Marching Into Madness | Chapter 4: Blue and Bloodied

A cold wind is blowing through Louisville.

The only bikinis you'll see around here this time of year will be in the beloved Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.

The meat of these months is a grind.

And for a team who's trying to crack the top 10.

These birds are gonna have a big target on their backs.

They're flying into the thick of it.

A blizzard of blue bloods await.

All hoping to eat these cards up, feathers and all.

You know, just this triangle of, you know, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, uh, some of the best to ever put a jersey on, it's , it's real basketball.

Went to college down here, worked down here at UNC Wilmington, NC State, lived in Raleigh for six years, so a lot of great memories, a lot of great people.

Anytime I get a chance to come back here, it's always love.

You have a tradition rich program that is still, you know , up on a pedestal, and any chance you get to, uh, you know, solidify yourself as one of the best teams in the country, and I do believe Louisville is, you don't get to do that often, but tonight is definitely one of them.

You have a really good North Carolina team and one of the most storied venues in college basketball history tonight.

That would do a whole heck of a lot for our seating.

We're playing North Carolina tonight.

There's gonna be millions of people watching.

Our regular season is gonna be defined by this week, so I understand the stakes.

I know that.

If you're gonna do any damage in the ACC, you gotta go through two of the most storied programs in college basketball, Duke and UNC.

Incarnation's been getting bullied by these Blue Bloods for way too long.

Everybody knows the only way to stop a bully is by bopping him in the mouth, but easier said than done, especially when it's on their home turf.

Popping the paint, sharpen my page.

Father would my lane and you going no grave, but my dog don't play.

Blood on the walls and y'all don't do.

All I say God won't They're starting to get all So let's go dance.

to know They had to go send him my blood because I'm.

With me.

Providence.

That.

I'd like to kill who I know.

They It's halftime here at the Dean Dome, and if you're one of the 6 people wearing red, you've probably been getting picked on.

But you're also feeling pretty good .

Cards are keeping pace.

But it's tough to beat an empire at its own game.

They have a Death Star sized program.

So Louisville's gonna have to rebel alliance this shit.

Louisville's in the process of building their own Death Star, and it's a solid start having one of the most well funded NIL collectives in the nation.

Millions of dollars have been earmarked for facilities, salaries, and player compensation.

It's a game of high stakes when you're talking billions in returns.

I'm kind of a design guy.

I'm an amateur artist, and well, I walked in here and I was like, I'm in a dream world because this is exactly what I always had in my mind as what a hip.

Happening college basketball offices would look like.

So my first job was the freshman basketball coach at Elder High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

It didn't pay much at all, probably 500 bucks for the entire season, and I was at that point in my life where I had to pay bills and my dad said, you know, why don't you just come work for me and for Mr.

McCluskey at the car dealership and you can go to practice every day at 3, but you show up at the dealership at 7:30 a.m. and you sell cars till you have to leave for practice.

I mean, how cool is this?

This is a wow I mean 8 baskets in here.

You have a zero gravity treadmill right here for guys that are injured.

Somehow this machine allows you to like train without any wear and tear on your body.

The first day showing up to sell cars and I was like, Dad, I have no idea what to do and he was just like just go take an up and you'll screw up and you'll you'll, you'll learn from it and figure it out.

One up is when you walk up to a customer, you shake their hands, you say welcome to Kelsey Chevrolet, welcome to McCluskey Chevrolet, whatever it is.

And it's on social media and it went viral when they showed me this office and they walked in here and they were like, you know, we're looking around.

I'm like, wow, it's a really cool lounge.

This is hip.

This is my office office.

Uh, seems like every recruit I talked to for those months when we were putting our team together saw that video and they all thought it was hilarious.

Sales is sales.

You gotta sell yourself.

They'll buy a car from you if they believe in you and they trust you.

And uh that was a phenomenal experience.

I learned a lot about life and about business.

What's cool about Louisville is I make one little comment like, is there any way they could put a bed back there?

And they were like the next morning, boom, there's a bed back here so I start living back here.

So it's a mess, but.

There's a, there's a sauna with red laser infrared fitness back here.

It's just sick.

Like what are you, what are we doing?

Check this out.

Look over here.

What are we doing?

This is freaking nuts.

I'm just Joe Bag of donuts from Winthrop University.

And it's kind of the same thing on a much different scale, but when I got into college coaching, I screwed up a bunch and learned a bunch but worked my butt off.

They've made a major investment in PK coordination, putting all their trust in his hands, and to make the magic happen, he's placed all his trust in the coaching staff that helped him get here.

This is Eli's world.

As you guys know, you've, you've spent time with Eli.

He's the best strength and conditioning coach, not in college basketball in the history of college basketball.

Come on, see.

What he does with our players' bodies, minds, his ability to, to solidify our culture every single day with our guys is special.

So I was assistant at Arizona on the men's basketball staff and my mentor comes in and he goes Pat Kelsey from Winthrop is on the phone and I'm like, Who the hell is that?

Where the hell is that?

And um he does what he does and you know I blink my eyes and I'm on a plane going to South Carolina a day later he shows me facilities, his vision, lays everything out.

I go in I sit down in the office and it's like I'm sitting across from him.

And all the other assistant coaches are like in a semicircle kind of behind me so I'm like kinda trapped in there I'm like OK and he said.

Are you gonna join this team?

And I'm like, well, coach, like I need some time, man.

I just flew across the country.

Like I'm not ready to accept the job and he goes to the checklist again.

He's like, so you felt good about everything?

I said, Yeah.

And he goes, So is that a commitment?

And I go , Yeah, that's a commitment.

I'm gonna join the staff and everybody throws their hands up there, starts clapping, and then I leave.

I'm like, What the hell just happened?

And I go back to Tucson.

I pack all my stuff up, and I think I was there two days later.

I mean, do you want this shot out here or?

Um, I just try to be the most authentic version of myself I could possibly be, and I'm not for everybody.

I'm the best version of myself.

I have the most fun at my job if, if I just am who I am every day and I let the chips fall where they may 4 freaking dribbles.

The happiest version of myself is just to be who I am and that's.

A little nuts.

But that's what I do.

I do nuts.

OK.

Being the head coach of a Power Four program is a 24/7 grind where you're hardly ever home.

In fact, lines blur between your real wife and your work wives and who you're taking out on a dinner date Saturday night.

Be who you is and not who you ain't, because if you ain't who you is, you is who you ain't.

Billy Shakespeare says it another way, to thine own self be true.

All right, now I gotta, I gotta go.

Go around every person, your middle name and your street name like that you grew up on the street you grew up on.

Middle name is Joseph Tree Ridge.

OK, Joseph.

Eli Alan Wilshire, what is screams Mels only.

Thornbury.

I called him Thor.

They call the joker Thor.

William Scottwood.

No, mine is, what's, what's his first name middle name name Onyekai Shinnecock.

We just have this very, very unique staff with big personalities.

You talk about like a pop culture star, that's Thomas Carr.

He is hilarious.

He can speak to rich guys, poor guys, white guys, black guys.

He can, he, he's an expert on every show on Netflix, but he's an expert on every way to guard the pick and roll as well.

Very, very unique personality.

Mitch Johnson, he's, uh, he's a pleaser.

If everything is not totally in order and I look at him, he knows it.

He just runs in the other direction to try to go fix it.

Eli's a stinking monster.

That is a dude.

He looks like he's cut out a stinking granite, man, and he's our heart and soul.

The toughness of our program starts in there.

Brian Cloman is Norm in Cheers.

When Norm walked in the building, everybody knew who he was and he was the life of the party.

Coaches, players, recruits, parents, everybody was at ease.

Brian is one of one.

And then Mike, Mike's the mad scientist.

If coaching was the medical world, Mike's walking around with a white coat with a clipboard, and he's a genius.

And when he talks sometimes I make him slow down because he's so stinking smart.

I need to absorb it and take a little bit of time.

So that's, that's kind of Mike.

I got a bunch of flaws and faults from a leadership standpoint, but I think one of my gifts is letting people be who they are.

They get me, uh, I get them.

And I say this with every fiber of my being, I think I have the best coaching staff in the country.

Xavier, you locked in?

I mean, it's a big deal right here.

You're about to be.

I, I typically try to get, you know, some kind of haircut cleaned up before game day, just to kind of signify what, you know, what we're about to embark on.

As a coach, if you understand where a kid is coming from or what he's been through or what he's looking to get, then, and you're with that, you're, you're aligning yourself with the goals that that kid has, at the end of the day, your team's gonna have the success it's supposed to have.

And our guys are as prepared as any team in the country for every game, uh, you know, not, not putting any more pressure or any more incentive on this game, but, you know, the lights will be a little bit brighter, the music will be a little bit louder.

Um, you know, once, once that ball is tipped, it's, it comes down to going out there and just, and just making plays.

There's no turning back once you step up to the bully.

You gotta go win your game.

You gotta go win your game.

Ain't no half stepping out this motherfucker.

But sometimes you miss.

And the big bad bully doesn't.

KP KP transition.

You're just standing there.

Failure is not an option at this level.

For anyone The stakes are too high.

Our coverage right now.

We're not on the dance.

We're not beating it up.

Too much has been invested.

Hey, we're joking.

Too much pride is on the line.

Join us for 50 today.

Too early in the second half, that's what fucked us.

He was in foul trouble.

I know it's not.

He's not fucking funny, bro.

He's not.

That *** was fucking fucking dancing on the fucking court like that's not even him.

That's not him.

He comfortable with shit.

And he just took over a whole second half of the game that we should have won.

Like we have to figure that out.

Like we're gonna play better guards than that.

And when adversity hit we gotta pick each other up.

We gotta stop that snowball effect.

Like we come to the huddle that shit just feel dead and that shit contagious like.

Right, this is Biggest we've ever been hit in the mouth and it's really, really gonna test our resolve and it's gonna test the core of our culture, um, whether we'll splinter whether we'll stick together.

And if I know you guys the way I know you guys is we'll stick together we'll have great resolve, um.

Let's stick together.

Let's stick together.

We'll figure this thing out.

Bring it in.

Love you guys.

No choice, right?

You got no choice.

Hey, together on 3123 together.

You go to war with the army you have, but you build that army by recruiting those who will not retreat but always follow you into battle.

This team has to buy into that philosophy that they are the right people in the right place to get the job done.

Before I actually came over to the US, Winthrop had come over and played, and we played them in a scrimmage.

I coached that game, uh, and so we kind of just built our relationship there.

And when he went to Charleston.

He called and said, would you be interested, and I basically said, I'm in, you've just gotta recruit my wife, and he obviously did a good job with that, and, uh , we spent 3 years in Charleston, it was, it was awesome, and then he said, are you gonna come to Louisville?

I was like, well, I moved halfway round the world originally, to work with you, so, yeah, I'm gonna move 12 hours down the road, I'm in.

Uh, so that was an easy piece for me.

Guys like these that have been around me so long, they're not afraid to challenge me and confront me as well.

I'm emotional.

I get passionate.

Shooters over here, shooters over here, shooters over here, shooters over here, shooters, you know, you don't have to be the smartest one in the room, but you better own the smartest room is what I say all the time, and I wouldn't trade my guys for anything.

This group that we've managed to put together with a bunch of skill, a bunch of toughness, a bunch of grit, really high IQ guys, I think people are gonna be really pleased with the product that they get to support and believe in and be a part of this year.

With PK I don't know that you could find a more loyal human being in general.

We go from Charleston to Louisville.

And he takes his whole staff.

That never happens.

We got guys that he believes in, we believe in, um, that have never coached at this level that are now coaching at this level and doing an unbelievable job.

But like, you have to start somewhere.

Gotta start somewhere, um, and I think the way, the way we've started is, is pretty damn good.

PK crazy might just be the right kind of crazy.

But the only way to find out is to turn them loose.

OK, good job.

What's the score?

Transition, right?

Transition number 7, stop them early, keep them out of the paint, win the one on one challenge on 7 as well.

What does everybody gotta do when the pick and roll occurs?

Yeah, like, yes, and it is freaking engaged and active.

So Vaughn's guy lift it like.

That Vaughn stayed and he said Mig Mig Mick, now he knows we're going in one dribble so maybe don't go on that first dribble, maybe go on the second dribble, fellas, when we play harder than them, it's glaring how much better we are, but it's gotta be 20 straight, no let up, no let up.

Everything you got, everything you got, it's a wrap.

They got the playbook, now they gotta play.

It's not just about the X's and O's, it's also about the Jimmy's and Joe's.

What was that?

What?

You said the second one was 45 jumps.

We, we were only hustling one possession and you were nowhere to be found.

It's jump.

Beat the thing up.

Let's do what we do.

We're going.

Start of the second half, you better come out swinging.

Basketball is a game of momentum and you lose momentum.

You lose.

Play off 2.

Nobody wants to play off 2, not one fucking person on our team.

So jumping on that, on that twin.

I just want to execute something that we're doing, so whatever we think we can execute.

middle tab.

Every time they score we're acting like it's the end of the world.

Process.

Keep your composure, but listen, we're, we're back to what we did when we played Duke where we're just settling.

I don't care.

I don't wanna just dribble, dribble and jack a 3.

We're settling.

The team only has their hands on the rock about 70 possessions per game.

Every time you touch the ball is critical.

It's not just the players who have to think quick on their feet.

Because when shit ain't working, it's up to the coaches to whip something up clever, real quick.

We're good, we're No, no, just the way we drive.

One more, one more.

Stay up, stay up, stay up, one score .

We got time.

We got plenty of time, plenty of time.

Hey, we're winning the game.

The same fight you got right now, you gotta have that for the last 2.5 minutes.

We get it killed right now.

We're winning the game.

3 stops in a row.

Stra with that.

That's one I told you.

This bitch, don't say shit to me.

Don't say shit to me when we win this.

That's 2.

We don't need Everything.

Hey, listen.

Listen.

If they run that twin, we're.

How about that?

The car is a battle back, but this late in the game, there's not enough time for prayers to be answered.

Besides, this is the Church of Chapel Hill.

And it's packed with Tar Heels who've been worshiping the gods of fate, praying they send a big W their way.

And that's 3.

Maybe these dudes do know what they're doing.

Do Oh.

Oh, foul him, Roger.

How's that not a foul as he's driving, he pushes him out of bounds.

Did you tell him you wanted a time out?

Yeah, no, we had one time told everybody we had time.

I told everybody.

Yeah.

That was in the huddle.

You said you want a timeout, and I said yes.

And then you walked over to those guys and told them, I didn't.

I told everybody one time out left.

I told everybody one time out left and they had the arrow.

We can't throw it deep and some clock's got to go out.

Shoot it.

Just ask your ex-wife.

This is a game of inches.

But by an inch or by a mile it's clear that there's still much work to be done behind closed doors.

We spend a lot of time as coaches like.

Breaking down the tape.

And fixing You know, Schematically, the things that we didn't do well both on the defensive and offensive end, but.

You know, That stuff isn't for this talk right now.

This talk goes back to like one of our foundational truths of how you respond to stuff.

You always say you gotta fight, fight, fight, fight, fight to be above the line.

But you go against these venues against really good teams.

You can't spend that much time below the line.

Right?

We're fighting a really good team.

On a big stage with 23,000 people.

You have to have the discipline to respond to stuff that goes wrong in a better way.

Leadership starts with you, starts with me.

It starts with you, you, you, you, you.

We got to take care of our own 20 square feet first and foremost.

What I liked is that we had that fight.

We're down 16 and it was getting away and, and we flipped the switch.

We did.

We fought our butts off to go from down 16 to have a chance to win at the end of the game.

But we have to do that all the time and we have to do it consistently, especially when we're in these venues.

That's when teams are really tested when adversity hits.

It's so easy to splinter.

It's so easy to go in our own separate direction.

Stick together, continue to love your teammates, keep the circle tight.

Don't listen to the outside noise.

Don't read your freaking phones.

Don't listen to the naysayers, the thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump of people jumping off and jumping on.

This team is going to do something special, but we can't blink.

Let's get our stuff and let's get out of here.

Bring it in.

Hey, together on 312, 3s together.

Carving the paint, carbon to sharpen it for my alternates to my.

my lane and you're going to grave.

Blood on the walls that y'all don't.

It's all I say God won't save you.

Bishop go straight up and kill.

Please Queen and When I speak Killing the strangers, I'd like to kill who I know.

no.

They had to go send him my blood because I'm the only one fucking with me in the dark.

I sit cry it's so tired.

Go.