What HC Pat Kelsey, Louisville Players Said After 79-70 Loss vs. Virginia

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program found themselves falling to yet another quality opponent, this time dropping a 79-70 decision to Virginia on Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center. The Cardinals dug themselves into a 14-0 hole to start the game, and could never recover.

Here's what head coach Pat Kelsey, plus shooting guards Isaac McKneely and Ryan Conwell had to say following the loss:

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

(On the Virginia game)

“I give Virginia a lot of credit. I thought we’ve got a long way to go. I mean we have one game over the next 11 days, the most important game ever is the one on Saturday - and we’ve got to figure out a way to go get a win. There’s a bunch of stuff that needs to be fixed. There’s a bunch of stuff right not within our system and our team that’s broken. You can’t allow a team that comes in here, that’s a very, very good three-point shooting team, to make 14 threes. Their best player, the guy that is circled on our scouting report, or their best perimeter guy, (Malik Thomas) fries us, (he) makes six threess. Far, far too many defensive lapses and breakdowns in the second half. Whether it was just relaxing off the ball, allowing them to get easy open looks in transition - just undisciplined -- off-ball gaps where (we) lose sight of who we’re guarding, where we’re at on the floor and they spray for open shots. That is a sign of a team that is very undisciplined, and undisciplined players are coached by undisciplined coaches. I take full responsibility for that. We’ve got to get better, we’ve got to get better. There is a ton of stuff that we need to improve on. We’ve got guys that are playing too many minutes right now. Some of the guys that aren’t playing as many minutes need to step up and need to play better. At the end of the day, in my opinion, Virginia was the more desperate team tonight and that's a problem. Something I take great pride in is being the coach of a team that is always playing desperate, gritty and nasty. I just think at crucial points in the game, they were more desperate. All you can do is go back to work. We’ve got a couple days to get ready for Pitt on Saturday, and we’ve got to figure it out.”

(About the London Johnson announcement)

"I want to talk about the London Johnson situation. First thing, is I want to take responsibility, and you are all professionals and I really value how hard you work and stuff like that. It could have been handled much better and that starts with me. We really tried to fix and find a solution to some of the depth problems we have on our team. With Kel (Mikel Brown, Jr.) being out, and with Ryan Conwell getting hurt, we tried to have those initial conversations with London. Like I said, I take responsibility for it was handled with the statement was put out. Fact of the matter was when we sat down with him (Johnson) initially, we had really good conversations and I think London thought that this could be a good thing. 'Coach, I am amenable to it.' He talked to his people and talked to his agent. It looked like it was moving in the right directions. What we all have to remember, too, is that it is a lot to ask of that young man. There are a lot of things that go into it and he only has two years of eligibility. We are already halfway through the season, and he has a whole lot of ground to make up. I think before he really could go out there and be a productive player for us. I think as we were building into it and he was starting to get ready for the Boston College game, I think it started to be like 'holy crap, I don't know if I can go out there and be an effective player' not knowing our system, our terminology. (He had) a little bit of a change of heart. I get it. I get it 100 percent. There are a lot of implications that go along with a decision like that. Only having two years of eligibility, and I don't disparage his decision in any way, shape or form. Going into that game, when it was announced, he started talking to other people and his family and inner circle and started having second thoughts. I just could see it. In scouting and preparation, you could just tell he was a little overwhelmed. I think it is the right decision for him to continue to use this year as a redshirt year and develop and get ready for next year. As we were getting closer to that game, and the statement went out, that was when we started having conversations. I think he started wavering on whether that was what he wanted to do or not. It had already gone out. We said, 'you are not going to play tonight', let's slow down and have time to sit down and talk to you and your agent. We can have some talks and we can talk to your family. It is just a different age and a different era in collegiate athletics. There are a lot of things that go into it. There are financial implications. I get it. I get it. Initially, he thought this is something he can do to help the team. He started thinking, man, it is going to take me a while, and I agree. It is going to take him a while to really ramp up and get ready. Then you are getting into the end of January and into February and you have burned a whole year of eligibility. How that message went out? I was very aggressive with it. I am very appreciative with everyone at the University to try to figure out a way to make that happen. I think you guys would agree with this, that (SID) Dana (Brown) is a rising star in this business. She is my partner in crime in this thing. I trust her implicitly. She has such a great heart and works so hard and unbelievable detailed and our players love her. I just don't like how this reflected on the sports information department and the university. This was me being really aggressive in trying to find a solution to adding depth to our team. But it just wasn't the right thing. So, I am sorry how that came across and I am sorry that we put the statement out the way we did. That was at my prompting. It was a mistake and all I can do is own it. I am looking forward to having London next year. He is going to be a really, really good player. But I think the right thing for him and his future is to continue to redshirt."

(On not calling a timeout when Virginia was up 14)

“It was so early in the game; we brought the game back, not very long into the game where it was a four- or five-point game or something like that. So, it was early in the game -- it was the first four minutes -- and I thought at that point our process was pretty good. There were points in the game where our process was good, we’re not consistent enough. I mean, 17 (Johann Grünloh) is a really good player. He’s a big, skilled guy. I think 30 percent of his shots are threes. I think he's shooting in the 20s. He made a couple threes, and they made a couple shots that bounced around the rim, bounce, bounce, bounce and went in. For the most part, our defense was pretty good, and we just kept grinding and didn't panic. And you know, we're right back in the game with however many minutes left in the half. So, I usually got a good feel and a good clock in my head as a coach that's been coaching for a long time on when’s a good time for a timeout maybe we should have called it a little bit earlier. But the first four minutes wasn't why we lost the game. There's a laundry list of 9,000 other things that we need to do better to be a championship level team. We're not a very good team right now. We're not, I think we have the capacity to be a very, very, very good team. The team right now, with Louisville on their chest right now isn't good enough. And that’s going to change. We're going to get there.”

(On Pick and Roll coverage vs Virginia)

"I think some of the threes, the middle pick-and-roll, fine. I think our middle pick-and-roll coverage was pretty good. They are a very good offensive team. They are extremely efficient. When you put two on the ball, they really, really make you pay. There's different coverages and one of the things you can do on pick-and-rolls; you can put two on the ball, whether its a hard ledge, or trap, a jump, a lateral hedge. We thought the best way to defend it and I thought overall, consistently, we were pretty good, was to fight over the screens and to be in drop coverage, which is what we were in the majority of the game. I thought it was pretty good. Some of those times, I think, it was off ball when it was not needed, where we just lost sight. We ball watched, overhelped in our gaps, especially when we were on a green first guy — green first guy is a shoot first guy -- I know when open up that laptop there is going to be 10-20 clips where it was, 'that is simply just undisciplined basketball' and it can't happen. But I don't really think it was the middle pick-and-roll coverage. I think it was mostly, a lot of times, our awareness off the ball. I think, number one (Malik Thomas), got in that little rhythm in the second when he made a bunch of them right in a row. One was just a transition three where we had a couple guys run back to the same guy and he got a wide-open look. The next time, I think number two (Chance Mallory) had driven the ball towards the baseline and one of our, I think it was J'Vonne (Hadley), who was a warrior today, by the way, kind of went down needlessly and went down, tried to steal the ball and the trap kicked out, banged another open three, and then he got another one right after. That crap can't happen. And, I'll say it again; undisciplined players are coached by undisciplined coaches, and that starts with me. It needs to change. We got a lot of things we need to figure out. I sit up here in front of all you guys with the microphone, in a game that we could have very easily won. We're at home, great crowd. Like I said, it could very easily to be make an excuse for some of them guys defensively and say, 'hey, you know, you're playing 35 minutes. You get tired, that is not a freaking excuse. Now, I feel like those other guys need to step up so those guys aren't playing 35 minutes. Now, eventually, when we have our full roster back and our depth, we'll be a little bit where we envisioned it being at the beginning of the season. That can help. Bobby Knight said one time, and you guys gave probably seen on YouTube, and it's one of the greatest coaching speeches in press conference history. He talks about the greatest motivator is ass on bench. Pardon my language. I don't have a lot of options right now. And the adjustment is when breakdowns occur, and when undisciplined play occurs, 'do it better'. You got to motivate on the fly, 'come on, come over here and just sit down next to me'. And it's amazing how that motivates. We don't have that luxury right now. So, I need a mature team on the floor that can fix things on the fly without butt on seat. We're not there right now. We got a long way to go. We do. I have a much, much, much better feel of exactly what it is once I pour through the tape five, six, seven times tonight before 6 a.m. But right now, overall, you give credit to Virginia. Desperation, and championship teams play desperate. We need our depth to get better by our other guys playing better. We got a lot of things to fix. I'm one of those crazy people that gets excited about that. I want to throw up when we lose, but let's freaking go. Run at it. But again, sorry again how I handled the London (Johnson) thing. I know that wasn't the right thing. That's bothered me. But I think the kid made the right decision."

Shooting Guards Isaac McKneely and Ryan Conwell

Ryan Conwell, Sr., G

(Thoughts on offensive struggles affecting the defense)

"First and foremost I want to give all glory to God, I'm just thankful to be in this position. It happens every time when the ball is not going in, we allow that to affect us on the defensive end. They hit some tough shots today as well and things didn't go our way, but at the end of the day it comes down to playing both sides."

(On his return to play after missing the last game due to injury)

"I’ve just got to be better. This team needs me. The makes and the misses are going to happen, but my poise and just being there for my brothers. I just overall have to be a better leader out there on the floor. I'm really just disappointed in how I'm playing, but that's just how the game goes sometimes. And I know I'm built for it, and I just have got to stay true to putting in the work every single day and being there for my team. I’ve definitely got to pick it up for sure."

Isaac McKneely, Sr., G

(On Virginia taking a 14-0 lead to start the game)

“They were making shots, that’s what it was. They were making us pay, we had some lapses on defense. Their two big guys made a couple, we talked about before the game that they had a little green dot, but we were going to live with that. But they were knocking them down and making us pay, so credit to them. It’s hard to win when you get in a hole like that, so we’ve got to change that from here on out.”

(On how to get everybody back on the same page after losses)

“It’s a long season. Obviously, we’ve dropped a couple early here in ACC play, but like I said, long season, still a lot of Quad 1 opportunities for us for the taking. Obviously we’re going to watch the film on this, learn from it. We’ve got a quick turnaround at Pittsburgh on Saturday. We’re a next thing program, so we’re going to have two really good days of prep and go get one on the road. But we’ve got to continue to fight and continue to stay together in the locker room. No matter what happens, we’re going to stick together as a group. We’ve got the No. 1 culture in the country, so I’m not worried about that, but we’ve got to string some wins together for sure.”

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

Shooting Guards Isaac McKneely and Ryan Conwell

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