On Tuesday afternoon Louisville Men's Basketball had their opportunity to take center stage at ACC Media Days in Charlotte. Representing the Cards were head coach Pat Kelsey, forward Flory Bidunga and guard Adrian Wooley.
With the women's teams wrapping up their portion of the media days Tuesday morning, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips took the stage to commence the men's session.
The commissioner was asked about his thoughts on the NCAA tournament expanding from 68 to 76 teams starting in 2027:
"With the NCAA Tournament bid expansion, there's been a reduction in the NIT and the women's NIT from 32 to 24. So at the end of the day, it's 100 schools out of 361 or so that are playing basketball that will make the postseason play. I feel good about the NCAA and what they've done, and it's been I think a thoughtful process."
The Protect College Sports Act came up as well. The commissioner was asked about Miami, Florida State, UNC and Clemson tabbing a letter to the House speaker to drop the independence requirement from the Protect College Sports Act and to increase the conference membership limit to 22 (essentially making their paths to exit the conference easier):
"We have 14 schools that feel really good about it that want to sign it, and we have four schools that have an issue with a portion of it, so that's what I'm going to continue to push towards the decision makers and those that have written the Bill to date. But there's been a lot of work across the country on this thing. We'll see kind of where it goes. It passed the Senate 77-23, which in this day and age is — I think it's a pretty strong statement. But it now has to go through the House, and there's a recess right now, and there's going to be an election in early November. I'm not sure what that will mean, but that's kind of where we sit today in early October."
Then it was time for the Cards to hit the stage. Pat Kelsey, the players, Johnny Ballgame and media from The Ville and around the country filled the room.
Kelsey was first up with opening remarks about how exciting it is to be in the room with all the programs that they go up against night in and night out. He expressed while the conference is full of great programs and tradition, that they are all competitors at the end of the day.
When asked about changing his philosophy on roster construction for this upcoming season:
"There's no question that we are intentional this year as to how we built our roster, and there was an emphasis on defense and rebounding and improving our rim protection and our length and our overall physicality I think without losing our offensive firepower as well. You mentioned shooting, and I think one of the hallmarks of our offensive teams the last two years is we've been elite shooting teams, and I think we still are a good, hopefully very good, shooting team. But you know, the length and athleticism that we added hopefully will make us an elite defensive and rebounding team as well in competing at this level. We've had a lot of success the last two years, but I think to take that next step and get over the hump, those were two areas we really needed to address, and I feel like we did."
The size and length down low is inevitable. Kelsey added Big XII defensive player of the year, Flory Bidunga (6'9). Obinna Ekezie Jr (7'2) reclassified to this year, as the #1 center in the class of 2027. For depth, the Cards bring in Gabe Dynes (7'5) from Southern California who will be a solid disruptor based on his length alone.
The Cards are attempting to bring in two "five-for-five" players who are currently ineligible as of last week, Seth Trimble and LJ Wells. Trimble is an athletic guard and leader on the court, who averaged 14 points as a starter for North Carolina last season. Wells was an all-conference forward at Northern Kentucky.
Kelsey was asked about the two players eligibility:
"You asked if it's frustrating. It just is what it is. There's quite a bit of chaos going on right now, and I think coaches have to be able to be flexible and adjust and bob and weave a little bit, and we sure hope those guys both become eligible. Your guess is as good as mine right now. Somehow I've become an expert in what a TRO is and what a stay is and what an injunction is. I wouldn't have known that from a bucket of paint several months ago, so we'll see. We're proceeding and we're coaching and we're operating every day like they will be eligible. That's the only way I know how to do it. If we have to adjust at some point, we will. They were both great additions to our team not only because they're both really good players, but we turned to our leadership council, and these are two members of our leadership council, and we made no decision until, you know, we checked with those guys."
Bidunga took the stage after Coach Kelsey and put some personality on display while answering questions.
When asked what went into his decision to transfer from Kansas to Louisville:
"Oh, man. Coach Kelsey, a great dude, great coach. Again, I've been saying I haven't seen something like him before. Just seeing him as a person, as a coach being able to train with us, practice with us, do the drill with us. You know, my visit really spoke a lot to me. I trust him as a coach, as a player, and I think we can do something special as a team."
He made a joke that he chose the number "40" because it was close to 40, which brought a chorus of laughter from the room.
Wooley was last to the podium for the Cards and is the only scholarship returner. He averaged 8.7 points and 3.9 rebounds in 22 minutes per game a season ago.
The Ville did not shy away when compiling their schedule for the 2026-2027 season. They will play Memphis, Baylor, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan and in the Players Era 16 in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving week to go along with the ACC schedule.
Wooley was asked about the difficulty of the schedule:
"Taking it day by day, man. Next game after next game. I feel like Coach said, it's a day by day thing. He preaches process to us each and every day, so just going throughout the process and just knowing that the next day is probably going to be the best day, and it will be the best day because it's the next game."
After being in Charlotte these last two days, the national perspective on Louisville is that they spent and put together an expensive roster. The expectation is for Kelsey and the Cards to take the next step against elite competition and in the tournament.
Media day in Louisville and the 2026-2027 tipoff luncheon are scheduled for Thursday, with the exhibition opener two weeks from tomorrow at Kansas.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/louisville as Pat Kelsey, Flory Bidunga and Adrian Wooley Take the Stage at ACC Media Day.