It has been seven days since Pat Kelsey was named the head basketball coach at Louisville. He is already putting the school’s NIL funds to work.
The Cardinals are going hard in the transfer portal.
Kelsey, who was in awe of his new office, is presumably mind-blown by the amount of Name, Image and Likeness funds at his disposal. 502Circle, the official collective of Louisville athletics, is one of the best-run and most profitable NIL arms in the country.
David and Rick Kueber are two of the school’s biggest donors/boosters. They immediately announced that all new revenue generated through 502Circle memberships, up to $1 million, will be matched by their company, which encompasses Planet Fitness, Sun Tan City and Buff City Soap, after Kelsey’s hire. The new head coach made a big push of his own upon arrival to campus.
Not long thereafter, Kelsey swiped a large donation away from his new school’s biggest rival, Kentucky. There is money in the bank.
Pat Kelsey wants to spend it.
Sun Belt Player of the Year Terrence Edwards Jr. averaged 17.2 points on 42.7% shooting with 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game for James Madison during the 2023/24 season. He helped lead the Dukes to a win over Wisconsin in the first round of March Madness. They went 32-4.
JMU head coach Mark Byington was hired by Vanderbilt shortly after year’s end. Edwards entered the transfer portal not long thereafter. It was thought that he would join his coach in Nashville.
That is not what happened! Kelsey got him to commit to Louisville.
Edwards might not be the only player that Kelsey and the Cardinals’ NIL money can poach from their former coach. They want FAU star Johnell Davis, who averaged 18.2 points per game last season and entered the portal earlier this week.
It is expected that he will follow former Owls head coach Dusty May to Michigan. Not if Kelsey has something to say about it!
If Davis ends up at Louisville, we know why. If not, the school’s new head coach will shift his focus and keep his foot on the gas. He clearly expects to win right away with a talented new-look roster!