What Kenny Payne, Louisville Players Said After 80-59 Loss vs. North Carolina

Read what the head coach of the Cardinals, guard El Ellis and guard/forward Mike James said after their loss vs. the Tar Heels:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program couldn't take advantage of a golden opportunity against an underperforming North Carolina team, getting clobbered 80-59 to move to 2-16 and 0-7 in ACC play.

Here's what head coach Kenny Payne, guard El Ellis and guard/forward Mike James had to say following the loss:

Head Coach Kenny Payne

(Opening statement)

“It’s real simple, I had multiple guys on the court today who didn’t compete. You can’t win. They didn’t play with fire against a very good North Carolina team. You can’t win. Off of our turnovers, they got 23 points -- second chance points they got nine. We missed 10 free throws – that’s mental. Those are mental mistakes. I take nothing away from North Carolina, like I said in the beginning, they’re a very good team. But when you play a game and you get two or more guys that are starting or playing major minutes that are negative 20, it’s impossible to make that up anywhere. I liked the way we started. I liked our energy to start the game, I thought we put them on their heels, just couldn’t sustain it, mentally couldn’t sustain it, couldn’t sustain the focus that we needed, the fight that we needed, the ability to play with physicality like we needed. How many easy shots did we miss in the first half right at the basket at a time when we were up five or six? It could have easily been 10 or 12, it comes back to hurt you at the end.”

(Do you think that you should have been able to make up ground when Armando Bacot went out in the last five minutes of the first half and then again in the second half?)

“I thought it was a pivotal play when [Sydney Curry] got a three-point play to get him his fourth and then Sydney comes right back and gets two fouls. You can’t explain it… on plays that they’re probably not going to make the shot.”

(How do you explain your guys not competing in an atmosphere like this?)

“My question would be, ‘Do you understand where you are? Do you understand what it means to have Louisville across your jersey? Do you understand the history, the pride that comes with this? Are your personal issues bigger than what this program is?’ Basically I’m asking, is your hang-ups, your fears, your insecurities bigger than this program, what it’s done and what it means to so many people? And the answer is no, it’s not. You decided to wear this jersey, you have an obligation to come out here and fight. You’re not just fighting for yourself, you’re fighting for the university, you’re fighting for this community and you’re fighting for your own self and you’re fighting for your teammates. We’ve got guys don’t fully understand that, and I’m not blaming them all the way. I love them, but there is a responsibility that you’re got to have to play a certain way with a certain fight, with a certain togetherness that you’ve got to have to play this game. And to play it here, it means something. And some of them may be just learning what it means. Maybe it’s never been addressed before. Well, I’m addressing it. I don’t want them to walk away not understanding what the history of this program has meant to so many people. And they’re good kids. I am in no way discouraged. They’re going to make mistakes, they’re not robots. But they need to know what it means to be in a Louisville jersey.”

(There was a point in the first half when North Carolina goes on a 14-2 run. They were five points into that run when El Ellis makes a shot, but gets called for an offensive foul. It almost felt like you never recovered from that point on.)

“I can’t really agree with that because there were so many other plays. Mike James misses a dunk. How many did we miss right at the rim, multiple guys. I view it as even when the ref calls a foul and you’re the only one at the basket and he calls a foul and you miss it. Those are three points that we could have had, that you decide, for whatever reason, not to finish, not to have confidence in finishing, not to explode through. The ball has to go through the basket, you’re the only one in the air, and you get hit somewhere else, not the upper body. That was a big play, I don’t know, I didn’t look at the film of it yet, but there were so many other plays that are examples of why we were in that situation.”

(About getting other guys involved in the offense):

“I thought there were spurts where the ball movement got into the lane and put them on their heels. I think everybody touched the ball. I thought we attacked them and it looked the right way. Then it went from that to turnovers and another turnover and then they put us on our heels. At times, the ball seemed like it never got in the gaps, it never got to the lane. The ball movement wasn’t crisp. The attack wasn’t north/south and on top of that you turn the ball over, you are not going to get a quality shot. We were one for 14 from three. I guarantee when you look at those 14 shots, how many were off ball penetration, kick-out threes. How many were just settling for jump shots. They are a long, athletic team, if you settle for jump shots, you are probably not going to make them because they are going to contest them.”

(About finding a consistent lineups)

“I would like to be able to judge it by what I get in practice. I would like to and that is making a big statement when I say that. But happens is I can’t because I have multiple guys that my personal opinion is unable to judge on who is ready to play by how we prepare. If we don’t prepare a certain way, how can I judge it. So, then I am pulling straws and hoping a guy can maybe turn on a light switch knowing that there are no light switches to be turned on. So, we just have to keep plugging away. It was a great question; I wish I had a more definitive answer for you. Except preparation tells you and prepares you for games like this.”

(About Brandon Huntley-Hatfield’s injury status)

“I am still waiting on more information. I know it is something with his foot. Hopefully in the next day or two we get more information. We could have used them today. We got out-rebounded 40-31. He is a big kid who can rebound the ball. We missed him out there today. 

Guard El Ellis and guard/forward Mike James

(After being up on them 15-7, what happened from that point forward, and how instrumental was that play where you made the three and they waved it off? I guess they said you kicked the guy, or what did he say to you?)

El Ellis: “Yeah, we started off really well, and then we just had a lot of mental lapses. They scored a lot of points off our turnovers. And yeah, that play, he told me it’s a new rule they just started. If you kick your foot out any little bit, they have to call it. I mean, that’s my natural shot going that way, so I don’t know what they want me to do about that.”

(About Coach Payne frustration about players out there on a night like tonight and not everybody is out there competing. Did he say that to you guys in the locker room or what’s your thoughts just hearing your coach say that?)

Mike James: “Yeah, he said it in the locker room, and it’s frustrating, it’s disappointing. That’s really it, that’s all I can say about it.”

El Ellis: “I mean, he preaches that a lot. Guys not coming ready to play, having a lot of no shows. As a group, we just don’t understand how big a game this was, how big every game in the ACC is. Like Mike (James) said, there’s not too much to say about that.”

(About UNC getting 23 points off of turnovers and how crucial was it when you turn the ball over)

El Ellis: “Yeah, you can’t turn the ball over against them. They convert almost every possession. Whenever we had a turnover, I had a turnover, I just looked back and they were at the rim finishing, and that’s how they score a lot of buckets, in transition off turnovers. So, when you’re playing them, you have to be very solid, because they’re very aggressive defensively. It causes you to turn the ball over, but you just have to be solid. We started off the game really well, and like I said, we just had those mental lapses. How many turnovers we have, 14? That’s not good, we have to have that number at least to like nine if we want to beat teams, and it can’t be live ball turnovers. It can’t. Giving away too many points.”

(About making improvement in recent games and showing some improvement as a team, was this was a step back today?)

Mike James: “No, I don’t think it was a step back. I just think it was a lesson learned that in these types of games, you just have to come out ready and be focused, be laser focused throughout the whole game. I don’t think it was a step back.”

(Photo of El Ellis, Kenny Payne: Jamie Rhodes - USA TODAY Sports

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter