What Pat Kelsey, Louisville Players Said After 104-47 Win vs. NJIT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is now 7-0 so far in year two under head coach Pat Kelsey, earning a blowout 104-47 win over NJIT on Wednesday night.

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

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

Opening Statement

"Happy Thanksgiving to everybody. Our guys were on it; they were on it. They were on it in preparation, one day turnaround. Obviously from a talent standpoint, our team overall is more talented, but our guys played the right way. They prepared the right way. I thought yesterday was really good. They were locked in. We've played several games in a short amount of time. We have a bunch of guys with nicks and bruises, banged up and a lot of stuff going on. We treated this game like our Super Bowl because that's what we do for every single game. Even when the lead got expanded, our guys continued to hit all of our metrics and all of our goals in terms of the effort things we do - run the floor, crashing the offensive glass, guard it right down there until the end, shared the ball. We had a bunch of assists. Guys were giving up good shots for great shots. Everything I could have asked from them in preparation yesterday and attacking everything today, I was really proud of them."

(On extending the lead after each segment)

"That's the mark of a mature team, which we have. We always preach process. They're saying 'process' and then they're saying '0-0, 0-0.' So regardless of what the score was, it was '0-0' and then at the end of that four-minute segment when they came over to the bench at the next media, they all wanted to know what the score of that four-minute segment was and then we clear it. It's 0-0 again. You just want to come out of those games feeling like you got better because you can come out of a game like that when you win by a lot, you don't have excellence in your defensive system, offensive system and then you feel like, man, we just got through that game and we didn't get any better. But those guys took care of business and I was proud of them."

(Using upcoming week off for rest and recovery)

“I think that’s important because the Cincinnati game was very physical. The Eastern Michigan game was very physical; that’s a strong and physical team. As I mentioned, like every team in the country does [have nicks and bruises]. It’ll be nice to be off tomorrow and then that next day we will see where everybody is at, we’ll get together and watch film and put this game to bed. We will do some stuff with them on the floor; they’ll have some individual skill workouts and stuff. But it’s a really good chance for our guys to kind of clear their mind, reset a little bit and then we’ll get back together on the weekend and start getting ready for a really-really dangerous, talented and well coached Arkansas team.”

Shooting Guard Ryan Conwell and Shooting Guard Isaac McKneely

Ryan Conwell

(On the focus of the team to make sure they don’t start slacking)

“First and foremost, I want to say all glory to God. I’m just thankful to be on this team with such a great group of guys. But every time we come into the huddle, we say '0-0.' It’s all about our process, no matter the score, whether we're up or down, we have to stay true to our principles and keep good habits because that’s what we need to go far. So no matter what the score is or who we play against, we have to continue to be us and stay true to our principles.”

Isaac McKneely

(On their summer shooting contests and if McKneely tried playing catch up to Conwell’s three’s)

“No, that’s only for the workouts. During the game we just do what the game tells us. [Ryan Conwell] was on fire, so when he’s hitting like that, you try to find him the best you can. We have all kinds of guys that can knock down threes, and that’s what makes us so hard to guard. But no competing when we are on the same team. We're just trying to make as many shots as we can together.”

Head Coach Pat Kelsey

Shooting Guard Ryan Conwell and Shooting Guard Isaac McKneely

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