Louisville's Newcomers Embracing Kenny Payne's High-Demand Work Ethic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Coming off of an abysmal 4-28 campaign in his first year at the helm of his alma mater, Louisville's men's basketball head coach Kenny Payne sought to flip the roster and infuse it with fresh talent as soon as the 2022-23 season came to a close.

Fast forward to early August, and Payne and his coaching staff have landed an impressive haul of newcomers for next season, bringing in nine overall.

They are welcoming transfers Skyy Clark, Tre White and Danilo Jovanovich; 2023 prospects Dennis Evans, Trentyn Flowers, Kaleb Glenn, Curtis Williams Jr. and Ty-Laur Johnson; plus JUCO transfer Koron Davis. According to 247Sports, their high school recruiting class comes in at No. 6 nationally, while their transfer class is 29th.

Obviously, this collection of talent means nothing if they don't put in the work. Last season's team and their perceived lack of effort throughout most of the year is perfect example of this. Fortunately, not only are the newcomers welcoming Payne's insane work ethic with open arms, they are being 100 percent receptive to coaching.

"I like the fact that they are gym rats, and have work ethic across the board," Payne said, "They all are unbelievable in the gym, and focus. I like the fact that they listen, and I'm constantly talking about the ability to listen and apply."

Part of that has been the influence of the transfers that came in, and the prior experiences they have. Clark and White were both starters as true freshman at their respective schools last season, with Clark averaging 7.0 points, 3.7 assists and 2.1 assists per game at Illinois, and White putting up 9.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game at USC with a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team nod. While Jovanovich only played one game last season due to injury, Miami still was able to go to their first ever Final Four.

"All three of those guys come in from winning situation, so they understand the sacrifice that it takes to win," Payne said. "I'm happy about the transfers that have came in here because of that. And, they're hungry to be a part of this, and to help this program get back to where it needs to be."

As a result, competition during offseason practices have been extremely fierce amongst both the newcomers as a team as a whole. With the amount of team-wide talent, no longer is there any complacency, and playing time is far from a given for anyone.

"Sometimes they lose their mind a little bit when they're playing against each other, because you look to your left, you look to your right, guess what? I'm not head and shoulders better than this guy," Payne said. "I look to my right and I say, 'Oh my god, he's just as good as me. If I don't play well, coach is gonna see me get whipped.' That's what's happening in our practices."

(Photo via University of Louisville Athletics)

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