Kenny Payne is gone, along with all that Kenny pain.
Sorry, hard to resist one more dig at the guy who made our lives so miserable for two seasons. So unnecessary all that Payne-ful pain.
A new day has dawned for University of Louisville basketball. A new chapter being written by an energetic young coach, Pat Kelsey, full of non-stop energy and enthusiasm. Totally committed to returning UofL to its rightful spot among the nation’s elite programs.
Only one regular season game and a handful of exhibition games under his belt. But it’s already obvious that Louisville basketball bears no resemblance to its immediate past. The ball movement is fluid, the passing continuous, looking for the open man, finding the right shot. Relentless and smooth. Players playing with purpose, playing for success, playing for each other. Playing for UofL, driven by a diehard base of Louisville fans.
The new era began appropriately enough with a slam dunk by James Scott, followed by a 3-pointer by Terrance Edwards. Just like that UofL was ahead 5-0. The Cardinals would unleash an 18-3 run over nine minutes to go up 27-8. The visiting Eagles were done, disoriented, unprepared, mesmerized by the new look Cardinals. Final score: Louisville 93, Morehead State 45.
A crowd of 12,490 roaring, with non-stop approval for 40 minutes. Just the beginning, all three levels will be needed for the crowd growth at the KFC Yum! Center this season. Look no further than this Saturday with sixth-ranked Tennessee coming to town.
“I am proud of our players,” said Kelsey. “I thought they played really hard and paid attention to details on scouting reports meticulously over the last few days. We have an old, mature that amaze me in their attention to detail and focus and scouting reports. They did that for Young Harris and they did that for Spalding and they did that tonight for Morehead.
“I am 100 percent sure they will do the same thing for this huge, huge game here at the Yum! Center that the nation will be looking at as we get ready for a very, very good and well-coached team – a hall of famer – here on Saturday. I am looking forward to it. We are fortunate to have that opportunity and looking forward to it.”
Louisville connected on 32 of 71 field goal attempts for 45.05% while hitting 11 of 36 from behind the 3-point line for 30.56%. They held Morehead to 12 of 52 from the field for only 23.08%. Kasean Pryor led the Cardinals in scoring with 18 points.
So many new faces, all of them new faces. So many new weapons. But the big time returns Saturday with a huge opponent. The difference this season is that the Cardinals will be better prepared than in the recent past.
