Winthrop Coach to Krzyzewski: My Great Grandkids Will Know I Coached Against You Here
Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey was proud of his team after the Eagles’ 83-70 loss to Duke, but he wasn’t satisfied with the outcome.
“As a competitor, I don’t see … No, I’m not really a guy that counts moral victories,” he said. “I think that team the other day, Stephen F. Austin, proved that you can come in here and win this game. Not that we really needed convincing. We’re a group of guys that went to a top 15 venue a couple weeks ago and won a game on their floor.”
Winthrop upset St. Mary’s on Nov. 11. Kelsey made sure his players weren’t overwhelmed by the chance to play at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“We didn’t come in here, as my mentor Skip Prosser used to say, like a senior class trip to our nation’s capital,” he said. “We came in here to try to win the game. We battled. I’m proud of our kids. What an unbelievable opportunity. I tried to make sure they weren’t walking in here taking pictures with their cell phones. It’s hard not to. When they weren’t looking I was taking some pictures.”
While he didn’t get the win, Kelsey appreciated the opportunity.
“I told Coach K—I said (to myself), ‘Hey, when I get the chance to say something to Coach K, I’m going to say something to him.’—I told him, ‘Coach, I don’t know if this means anything to you, but my great, great great grandkids will tell their kids that I coached against you here. And it’s true. For a kid that grew up on the west side of Cincinnati, that’s pretty cool.”
