#1 – UNC || #2 – NC State || #3 – Wake Forest || #4 – Virginia || #5 – Clemson ||#6 – Miami
Remember when Chris Mack was forced out at Louisville, and Louisville fans began clamoring for the school to hire “one of their own?”
That ended up being Kenny Payne, and Payne ended up being a total disaster.
Full disclosure: based on what John Calipari and former Kentucky players said about Payne, we thought he’d do well. As it turns out, that was a foolish take.
Payne had a two-year record with the Cardinals of 12-52, and the same Louisville fans who wanted a hometown hero just wanted a competent coach.
They got that in Pat Kelsey, who had a terrific first year with the Cards, running up a 27-8 record in his first season, and finishing in second place in the ACC.
Expectations were sky-high last year, but Louisville didn’t do as well. Partly that is because star freshman point guard Mikel Brown only played in 21 games, missing 14 with back problems.
He missed the first six ACC games, which were at Cal and Stanford, home against Duke, BC, and Virginia, and on the road against Pitt.
Louisville lost to Stanford, Duke, and Virginia in that stretch. Brown was never 100% last year, but we got a glimpse of his potential when he just devastated NC State on February 9.
In that game, he hit 10-14 three-point shots, shot 14-23 overall, and finished with 45 points. It was one of the finest shooting exhibitions we’ve ever seen.
But then he was out again for the ACC Tournament.
And the worst part of last season?
Louisville fans – a vocal minority at least – were furious about the so-called dip from 27 wins to 24. What did they expect? Kelsey never really had his best player at full strength. Honestly, it was the worst fan base we’d seen since the Wake Forest fans turned on Jeff Bzdelik. It was as if they totally forgot about the stunning misery of the Payne era.
Here’s something you probably didn’t know about Louisville basketball: the Cardinals had won at least 10 games since 1943-44. That was a streak of nearly 80 years of double-digit wins. We’re not sure anyone else can say that, and, despite the boo-birds, Kelsey got things back on track.
Despite what some Card fans may think, Kelsey came to Louisville with a solid track record.
After working for Skip Prosser and Wake Forest for a few years, Kelsey took the Winthrop job, and, after a 14-17 debut season, never won less than 18 games. That’s not impressive in the ACC, but in the Big South, it’s hugely impressive.
He finished there with a 186-95 record before moving to Charleston.
He only stayed there for three seasons, but racked up a 75-27 record over three seasons.
Prior to Louisville, his record then was 261-122, and that’s outstanding.
Why?
Because it’s very difficult to win big in smaller conferences, and the man’s only losing season was his first. He’s been consistently excellent, including his first two years at Louisville, where his average record is 25.5-9.9.
Some people just can’t be pleased, but maybe they’ll be happier with this year’s team. So what is Kelsey working with?
Returnees
- London Johnson – 6-3 SR
- Adrian Wooley – 6-4 JR
- Will Hanke – 6-4 SO
Portal Players
- Jackson Shelstad – 6-1 SR (Oregon)
- Flory Bidunga – 6-9 JR (Kansas)
- Karter Knox – 6-6 JR (Arkansas)
- Alvaro Folgueiras – 6-10 SR (Iowa)
- De’Shayne Montgomery – 6-4 SR (Dayton)
- Gabe Dynes – 7-5 SR (USC)
Freshmen
- Obinna Ekezie – 7-2/5 star
- Boyuan Zhang – 6-8/4 star
- Isaac Ellis – 6-1/3 star
The only player of note who returns is Adrian Wooley, but he was solid last season.
His role changed a lot last season, largely after Brown’s injury. He filled in at point guard, which he handled reasonably well.
Down the stretch, he averaged 11.4 ppg in his last seven starts, which was almost double what he did earlier in the season.
He also emerged as a solid defender.
Ultimately, he averaged 8.7 ppg, 3.9 boards, and 1.8 assists in 22.4 minutes. He also shot 35% from deep and 45% overall.
Not bad for a kid who came from Kennesaw State.
He’s going to be leaned on a lot for leadership this season.
As for the portal transfers, Flory Bidunga is the big name. An extraordinarily athletic big man, Bidunga transferred in from Kansas. His skills are still raw, but can he block shots, rebound, dunk, and run? Yes – and then some.
He still needs refinement, but Bidunga is a ridiculous talent.
Shelstad had a solid 2.5 years at Oregon, but a serious hand injury derailed him last year after just 12 games.
He’s a fast and resourceful point guard and there’s a good chance that he outperforms Brown. He could be a perfect fit for Kelsey’s preference for running.
For most of us, our last impression of Folgueiras was his magnificent three to chop down the Florida Gators in March’s Sweet Sixteen.
But this should be telling: his nickname is El Pulpo Fol, which means the Octopus, and the name Alvaro means “all-aware guardian.”
You literally couldn’t have a cooler set of names.
He is very versatile, and can cycle through all three frontcourt positions. The guy is going to be a challenge for ACC rivals. He should pair really well with Shelstad.
As for Montgomery, Kelsey calls him a “dog.” He’s an excellent defender, and was 19th nationally last season in steals at Dayton, with 77 total. He’s also got some hops and shoots well, hitting 49% overall from the floor. He’s going to be a factor, and at a minimum, Louisville should have three outstanding guards.
Finally, there’s Dynes. He didn’t play a whole lot at USC, but he is 7-5, and that inherently poses some problems.
Even if all he does for Louisville is to guard the lane, it’s going to be very difficult to shoot over him. Remember Tacko Fall at UCF, and how much trouble Duke had with him in the NCAA tournament?
Dynes is only an inch shorter than Fall.
However, he’ll probably be third on the depth chart, or possibly fourth, behind Bidunga, The Octopus, and freshman Obinna Ekezie, Jr.
Ekezie, whose father played at Maryland under Gary Williams, was a real coup for Kelsey.
Originally in the class of ’27, Ekezie reclassified. He has a 7-3 wingspan and a 9-4 standing reach. Apparently, the plan for him is to be Bidunga’s understudy this year, and he seems okay with that.
It’s pretty clear that if you want to score against the Cards this year, you’d better get to the basket quick or have some damn good three-point shooters, because this team has three outstanding shotblockers.
As for Zhang, he was a Top 50 recruit, but has only been in the U.S. for a year. He signed with Louisville because, he said, it was “the best college basketball program I’ve ever seen and experienced.”
As we said, he’s only been here a year. Louisville is an excellent program, but just down the road is Kentucky, and then there’s Duke, UConn, Arizona, and others that are also outstanding. But whatever makes him happy.
He’s a really good shooter and also apparently quite smart. He also has a high release that’s difficult to block.
We don’t know how much he will play this year, or how he’ll fit in with his teammates, but he’s potentially a big pain in the tuchus.
Like Ekezie, Ellis reclassified. He played in the Overtime Elite league, where he put up 29.5 ppg, and 8.9 assists last year. In the playoffs, he boosted that to 31.5 points and 9.4 assists.
He also set the OTE single-game scoring record with 56.
A native of Hickory, he originally committed to South Carolina before changing his mind. And while he did reclassify, he turns 20 in December.
Like former Blue Devil Jared McCain, Ellis has a huge social media presence, with over 1 million followers on Tik Tok and 400,00 on Instagram, and he and brother Eli, who plays for Charleston, have a popular YouTube account as well.
Any way you cut it, Louisville looks loaded. This is not going to be an easy team for anyone to deal with.
However, given the fickle nature that Louisville fans showed last year, Kelsey and company better produce. Otherwise, Big Red Nation may challenge Kentucky’s Big Blue Nation for the least rational fan base in college basketball.
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