Tennessee basketball handed Pat Kelsey the first loss of his Louisville tenure on Saturday afternoon as the Vols knocked off the Cardinals 77-55 at the KFC Yum! Center.
The Vols led wire-to-wire and cut off a second half Louisville run with a handful of key Zakai Zeigler triples and phenomenal defense.
Following the game, Louisville coach Pat Kelsey discussed Tennessee’s physicality, the big crowd and much more. Here’s everything Kelsey said.
More From RTI: Everything Rick Barnes Said After Tennessee Basketball Defeated Louisville
Opening statement
“Obviously extremely disappointed. Yum! Center was electric. We asked people to come out and they came out in a big way. As elite of a college basketball environment as you’re going to find anywhere. The fact of the matter is, they were the better team tonight. Punched us in the mouth at the very beginning. Only was to describe us is they beat us in almost every single facet of the game. My message to the players after the game was, I told them the one thing they don’t have to worry about us is us being good. The one thing they don’t have to worry about is us being good. We’re going to be a good team. I believe that deep down in my soul with every single fiber of my being. We got a long way to go. Heck of a test. Obviously, have to credit Coach Barnes and his staff and his players. Like I said, we take pride in rebounding, effort, deflections and we got our butt kicked on the glass. I don’t know what it was exactly but it was like plus-15 on the glass. I felt like there physicality on the defensive end really disrupted our rhythm. We’re a rhythm offensive team and I thought they really took us out of what we wanted to do. It turned into too much one-on-one, too much dribbling which is 100% not how we play on the offensive end. It’s the first time this team has gotten punched in the mouth and faced adversity. Since June 5, I sat up in my press conference when we signed this team and they’ve had a lot of attaboys. A lot of pats on the back. A lot of high fives. I mean what I’ve said over the last eight months or whatever it is, five months since this team has been together. They’ve been phenomenal. It’s a really really good group. I believe with everything that I’ve got that this team is going to be really really good. For the first time, they’ve gotten hit in the mouth and are going to face some adversity. My challenge to them in the locker room was not the Xs and Os that we have to clean up because there’s a lot of them, like I said, almost every single facet of the game I thought they were better than us today. But that’s for tomorrow. That’s for tonight at 2 am when we’re watching tape and breaking it down and cleaning it up. The Xs and Os, the ball screen execution on both ends of the floor. Our defensive ball screen, whatever it is. But that meeting in there was about walking out and having our circle tighter than ever. Walking out of that room and having a resolve about then as they go back to their dorms and like all kids do they check their social media. All the people that have been telling them how good they are, crushing them. That’s just how it is. That’s the world. I just told them, don’t blink. Don’t blink. Look to the guy next to you and love him more than ever. Don’t blame anybody else. Don’t complain about anybody else. Don’t get defensive. Just know that we have to go back to work on Monday and get better. And we will. That’s it.”
On if Tennessee’s physicality got to them at any point
“I think they did. They punched us in the mouth and we were on our heels at the beginning of the game. Obviously, the crowd was revved up like crazy. They got off to a pretty significant lead at the beginning. I thought our guys rallied. There was a couple times where it was getting close to 10 or single digits and you could feel the crowd just wanted something to get a little bit of momentum and we just couldn’t get over the hump. They would make a play. They would made a big shot. They would get a big stop. Then late in the game, we called that timeout with four or five minutes left, there was two or three possessions where it looked like the five guys on the floor had given up, right. No pun intended but it looked like we waved the white flag. We called a timeout and got after him and they responded and went out and played hard and continued to compete right down to the very end. We’re going to play the Tennessees going forward. Teams of that standard and we’re going to be ready for it next time, I can promise you that.”
On what needs to happen for Louisville to have better half court offense
“It stunk. It stuck and you have to give credit to Tennessee. They’re a very very sound defensive team. They’re extremely physical. Didn’t allow us to get into a rhythm. Blew up dribble handoffs. Very aggressive on ball screens. Just bloodied up the game and it forced us to be able to play without flow. I thought early on, settling for just okay instead of trying to hunt great as we say on the offensive end. We talk about playing on the attack, getting down hill, touching the paint and putting foul pressure on them. It felt like we were playing on the perimeter too much in the first half.
I half to watch the tape and you asked what we need to improve on on the offensive end. I’d answer, everything. Everything. Our set play execution. Our flow, our play after the play wasn’t good enough. Our special teams execution, baseline out of bounds was subpar. I could go on-and-on. The one thing I will never, ever, ever do as a head coach is blame the players. It starts with me first-and-foremost. Should have done a better job getting our guys ready, preparing them, positioning them. But we have a group of guys that are going to come back to practice on Monday bright and bushy tailed, leaning forward. Nothing, nothing, nothing will change in terms of the energy in practice. In terms of our attention to detail, striving for excellence. They exposed some things. There’s no doubt about that. They exposed some things today and what’s going to allow this team to take the next step is to learn from the things that they exposed and make sure they don’t happen again. That’s my job. We have a veteran group with a lot of leadership and we have to make sure they have that same mentality as well.”
On what stood out about Louisville’s defense, where they can be better
“Just like the question he just asked on the offensive end with the defensive end. Everything. Everything. Start with guarding the ball. High end close outs. Ball screen defense. The execution, transition defense. Not allowing second shots. Hitting and attacking the ball. Again, I have to watch the tape but the answer is everything. It’ll be addressed and we’ll be better because of this.
Look, it stinks and it hurts but if you attack it the right way it becomes a positive down the road. My mentor used to say, there’s this sound. Thump, thump, thump, thump. There’s the bandwagon and not bandwagon fans— I’m not saying that in anyway shape or form. What happened today will be a positive for Louisville basketball moving forward. I would ask our fanbase, I would ask our fans, I would ask our donors— just like I told our guys in that locker room— don’t blink. Don’t blink. This team, I believe it and say this with everything I got, is going to be really really good. If our guys do that, they put blinders on and go back to work and attack the next thing with excellence, the results are going to come. We’ll have that same energy we had in here today. I told them, there’s a good chance that the next game won’t have that many people at the game. But they’re going to come back. They’re going to be there again.
Again, I always praise our opponents. Tennessee was the better team. We’re going to learn from it.”
On the benefit of playing a game like this this early in the season
“As I sit here looking at you guys and looking at a box score where we just got our stinkin’ butts kicked and it hurts like crazy, there’s no question we needed that today. Josh, we’re walking in talking about how it’s a tough second game. I know I pushed you for that. I said, thank you. That’s exactly what this team needed. Because the things that ailed us today were exposed by Tennessee and now we get a chance to fix it. When you’re playing a team in the Bahamas, whether you’re playing our two exhibition games. Moorehead is a new team with a new coach and all those things. We didn’t get exposed the way we did today. I will embrace this butt kicking. I’ve had my butt kicked before and I’ll probably have my butt kicked again. We’ve done a little butt kicking as well. But the response and what you learn from getting your tail kicked is the mark of a really really good team. I believe in those guys in that locker room. The normal feel or tendency or human nature in me wanted to go in and pound my fist and throw my notebook down— that’s not it. Walking out of that room, it’s about the resolve of our 25 strong. And then Monday at practice we’re going to have a phenomenal practice and we’re going to get better because of it.”
On if you have to go through something like this with a new team
“100%. That’s exactly right. The adversity is a great educator. Adversity is a great teacher. But if you don’t look at it that way and you feel sorry for yourself and put your tail between your legs and look down when you walk into the student center and walk into the grocery store, you’re not approaching it the right way. Unbelievable adversity for our team and it’s great and we’re going to learn from it.”
On the effect of Zakai Zeigler despite his turnovers
“No. 5 is a phenomenal player. He was dominant today. He’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year in the SEC for a reason. He reeks havoc. I believe in our guys. I believe in our guards. I know what they’re capable of. Those guys feel terrible right now and they’re better than how they played today. I’m better than how I coached today. But you give that kid credit, you tip your cap to him. In big moments, when we had a little bit of momentum and the Yum! started rocking, he answered. Even if it was a little bit of a prayer shot at the end of the shot clock, that’s what big time players do. They step up and make big time plays in big time moments. That’s what that cat did. Lot of respect for him. Probably a really good chance we’ll see these guys again down the road and next time we’ll be better.”
