Louisville Legend Lauds Cardinals' Talent Level and Pat Kelsey's Culture

The 2025-26 men's college basketball season is just on the horizon, and few teams are generating as much buzz and intrigue as Louisville is. They're coming off of an incredibly successful first year under head coach Pat Kelsey, and the program bolstered their roster on several fronts over the course of the offseason.

Numerous local and national pundits have given their two cents regarding how good Louisville will be this upcoming season. Recently, one of the best players to ever don the red and black gave his thoughts on this very subject.

Earlier this week, The Field of 68 stopped by a Louisville practice, discussing the Cardinals as a whole, as well as interviewing Kelsey and several of their players. Among the people also in attendance at the practice was former UofL All-American and national champion Russ Smith, and he was also interviewed by the Field of 68.

Given Kelsey's roster construction efforts this past offseason, Smith is incredibly high on the amount of talent the Cardinals sport, and believe they have the makings to make a run at the Final Four.

"Honestly, if this team was around when I played, they would probably be a for sure Final Four team with a chance to win it," Smith said. "The climate of college basketball, I don't follow as much as you. But if this team was a 2014 team or a 2012 team, with the way they shoot, the experience, a freshman who wants to be better and do the right things, and with Coach Kelsey, he knows what the what the hell he's doing. He's great. This is a Final Four team."

During the offseason, Louisville added three top-25 transfers in Ryan Conwell (Xavier), Isaac McKneely (Virginia) and Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State), while landing a pair of top-25 Class of 2025 prospects in Mikel Brown Jr. and Sananda Fru. On top of that, J'Vonne Hadley and Kasean Pryor, two of UofL's leaders last year, are both taking advantage of extra years of eligibility.

Smith also lauded both the culture and the system that Kelsey and Co. has instituted in a relatively short amount of time. In less than two years, Louisville has gone from a bona fide dumpster fire to a program who has legitimate national title aspirations.

"When you're a great coach, you have a system that, day in and day out, you can depend on that's going to at least get you 17 to 20 wins," Smith said. "When it all fails. I'm gonna get 17 to 20 wins. I think Kelsey system, with the three point shot and his pace, you can just bank it that he's going to be in games, and that players are going to look like they have some structure.

"That's also accompanied with his personality. ... If you've been here, and you watch the practice, the energy is off the charts. Everybody's enthusiastic about being in the gym and working hard. It's just dope to really see that and have that again."

Despite inheriting a program that had gone 12-52 under previous head coach Kenny Payne, Kelsey experienced a tremendous amount of success in year one under his guidance. The Cardinals went 27-8 overall, winning more games than over the previous three seasons combined, resulting in Kelsey winning ACC Coach of the Year. UofL made their return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019 - although it resulted in a first round exit to Creighton.

Louisville tips off the regular season against South Carolina State from the KFC Yum! Center on Monday, Nov. 3.