Louisville's Newcomers Adjusting Well to New Environment

Over the first month of summer workouts, the 13 new players for the Cardinals have had a smooth transition to their new home so far.

Louisville guards Reyne Smith (left) and Chucky Hepburn (right) at practice / University of Louisville Athletics

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - It's been a whirlwind of change for the Louisville basketball program over the last few months. Not long after the end of their disastrous 2023-24 season, second-year head coach Kenny Payne was dismissed, resulting in every one of their scholarship players entering the portal.

In late March, College of Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey was tabbed to be the next man to lead the Cardinals, and he got to work building up the program immediately. He brought on a staff that's a mix of his staff at Charleston and some newcomers, and they were tasked with replacing an entire's roster worth of players.

Fortunately, the new UofL staff excelled on this front. Louisville is welcoming 12 Division I transfers and one high school prospect, with their portal class ranking No. 1 in the nation according to On3.

Late last month, Louisville's newcomers made their way to campus one-by-one, with the program getting their offseason summer workout program started in earlier this month. While the players have only been on campus for roughly month, they have been adjusting well to their new environments.

"It's been amazing," guard/forward J'Vonne Hadley said. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Especially because a lot of us only have one year here. The energy has been one of a kind. I've played four years in college, and this type of energy I haven't experienced yet. I'm grateful for this energy, and I'm grateful to be here with everybody. My teammates, coaches, and just everybody as well. The whole city of Louisville is up right now. I'm excited."

Related: Pat Kelsey, Louisville Players Provide Summer Update

Over the first month, there hasn't been any unpleasant surprises regarding the coaching staff from the players. Kelsey and Co. have been as genuine - and energetic - during the first month of summer workouts as they were during each player's recruitment process, and that's something the entire roster greatly appreciates.

"The very first time I got on the phone with Coach Kelsey, he was just an energetic guy," guard Chucky Hepburn said. "Before I even got on the phone with him, I had just been through his Instagram, and that's the type of coach you want to go play for. He just brings a very energetic character to the team, and it just always brightens the mood. That's what you love to see as a player."

While every scholarship player on the roster is in a new environment, there are a select few who have some familiarity with the staff. Guards Reyne Smith and Kobe Rodgers, plus center James Scott, all opted to follow Kelsey from Charleston to Louisville when they hit they portal.

Being the only three players who know what to expect from Kelsey and the staff over the course of a season, they have started to step forward and take more of a leadership role. This is especially the case for Smith, who is one of eight players entering their final year of collegiate eligibility.

"It's on us to kind of lead more vocally, and get the guys to kind of understand what Coach Kelsey and the rest of staff expect, and kind of their personalities," he said. "Coach Kelsey, he's a different kind of guy. Real quirky and everything like that. So you get the guys to just kind of figure that out, and how to lead from a from a vocal standpoint from the standard and the culture."

Over the last couple weeks, Kelsey has started to slowly incorporate both his offensive and defensive systems into practice. On the offensive end, Kelsey utilizes a fast-paced, three-heavy, modern five-out system. Defensively, Kelsey says that, the majority of the time, they run a half court man-to-man system.

It's still very early in the offseason, but so far, the players like the team's capabilities on both ends of the court.

"In terms of the offense, I would say it's pretty similar to Colorado's, in terms of just a bunch of versatile guys," Hadley said. "Very similar in that sense. I know a little bit about the offense already, so I'm already a little bit used to that. That puts me, I would say, in that leadership role where I can help everybody else with that as well.

"Defense, we're gonna be a problem. I'm already know it. Just in practice, it shows. We have a really, really talented team. We have length, we're versatile, we're athletic, we have a little bit everything. When we start clicking in a couple of weeks, it's gonna be a problem for anybody that we push play, for sure."

On top of working hard to get used to their new on-court home, the newcomers have also made an effort to ingratiate themselves within the Louisville community as a whole. Several players have already made a handful of appearances in and around the city, and have made a cognizant effort to learn more about their new home.

"I love the city of Louisville," Hepburn said. "It means a lot to I know that basketball means a lot to the city, and we're gonna try our best to bring this back around."

(Photo of Reyne Smith and Chucky Hepburn via University of Louisville Athletics)

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