LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Eric Crawford and I talked with first-year Louisville men's basketball coach Pat Kelsey on Thursday morning about a 1,000,001 topics.
What three all-time basketball personalities would he like to invite to dinner? Kelsey picked James Naismith, the inventor of the game; Skip Prosser, his mentor at Xavier University and Norman Dale, the feisty, fictional high school basketball coach from the iconic movie "Hoosiers."
How have Kelsey and his family transitioned from Charleston, South Carolina, to their new life in Louisville? Kelsey called it a 120-day whirlwind but said that he and his wife, Lisa, recently closed a deal on their new Louisville home. Their three children are enrolled in local schools.
Asked for books that he would recommend, Kelsey picked a pair:
- "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't," which has sold more than 5 million copies since Jim Collins wrote it in 2002.
- "The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance," authored by W. Timothy Gellway and recommended by Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
But my favorite Kelsey response was not an answer. It was a question that he used to answer a question that I asked: "Are you a fiery motivator?"
A smile stretched across his face as Kelsey leaned forward on his chair into the question.
"What do you think?" he said. "Am I a fiery motivator? Is the pope Catholic? Does a one-legged duck swim in a circle?"
QUICK EXCERPT: Rick Bozich and Eric Crawford sit down with Louisville's Pat Kelsey
Informed sources say that you can interpret thatas a "YES!"
Kelsey said after morning walk-through practice and film sessions on gamedays, he typically isolates himself from everyone, including his team and his family, and puts himself in something that he calls a cave.
"I don't go home because I don't think I'm much fun to be around on the day of a game," he said. "I pretty much go into my own seclusion. Get my mind right. Take all my notes. Do all my game prep.
"The next time the team sees me is when I go in front of them to address them for the pregame."
I wondered if the fiery motivation ever resulted in casualties, like a broken clipboard or spilled water bottle.
"When I say a fiery, passionate motivator, I'm a fiery passionate person," Kelsey said. "I don't need to break stuff and things like that. I wear my emotions on my sleeve ...
"...every once in a while, I say the politically correct things. Guys need a little aggressive counseling. I mean, look, we work our butts off. We get after it. I told you our practices aren't for the faint of heart.
"We go to work. We're in film session, and it's serious as a train wreck.
"But you know what? We have fun, too. Coach Prosser used to say all the time that you have to make them laugh. You've got to make them smile every once in a while.
"In every journey that every team is on, every organization, every business, every enterprise, there's ups, there's downs, there's goods, there's bads.
"It's a grind at times, and you have to find ways to have enjoyment every single day as well. So part of this process is enjoying it as well. And I think that's when I'm at my best and when our teams are at their best."
On Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center, Kelsey and his coaching staff were interviewed by former Card Luke Hancock at an event attended by several thousand U of L season ticket holders.
In a 1 minute and 52 second video clip shared by the U of L men's basketball team X account, Kelsey showed his fiery nature while talking about what he liked about his first team. The Cards will depart for the Bahamas on July 29 to play a pair of exhibition games.
"We're going to be good," Kelsey told the crowd. "You mark that down right now. We're going to be good. Get your butt out here, 22,000 strong. Tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Tell your relatives. Get out here."
I asked him about the conviction that percolates inside his outlook.
"I mean, just confidence in what we do and how we do it," he said. "That's what I believe. I forget that everything I say is always recorded and sent out.
"We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. I love coaching these guys. I love their makeup. I love the ability. I love the talent.
"I love the process and the buy-in, right, that all these guys have to what we're doing and how we're building it. It is going to be a process. We're not there yet, but it's only mid-July.
"Over the next several months, we'll come closer together. Guys will become more familiar and comfortable with what we do and with each other. I love where we're at."
Louisville Basketball Coverage:
- CRAWFORD | Kelsey shoots for the stars in new hype trailer: 'Louisville basketball is back'
- CRAWFORD | No 'fight?' Louisville's Kelsey talks offense and defense, without the f-word
- BOZICH | Louisville basketball newcomers here to win now, starting with head start in Bahamas
- 1-on-1 | Louisville's Pat Kelsey talks players, expectations and his first 70 days on the job
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