What HC Pat Kelsey, Louisville Players Said After 88-74 Win vs. SMU

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program was able to bounce back and secure a home victory on Saturday, coming out on top with a comeback 88-74 win over SMU.

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

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

(Opening Statement)

“I am proud of our guys and the way they responded to what happened the other night down in Durham. We responded exactly how I thought they would. They didn’t blink. They didn’t panic – nothing. We went back to work and dusted ourselves off, got up, attacked practice and learned the details of the scouting report. We stuck together and didn’t blink and played their butts off today. I think the bench was phenomenal. I think our bench out-scored them six million to something -- which is a little inflated. Kel (Mikel Brown, Jr.) came off the bench and had 20. We still outscored them by a lot, benchwise. Kobe (Rodgers) was really good, did his job and did what we asked him to. What he does, he did. Khani Rooths was phenomenal. His nickname is K-9 which is apropos because he is a dog, man. He is a dog. He and J’Vonne (Hadley) played together a lot. We knew we had a challenge on the backboard. The big dude on the inside. We knew making them miss was one thing. But we really needed rebounding. We needed guys outside our fives to rebound because they were going to be in a wrestling match inside.”

“I can just see J’Vonne going up above the trees popping the ball. Khani going up above the trees popping the ball. Ryan Conwell in scrums for loose balls. I remember one time Kel goes up above the trees and pop. It was a team commitment to the backboards after getting our butts kicked in that area the other day, I was really, really thought Zou (Zougris) gave us good minutes off the bench. He has endeared himself to this fan base because of his grit and reckless abandon. I just love when he gets a rebound and everyone yells ‘Zou’ or when he dives into the cheerleaders or whatever. So, I thought our bench gave us a really, really good boost. I am so proud of our guys and how they responded. “

“SMU is a good team and very, very difficult to guard. Five (Jaron Pierre) was a big focal point on the scouting report. Khani and and J’Vonne guarded him the majority of the time but everybody took a turn. He is a matchup problem one-on-one. I thought we did a good job there. No. 2 (Boopie Miller) is one of the most dynamic go-get-it scoring guards. I thought our post defense got better in the second half after a couple of adjustments. The big kid (Samet Yigitoglu) was really hurting us at halftime so our guys did a good job adjusting. “

(On what changed after the slow start?)

“A couple of things, for , our process was really good offensively, except for a couple turnovers. I will have to watch the tape, but I remember going over to the bench going ‘we are getting really, really good looks. I mean, we weren’t hitting them. We were not shooting the type of shots we did the other day at Duke with 600 people draped on us. We were trusting the process, moving the ball and generating good looks and they just were not going in. On the other end, they were just throwing it in -- like throwing it in. It was like bang, bang, bang ,bang. I was like ‘holy crap.’ Our guys have had some times this year where that has happened, and we did not respond the right way. We were in the huddle at the first media (timeout) and I just said ‘guys besides a couple turnovers, our process is really good offensively’. We were a little bit too sticky in our gaps because we were so worried about their driving and one-on-one. So, we were probably a little too tight. They were just spraying it for quick hit threes and that thing was not touching anything but net. It was like bang, bang, bang. We made a couple of adjustments, there. We didn’t panic and chipped away to cut it to three at half. I thought our defense in the last ten minutes of the half was maybe as good as it has been all year”.

(On Khani Rooths' performance and energy coming back from illness)

"No, it doesn't surprise me. That's just who he is. He's a high energy dude. Doesn't mean he's going to play well all the time, but I'm telling you he is going to empty the tank. He gave a fist a couple times. I looked over and said ‘I don't want to take him out.’ We had to get him out, get him a blow and get him back in there. Actually, I even called a timeout one time, so I didn't have to take him out. That is how valuable he was. He just really gave us a lot of courage as you know he just brings toughness and grit and did a great job for us tonight."

Forward Khani Rooths and Point Guard Mikel Brown Jr.

Khani Rooths, So., F

(On his return to play after missing four games due to illness)

“I’m just glad to be back. I feel really good. You see out there I’m playing hard and I’m being me and I’m doing extra. I’m just doing whatever I can do to help the team.”

(On whether they feel behind schedule after the injuries the team has experienced this season as they head into February)

“We don’t feel behind schedule at all. We’re just taking it day by day and game by game and just staying together. We can’t worry about anything else, what happens in the past stays in the past, just worry about the next game.”

Mikel Brown Jr., Fr. G

(On the return of Khani Rooths and how much of a difference he makes)

“We missed him. We missed him. Just the energy that he brings off the bench. That fire, the intensity, the grit – and just the will to guard and play hard. We definitely missed him on the bench and it feels so great to have him back.”

(On his performance down the stretch despite being under the weather)

“I’m getting used to this weather. I’m not used to this weather – Florida weather is 80 degrees right now. I’m struggling. At the end of the game me and coach talked about it, especially after that Duke game – just letting the game come to me. Let my teammates eat, getting them involved and getting them open shots. That just gets me going. Down the stretch, all of my teammates, the coaches were like ‘hey man, take it over. It’s takeover time now. Do you.’ Just them having that trust in me and I have that trust in them… I’m the coach on the floor and [Pat Kelsey) he’s the coach, but I’m the coach on the floor. I have to be that other side of it. That’s what they want me to do in those last five minutes is go make a play and that’s what I did tonight. Although I turned it over a little bit. I need to fix that on my end. That is unacceptable on my end to my standard, but we’re going to get better.”

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

Forward Khani Rooths and Point Guard Mikel Brown Jr.

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