Pat Kelsey is one of the most electric personalities in college basketball. The 49-year-old head coach was hired at Louisville during the offseason to revive a program in dire need of new life.
His most recent plea to students reflects the rapid downfall of the Cardinals in recent years.
Rick Pitino was fired by Louisville in October of 2016 amid an FBI investigation into an alleged “pay for play” scandal involving Adidas. He never won less than 20 games during his entire 15-year tenure, only missed out on the NCAA Tournament twice, and cut down the nets as national champions in 2013.
The last seven years have been rough.
David Padgett did not make March Madness in his lone year as the interim head coach. Chris Mack was hired to succeed Pitino as the full-time hire in 2018. The Cardinals went dancing that first year but they lost in the first round and did not return.
- 2017/18: Padgett, 22-14
- 2018/19: Mack, 20-14
- 2019/20: Mack, 24-7
- 2020/21: Mack, 13-7
- 2021/22: Mack, 13-19
Mack was fired on Jan. 26, 2022 and Kenny Payne eventually took over. His brief tenure was historically bad. He won only games during the 2022-23 season. He won eight last year.
Louisville had not won only 10 games or less since 1944. Payne was fired.
Enter Pat Kelsey.
Nobody in college basketball brings more vigor than Kelsey, who went 75-27 in the last three years at Charleston and 186-95 in the nine years at Winthrop before that. Yes, he wins. But perhaps more importantly, he knows how to create a buzz around his program.
The Cardinals added a lot of high-profile transfers during the offseason. They are expected to finish in the upper half of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings as a potential March Madness team right away.
Kelsey went around campus on Thursday to help build excitement for this Saturday’s home game against Tennessee and recruit students to show up. His energy is infectious.
Yo! Saturday…Noon. Cards/Vols. Let’s get it. pic.twitter.com/gDMWUDzJ9y
— Pat Kelsey (@patkelsey) November 8, 2024
This walk around campus is something Kelsey has done for years. It is part of his weekly routine, dating back to his time at Winthrop. It really became a tradition at Charleston. So he was probably going to take his enthusiastic stroll anyway.
With that being said, Louisville spent $21.9 million on basketball in 2022. Now only two years later, its head coach has to manufacture student engagement. The program’s decline over the last two coaches’ unsuccessful runs is catastrophic. Pat Kelsey is tasked with righting the ship!