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The differences were jaw-dropping, starting with the final score.
Louisville men’s basketball began the Pat Kelsey era with a 111-59 exhibition win over Bahamas Select on Tuesday night inside a ballroom at the Baha Mar resort in Nassau.
The Cardinals’ romp doesn’t count toward anything; but it should go a long way in restoring the faith of a beleaguered fan base that was subjected to more losses by 20-plus points than victories during the past two seasons under former head coach Kenny Payne.
Kelsey still hasn’t missed in that regard since being handed the reins of the program in late March.
First, the 49-year-old Cincinnati native set the tone with a passionate introductory news conference. Then, he and his staff built a roster from scratch after every scholarship player from U of L’s 2023-24 team hit the NCAA transfer portal in the wake of the regime change.
All that was left to do was roll the ball out onto the court and see if their collection of veteran talent lived up to its No. 1 ranking on On3.com.
“The best — you guys haven’t even seen yet,” said Brian Kloman, Kelsey’s longest-tenured assistant, less than two weeks before the Cards departed for the Bahamas. “The best thing, I think, is going to be the product you see on the floor and how you can see real basketball being played at a high level.”
To be sure, there’s plenty of room for growth between now and the 2024-25 season opener Nov. 4 against Morehead State at the KFC Yum! Center. But, if Kelsey’s team made one thing clear Tuesday night, it’s that the floor is higher than it ever was when Payne was at the helm.
Louisville’s ball movement was mesmerizing out of the gate. After only 10 full-go practices to prepare for this Caribbean excursion, it needed less than 20 minutes to notch more assists than it did during a single game between 2022-24 and finished with 38, which would have been a program record had this counted for real, on 43 made field goals.
The high-water mark is 34 — set…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/louisville-basketball-behind-3-point-005040456.html
Author : The Courier Journal
Publish date : 2024-07-31 00:50:40
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