Pat Kelsey’s faith in process pays off for Louisville basketball

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Coach Pat Kelsey’s unwavering faith in his first team with Louisville basketball is the most important attribute that has led to their success this season.

Just look at their 3-point shooting. Through the first 13 games of the season, the Cardinals were trending toward being the worst 3-point shooting team in program history.

At the time, they were making 29.9% of their attempts from behind the arc. Kelsey believed then that they were generating good shots and that they would eventually start falling. He didn’t change the offense or start encouraging midrange looks.

The Elder High School alum stuck to the system, and he was right.

U of L is shooting 37.2% from 3 in ACC play.

Glory Days: Kelsey family drive led to state championships at Elder, Roger Bacon

“If we’re hunting great — that means hunting high-percentage shots, great shot, shots that we really value,” Kelsey said. “And when we generate those, I sleep like a baby whether they go in or not. You can’t be on the whims of makes or misses. You have to be process oriented about generating great offense.”

Just like becoming a great team is about the process.

Chucky Hepburn, Koren Johnson and J’Vonne Hadley were the only players Kelsey signed for his first roster at Louisville who had proven themselves over multiple seasons playing in a major college conference.

With everyone else, he was taking a bit of a calculated risk:

The two players who followed him from College of Charleston had big question marks. Could Reyne Smith defend in the ACC? Could James Scott physically hold up against the league’s big men?

Then there was Terrence Edwards Jr., who proved he could score while capturing Sun Belt Player of the Year in 2024, but in his last game at James Madison, he scored 13 largely meaningless points with four turnovers as the Dukes lost to Duke 93-55 in the NCAA Tournament. How would he measure up during a full season in the ACC?

For Noah Waterman, who played during BYU’s first season in the Big 12, he had the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pat-kelseys-faith-process-pays-003921914.html

Author : The Enquirer

Publish date : 2025-02-19 00:39:00

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