Louisville basketball is fun, says Kelsey: 'Why wouldn't you wanna play here?'
Louisville head basketball coach Pat Kelsey has a star in true freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr.
Both have helped guide the Cardinals to a 4-0 start, a top-12 ranking, a win over Kentucky, and, most recently, a 106-81 win over Ohio on Saturday.
Brown had 19 points, while also dishing out seven assists and going 3-of-6 from downtown. But his most recent performance against No. 9 Kentucky has been the highlight of the early season. In the Battle of the Bluegrass, Brown scored 29 points on 50 percent shooting, had five assists, and just one turnover.
The former five-star recruit was praised by his coach after the win over Ohio.
“It’s a fun way to play,” Kelsey added when asked about Louisville’s tempo.
“You look at Mikel (Brown). Mikel is hooping. You talk about some of those other guards who decide to go somewhere else, fine. You come to Louisville, we’re gonna hoop, we’re gonna have fun, we’re gonna play fast, we’re gonna share it.”
“Why wouldn’t you want to play here?”
Kelsey previously established Louisville as “point guard U” on The Field of 68’s preseason practice interview. A statement, which, while it drove controversy, was a clear recruiting strategy from the staff.
In his first year as head coach, Louisville point guard Chucky Hepburn broke several school records, won ACC Defensive Player of the Year, and was first-team All-ACC. Hepburn, now with the Toronto Raptors, averaged 16.4 points, 5.8 assists, and a conference-best 2.4 steals. Before he arrived at the U of L, Hepburn had an excellent three-year career as a starting point guard at Wisconsin.
Brown and company have picked up where Hepburn left off as Kelsey tries to establish Louisville as a top destination for point guard prospects. The play of his Cardinals certainly backs it up as the 6-foot-5 freshman has been in double-figures and has tallied at least five assists in each of the first four games of the season.
The Cards’ offense has been towards the top of the nation in offensive efficiency metrics and has yet to score less than 96 points. Plus, even against Kentucky, Louisville missed seven consecutive free throws in the final minutes and could have passed the century mark.
Kenpom ranks Louisville’s offensive efficiency as No. 2 in the nation (Purdue), and the Cards are also in the top-20 in 2-point percentage, assist rate, and 3-point rate.
Louisville is set to have one of the most prolific offenses in college basketball, and according to Kelsey, it’s not just prolific, but fun. Having a superstar freshman will help add to that.
