But, with his revival moving at such a rapid pace, it’s worth asking.

Where does the 49-year-old Cincinnati native stand among candidates for Naismith College Coach of the Year?

Let’s discuss that and more as the Cards look to keep the good times rolling with games against Syracuse and Virginia on tap this week:

If the Cards make the NCAA Tournament, shouldn’t Pat Kelsey be Coach of the Year? — Vaughn Payne

Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey instructs his team against Ole Miss during their game at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 3, 2024.

If the season ended today, one would have to make a pretty tough case against Kelsey for ACC Coach of the Year. A bottom-feeder under Payne, the program most responsible for dragging the conference down the past two years, U of L entered the week with sole possession of second place behind No. 4 Duke — the only team that has beaten it thus far in league play.

After the Cards took down Pitt, KenPom.com projected they would finish the campaign with…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pat-kelsey-coach-more-louisville-101519476.html

Author : The Courier Journal

Publish date : 2025-01-13 10:15:00

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