What HC Pat Kelsey, Louisville Players Said After 85-71 Win vs. Virginia Tech

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program was able to put together a complete performance in their matchup against Virginia Tech, earning an 85-71 victory on Saturday.

Here's what head coach Pat Kelsey, plus shooting guard Ryan Conwell and point guard Mikel Brown Jr. had to say following the win:

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

(Opening statement)

“I’ve got a ton of respect for [Virginia Tech] Coach (Mike) Young. As I told you guys the other day in the press conference, he was good friends with my mentor, Skip Prosser. He reminds me a lot of him - just such a high character guy; hilarious, one of the funniest coaches in the country, one of the funniest people I know; and then, just an extraordinary coach and tactician. I just have a lot of respect for him, so we are fortunate to get the win tonight. The biggest thing I want to talk about in my pre-statement is 15,000 people - or whatever it was - just a huge crowd with all this weather. I challenged everybody in my press conference the other day that we really needed you, and Card Nation came out strong. To the people listening to this on the radio or whatever it is: drive safe. My parents are on their way up I-71 to Cincinnati, but it just means a lot that they came out. They had a major effect on the game.”

(About Mikel Brown, Jr., being surprisingly able to play 28 minutes after being out)

“With that kid, nothing surprises me. We built him up so that the first couple of days of the week -- we had a long week off – we did practice a little more. On Monday he went a certain amount, Tuesday, this amount and then by the end of the week, he was going full go. He looked great. He played great. You ask me if I was surprised, nothing surprises me with that kid. He is unbelievably talented. He just played to exhaustion today, 28 minutes. A couple of times he came over and he had blotches on his face. I said, ‘you need one?’ and he never ever asks to come out of the game and he said ‘Coach, I need one’. So, I got him out before the media timeout. He made some big time plays for us out there and it was great to see him back out there again. I know his teammates were happy to have him back out there too.”

(On the pace of play kicking up with Mikel Brown Jr. on court)

“We always say -- Skip Prosser used to say all the time -- ‘it begins at the beginning.’ It begins at the beginning, and the beginning is the point guard. That’s the catalyst, and that’s who Mikel Brown, Jr. is. It’s in his DNA. Really good point guards make people around them better, and that’s what he did tonight. He did a great job, and he guarded and he played really hard.”

Shooting Guard Ryan Conwell and Point Guard Mikel Brown Jr.

Mikel Brown Jr., Freshman, Guard

(On his mindset going into today’s game after missing the last eight games due to injury)

“Just be yourself. Those weeks of me sitting on the sidelines, encouraging the guys and seeing a lot of the injuries and so on and so forth and trials and tribulations, it just pushed me to go harder to get back as soon as possible. To be able to be the court tonight with the guys, it just felt amazing and I couldn’t be more grateful.”

(On if he’s had a stretch where he missed a lot of games because of injury and what that was like)

“I’ve had this stretch before and it’s not fun, just because the game of basketball has given me so much and the love for the game [makes it] hard to just sit out and watch honestly. But I’ve learned from the past and I’ve been busting my behind to get back on the court. To be able to go through adversity, we always talk about [how] adversity is going to come, it’s going to hit, it’s just how you’re going to handle it. And they handled it well and I handled it well. To be back on the court with the guys tonight was great.”

Ryan Conwell, Senior, Guard

(On the team’s message to Mikel to help him get comfortable)

“First and foremost, I want to give all glory to God, and I’m thankful to be in this position. To answer your question, I would say it helps having one of the best point guards in the country. He’s just so versatile, and I think we all had a great week of practice leading up. We had a little bit of a break from the last game against Pitt. We just worked on a lot of different things offensively and defensively and I think it showed out there on the court today. Having 0 (Mikel Brown Jr.) on our team creates a whole different dynamic that teams have to worry about, and I think it showed today.”

(On his four-point play)

“I just have to thank God to be honest. I had a couple shots before that just rimmed in and out. I put so much time in the gym each and every single day, and I know my team believes in me and I believe in myself that every shot is going to go in. So, I’m just coming off the screen, and I just let it go and [Mikel] gave me a good pass, and it went in the basket, so I was just thankful.”

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

Shooting Guard Ryan Conwell and Point Guard Mikel Brown Jr.

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