Thursday’s Basketball Media Day at Floyd was a little different from the familiar drill.
There was the usual round of interviews, of course, starting with Pat Kelsey. But after that came something I can’t remember seeing before: assistant-coach Q&As, with Ronnie Hamilton first, then John Andrzejek, followed by Sean Dixon.
And then came the part that really changed the feel of the day - actual practice observation.
No photos. No video. Just eyes and ears.
The team started out seated in chairs facing a video board for what turned into a 15-minute breakdown of practice data. It was all very specific: individual stats, clips of situational work, praise mixed with criticism, and plenty of detail about late-game spots - up 3 with XX seconds left, down 4 with XXX seconds to go.
Kelsey handled some of it, but most of the rapid-fire teaching came from assistants Mitch Johnson and Jermaine Ukaegbu, along with Andrzejek. The whole thing moved fast, with the clock in play, though Kelsey used his head coach authority to send his own segment into overtime.
If there was one thing that stood out most, it was Kelsey’s intensity.
He already comes off with plenty of force in public, but in that setting it sounded like the volume got turned up even higher. As one quick one-on-one put it, with a smile, “Sometimes Pat Kelsey isn’t easy.”
Kelsey also made a notable point earlier in the week at the ACC confab when he said he and the team are preparing for the season as if Seth Trimble and LJ Welles - who are currently legally ineligible - will be available to play. On Tuesday, when asked whether that approach came from legal counsel or NCAA reps, he kept it simple.
“No,” replied Coach Kelsey, “It’s the only way I feel comfortable with it.”
There was plenty else to take in once practice opened up. Obinna Ekezie Jr., the 7-2 big man, kept burying treys in the Three Pointer Drill, and it was as eye-catching as it sounds.
He wasn’t the only one knocking down shots from deep, but he was certainly the one that drew the biggest reaction. Asked what he wants to do at Louisville, the former St.
Raphael Giant said, “Win a national title.”
He also said he’s reconnected with his 8th grade classmates.
Asked the resident Spaniard, Álvaro Folgueiros, “Barca or Real Madrid?”
“That’s the first question anybody in Spain asks. Real Madrid. Always.”
And when someone asked him why he chose Louisville, his answer was blunt.
“It was a professional decision.”
Bo Zhang, meanwhile, continues to come along in English even though Kelsey noted the Asian freshman forward sometimes doesn’t understand slang. Zhang said he’d barely known a word of English a year ago, and before coming to the States he’d never even heard of Louisville, Kentucky - no Kentucky Derby, no Muhammad Ali.
Jackson Shelstad added his own praise for the group, calling it: “This is the best connected team I’ve ever played on.”
Some of that, he said, goes to Team Social Chairman Will Hanke.
And one final bit of clarification from Kelsey came when he was asked why the team will play only two exhibitions when a third is available. The answer: there’s a closed scrimmage.
“A secret scrimmage,” he joked when asked against whom.
He then explained that those sessions are useful for both schools because they allow teams to work on specific issues, plays, sets and situations without fans and without a time clock. It’s with Ohio State, he said.
In Other News...
Florida State Has A Chance To Make A Real ACC Statement Tonight
Florida State gets a timely chance to make some noise in the ACC tonight when it meets Louisville in a game that carries more weight than a typical conference date this early in the season. Both teams are looking for a win to help their records, and the matchup has enough familiar pressure points to shape the night, from how the Seminoles handle Louisvilles defense to whether the Cardinals can assert themselves on both sides of the ball.
Ashton Daniels is a central figure for Florida State, and how he fares against Louisville could go a long way toward deciding whether the Seminoles can turn this into the statement game they are chasing. The Cardinals have their own strengths and weaknesses to sort through on offense and defense, but the bigger question is whether they can keep Florida State from seizing momentum and turning the upset prediction into a real jolt for the league race. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Faces A Friday Night Test It Cant Afford To Fail
Louisville heads into Friday night needing a response, and it comes with a tricky trip to Florida State. At 2-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play, the Cardinals are still trying to steady a season that has already put them in an early bind, which makes this one feel a little more urgent than a typical league game in October.
Florida State is coming off a win over Virginia, helped by quarterback Ashton Daniels accounting for five rushing touchdowns, so Louisville will have its hands full trying to slow a confident offense on the road. The Cardinals do get a boost on the defensive side with Koen Entringer back from injury, and his return gives Louisville at least one familiar piece to lean on as it tries to avoid letting another winnable opportunity slip away. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Florida State Test May Come Down To One Offensive Absence
Louisville heads into a crucial matchup with Florida State with one key piece of good news already in hand: starting defensive back Koen Entringer is set to play. For a team trying to keep its footing in a game with real weight, having Entringer available helps stabilize the back end as the Cardinals turn their attention to a Seminoles offense that will demand focus from the start.
The bigger question now sits on the other side of the ball, where running back Keyjuan Brown remains questionable and is shaping up as a game-time decision. Brown leads Louisville in rushing yards, which makes his status one of the most important variables on the board for a Cardinals offense that would prefer to attack Florida State with as much balance as possible. For now, Louisville can count on one starter being ready, but the outlook for its ground game still hangs in the balance. [Read more 🡒]