What HC Pat Kelsey, Louisville Players Said After 118-77 Win vs. NC State

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program put together one of their most dominating performances in recent memory against NC State, walloping the Wolfpack for a 118-77 Cardinals victory on Monday night.

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

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

(Opening Statement)

“Obviously, playing on that big Monday a couple weeks ago at Duke, we got beat like we stole something, and it was good on the national stage to play really well tonight. Even after that butt-kicking, our guys didn’t panic. They just continued to do what we do. They didn’t listen to the thump, thump, thump, the noise, and the rat poison. We’re not going to do it again after winning a big game tonight by a lot. So, I’m proud of these guys’ approach and focus and they deserve victory tonight. They prepared great and they played great. Obviously, Kel [Mikel Brown, Jr.] and Ryan [Conwell] had a night that they’re going to tell their grandkids about. I know a million records were broken. I’m just proud of those guys. I was tough on them after the Duke game. It sure wasn’t all their fault. I coached bad, we played bad, and everybody on the roster played bad. But, I really challenged those guys as point guards, and it’s been great to see them really involve their teammates. The amount of assists, hockey assists, and the double-digit scoring that we’ve gotten from so many guys recently comes back to them. You can’t just focus on one or two guys on our team because we have a lot of guys that can have big, big nights. But this one was really special from both of those guys, and I’m really proud of them. I had a talk with Kel [Mikel] the other day, and he’s been frustrated because he hasn’t shot it to his standard, and Kel [Mikel] is not a good shooter, he’s a great shooter. He was just frustrated, and I gave him the old talk about the bubble gum card. I said, ‘Do you know what a bubble gum card is?’, and he had no idea. That bothered me a little bit because it showed my age. I lived and died with opening up baseball cards. I just explained to him that my favorite player was Pete Rose and he’s a lifetime .300 hitter, and if he’s hitting .196 through May, the law of averages is all going to even out, and he’s going go 10-for-13 over a couple games. I literally said this and I’m not lying, I said ‘Kel [Mikel], your process is great, nobody works harder than you, you can’t live or die on every miss. If you just keep staying consistently you’re going to have a game where you make like 10 threes.’ He had 10 threes tonight, so I was just proud of him. Those are two really good players, but they’re just great kids. Mikel is so much fun to coach, and he’s got such a great way about him as does Ryan. They got a lot of pressure on them, and just to see them explode tonight and have that type of game is awesome. Their teammates were so happy for them. I think of the play down the stretch when Kel [Mikel] was getting close to 40 and Isaac [McKneely], who’s arguably the best shooter I’ve ever coached -- Reyne Smith is going to call me and I’m going to have 10 texts from him after this game -- it’s pretty close, he had a wide open three. He just threw one more pass down to the corner for Ryan or Kel [Mikel], so that was pretty cool. That’s just indicative of the team mentality that these guys have.”

(About being aware of the Wes Unseld record and how Poetic it was that team was wearing the Wes Unseld jerseys)

“Crazy, that’s wild, isn’t it? I knew they were the Wes Unseld jerseys, but I get so in my little silo, and I’ve seen them before. I’m sorry, Louisville Card nation, that I did not think before the game that they were the Wes Unseld jerseys. Sorry, I know he’s the greatest of the greats here, but I mean, I’m oblivious to a lot of things, like Bob (Valvano) was interviewing me after the game on the radio, and he said something about playing a non-conference game in the middle of the season. I’m like ‘we got Baylor next?’ Literally, didn’t know who we played next. So, I’m glad I know now. I mean, I know Mikel was having a big, big night, and I saw 39. I’m like, let’s leave him in there to get 40, and then my assistants, who know all that stuff, were like ’no, coach, you have to leave him in. He’s this far away from this; he’s this far away from this.’ They were telling me about these freshman records and these records, I didn’t know it was Wes Unseld's record until after the game, but that’s unbelievable. That is storybook, you know, he’s a special player and special kid, so you know it doesn’t surprise me in the least. He just stayed consistent; he didn’t panic, you know, just like us. We have gotten off to two really, really, really good starts the last two games, you know, we didn’t panic when we weren’t playing well. Those two games when everybody was losing their minds, those teams were throwing the ball in, and we’re getting wide open shots, and they’re not going in, just relax, just freaking relax. Played really well tonight.

(About the games where the three was not falling but tonight everyone was attacking the basket)

“I think our process has been really good. We shoot great shots all the time. But it is like a bubble gum card, a bubble gum card. Ryan Conwell is a phenomenal shooter. Mikel Brown, Jr. is a phenomenal shooter. There were a bunch of shots that they make most of the time that just didn’t go in. It is a make-or-miss game. You go on runs. You catch fire sometimes. You get in a slump. That stuff happens. I don’t think it was any different tonight than it has been in any other game outside the Duke game.

Point Guard Mikel Brown Jr. and Shooting Guard Ryan Conwell

Mikel Brown Jr., Fr., G

(On if there was a moment in the game when he felt like he could sense it would be a career night)

“I think the adversity that we’ve been through as a squad and the ups and downs that we’ve gone through this season, I think, like [Ryan Conwell] said, the man up above, at some point he knows that it’s his will. And that happened to us tonight and like I said, we stayed together through the ups and downs and I felt like we deserved a night like this. Obviously, we’re going to celebrate it, we’re going to enjoy it, but we’re on to the next one.”

(On getting more comfortable and understanding his role with the team after missing a month earlier in the season)

“These guys keep encouraging me to be myself every single day and every single game and I say all the time, I’ve just got to get my rhythm back. I feel like it’s starting to click for me and it’s starting to click for this team as well. Like I said, we’re starting to figure things out. And to be alongside [Ryan Conwell] in the backcourt frees me up a lot. This definitely was a team win and I’m glad I’m getting my rhythm back.”

Ryan Conwell, Sr., G

(Any moment you think back to scoring wise before tonight)

“First and foremost, I want to give all glory to God. He is just always there through the ups and the downs, through the tough nights, through the struggles of the season. He has always been that center for me. Even with the noise around me, he's always kept me stable, and I got to give all the glory to him. I am just so blessed to be in this position. To be honest, I was just out there just trying to have fun. This game I just love to play and I just love to compete at a high level. God blessed me and allowed this to be my night, but especially Kel’s (Mikel Brown Jr.) night. I mean, he makes it easy for us, his gravity, what he does on the floor. He makes it easy for me”

(Anything poetic with the first time in University of Louisville Basketball history there has been two 30-point scorers in the same night with Mikel Brown Jr. wearing #0 referring to tying Wes Unseld)

“I would just say that's how God works. I don’t think it’s a coincidence, I think it's just God's work. We are just thankful to be in this position, to be able to wear these jerseys and know that they mean something. Just to be able to go out there and play and him put up numbers like that, it’s just all credit to the man above.”

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

Point Guard Mikel Brown Jr. and Shooting Guard Ryan Conwell

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