Pat Kelsey will make his debut as Louisville’s coach on Monday when the Cardinals host in-state foe Morehead State for both teams’ season opener.
The former College of Charleston coach replaces Kenny Payne, whom the Atlantic Coast Conference school fired in March after two seasons.
Kelsey had to essentially recruit a new team for this season. Only graduate walk-on Aidan McCool and his two points return from Payne’s 8-24 squad.
Four Division I 1,000-point scorers highlight a transfer class that recruiting site On3 ranked No. 1 this offseason.
“I think one of the major strengths of our team, in fact I know, is our depth,” Kelsey said after Monday’s 99-54 exhibition victory over Spalding, a local Division III school. “It’s not like you can look at our roster in preparation, circle two names and you’re like, ‘Man, those are the guys that you have to stop.'”
New Cardinals include 6-foot-6 fifth-year swingman Terrence Edwards Jr., last season’s Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. As a senior at James Madison, he scored 17.2 points per game for the 32-4 Dukes. Chucky Hepburn, a 6-2 senior point guard, earned All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors while averaging 9.2 points and 3.9 assists as a junior at Wisconsin.
Morehead State also welcomes a new coach. Jonathan Mattox returns to the Eagles, where he rose from graduate manager to associate head coach in nine seasons.
After two years as an assistant at Murray State, he succeeds Preston Spradlin, whom James Madison hired in the spring. Spradlin capped his eight years at Morehead leading a 26-9 squad that earned the school’s second NCAA Tournament bid in four years.
Dieonte Miles, a 7-foot graduate forward who averaged 5.0 points and 5.0 rebounds last season, is the lone starter among five returning contributors to last season’s Ohio Valley Conference co-champions and tournament winner.
“We’ve got trust in each other, and that’s the biggest thing that goes along with the team,” Miles said at the team’s Media Day. “I feel like our cohesion has been at an all-time high, and if we keep that, I think it’ll be a great year.”
–Field Level Media
