What Pat Kelsey Had to Say on the Win at Kansas

Louisville beat Kansas in an exhibition at Phog Allen Fieldhouse last night 89-83.  The Cards trailed 37-36 at the half but caught fire to open the second half and built a double-digit lead they would not surrender.  Postgame Q&A video with select media members as well as highlights from the game are posted below. We take a look at Coach Pat Kelsey breaking down the win with Louisville radio broadcaster Bob Valvano.

Bob (Opening Statement): I have been blessed enough to do a lot of games in this building, and it is a special place to come to – and I don’t often see the visitors go home with smiles on their faces.  I don’t care if it is an exhibition, congratulations, you have to be pleased with the result. 

PK: “It did not feel like an exhibition game.  Didn’t feel like it on the sidelines and I’m sure it didn’t feel like it in the stands.  Man, college basketball it is just special.  The NBA is what it is, and there are a lot of NBA fans and a lot of college basketball fans and a lot of both.  But a big-time atmosphere at a storied venue with two storied programs, even if it is just an exhibition- pretty cool!”

Bob (On the atmosphere of Phog Allen): It is your first real game.  I know you went to the Bahamas, and you played a closed-door game, but this is your first game in an environment like that.  I know you must look at the tape, but your gut reaction – what are you most pleased about?

PK: “You know, they answered the bell.  The resiliency they showed, they jumped on us early on.  The place was going ballistic; the students were screaming at Flory and boo’ing him every time he touched the ball.  That’s a lot, it just reveals the competitive character of this team.  You don’t know until you go into a venue like that, to be able to go there in mid-October and it just seems like the dead of winter and a big-time non-conference matchup.  Big 12/ACC, just the look in our guy’s eyes, they didn’t blink.  That can be an intimidating atmosphere at the beginning, in warmups and especially the way they jumped on us.  But nobody in that circle, on that sideline, in that huddle even blinked.  We found out a lot about our guys from that standpoint.”

Bob (On settling in after a slow start): They got down early 10-3, and everything was going their (Kansas’) way and the place was going bonkers.  I didn’t see in any way where it looked like players felt like they had to play hero ball.  They settled down and played the way you wanted them to play. They were a little anxious and took a few rushed shots, but by and large, to use a baseball term – they were a pitcher trusting their stuff.  They trusted their stuff and it got them back in the game.”

PK: “There is no doubt, we just settled into the game a little bit.  That’s what we said at that timeout.  We just said look, we withstood their first run, settle into the game and just worry about one possession at a time.  That is so cliché and people say take it one day at a time.  We talk about it all the time, I think Coach Cignetti says this at Indiana.  We adopted the verbiage of it, because I think it makes a lot of sense.  It goes back to what our core beliefs are, just one possession.  One possession at a time, our guys did that and continued to bounce back. Even late in the game, we were out of timeouts and had a bunch of guys in foul trouble – but they were resilient and made plays when it mattered.”

Bob (On the revamped defense): Well, you hired coaches that obviously have defensive mantras, and you preached it in the offseason.  In the second half, you certainly got down to business – you held them to 27% 3-point shooting and after a little rocky start, the offense was easy to celebrate. You shot 46% from the 3-point line for the game.  But defensively, they stepped it up when you needed them to and you aren’t going to play a perfect game defensively but in big possessions, they got it done. What are your impressions?

PK: “There has been a major focus on defense and rebounding and we left some out there from a rebounding standpoint. They had 16 offensive rebounds, but I don’t know what their percentage is. I am not about the number of offensive rebounds they get, more than the overall percentage.  I thought overall John (Coach Andrzejek) has done a good job implementing our defense and the guys have bought into it.  We are a work in the progress, just like Kansas is.  It is still mid-October, but we can feel the guys are starting to get it and grasp the technique and schematics of it.  Way more than that, it’s just the 1-2, the tenacity and the grit.  Defense is more about that than anything.  We have a team that is built to be a good defensive team, and I think overall we were pretty good tonight.”

Bob (On Obinna Ekezie’s performance): You have had a couple of really good three-point shooters in your first two years here, and you brought another one in obviously in Obinna Ekezie (laughs).  There was not a doubt in his mind when he caught it, and I shouldn’t have laughed because obviously it was a good shot.  It has good rotation, and Shelstad didn’t surprise us as much by making four threes, but Ekezie, you turned him loose.

PK: “Obi was phenomenal for us.  And gosh, he is beloved on this team.  We have three freshman and a lot of older veteran guys, and they take pride in being big brothers and showing those guys the ropes.  If you ever spend time with any of those freshman, they are awesome dudes.  They love the game and their teammates.  Just to see Obi go out on a big stage like that and not just making those threes, he had five stinking blocks, and we talk about rim protection; he did a great job.”

Bob (On who will be the consistent scorers): Shelstad had 23 points, Trimble with 12, Ekezie with 16 – From night to night will it be different guys or will those be the guys who carry most of the point scoring? 

PK: “It’s early, we have a bunch of guys.  Karter Knox got in some foul trouble early, but I thought he played very impactful in his 12 minutes.  Jackson Shelstad was amazing.  The big thing coming out of this, and you just don’t know until you experience it, is that competitive character of your team.  Do they want that smoke that I talk about all the time?  And I saw it in dude’s eyes tonight and Jackson was one of them.  When those lights came on, that was his realm.  And I have coached some players where you don’t really see that in practice, but when the stakes are high and the lights are on it is a different deal.  He was spectacular tonight, Seth the same thing.  Unbelievable job running the team, got fouled ten times and had seven rebounds.  You know, Jackson four rebounds.  We scrimmaged Ohio State the other day, and I shouldn’t tell you this, but he had the same number of rebounds as I did.  We challenged him and you know what, he went in and gritted out four big rebounds and I’m proud of him. Three steals, four assists and twenty-three points, he was really good.”

Louisville's next exhibition game will be Wednesday, October 28 at 7 pm in the KFC Yum Center against Mercyhurst. The game will be streamed on ACCN Extra.