Takeaways From Louisville Men's Basketball's 2023 ACC Tipoff and Media Day

It's been a busy week for the Louisville men's basketball program.

On Wednesday, the Atlantic Coast Conference held their annual Basketball Tipoff media event, with Cardinals head coach Kenny Payne, guard/forward Mike James and forward J.J. Traynor making the trip. On Thursday, the program also held their annual Media Day.

Below are some of the more impactful takeaways from the availabilities with head coach Kenny Payne and the players. Louisville is set to tipoff the season on Monday, Nov. 6 vs. UMBC at the KFC Yum! Center.

Payne Wants Players to Not Forget Last Season

When you go through a season that was as bad as Louisville's was last season, one where the Cardinals went 4-28 to set a new single-season program record for losses, many people would think Payne and Co. would have to put that as far behind them as possible. However, that is far from the case. In fact, Payne doesn't want to forget the struggles of last season, and wants them to use use it as motivation for this upcoming season.

"I think it's also important that we don't forget last year because we have something to prove," Payne said. "There should be a chip on our shoulder. We have to earn respect. ... We have something to prove and we're not going to forget that. I'm not going to just say, Let's move on from it. I want us to prove to people that we are taking a major step in the right direction with this program. We're going to have some success this season."

On the surface, it might seem difficult to use last season as a motivational tool for the current team. After all, there are seven newcomers, and only four scholarship returners from their 4-28 campaign. But though using film of last year's team, Payne was able to get the newcomers motivated to try and rebound from a season that they had no part in.

"The dynamic is, we put it on the table, which we've done from day one that they walked in here," Payne said. "We showed film of last year. I watch film constantly of last year to see what we did good, and what we did bad. That's not centered around wins and losses, it's more centered around what type of stuff that we run and cause people problems. I want those guys to see it."

Coaches, Returners Believe Chemistry is Vastly Improved From Last Season

One of the litany of issues that plagued last season's 4-28 team had was that their perceived chemistry was extremely low. Body language was poor, effort was largely absent, and they quite frankly at times looked like they did not get along with each other.

With the roster nearly completely flipped over, and Louisville retaining players that Payne considered to still be bought into what he is trying to establish, the head coach of the Cardinals believes that the overall chemistry of the team is lightyears ahead of what last season's had.

"I just think that we have a different group," he said. "We have a different chemistry, we have a different basketball team. We have guys that are in the gym. We have guys that I purposely make things hard, so that I can see personalities, I can see character. Then I can see lack of character. When I make things hard, I see them huddling up, saying, 'Okay, let's huddle up. He's gonna run us again. Please, guys, let's make sure we focus. Let's make sure we have great energy.' That's a sign for me.

"At times in the past, it's been more splintered. You hear arguments. Those days are gone, nobody's really arguing like that. So that gives me hope that we are coming together, we're learning about each other, and when things get hard, they gravitate to each other."

Payne isn't the only person that believes that this team has more connectedness than last season. Louisville's returners all believe that the team is a lot closer and has a lot more on- and off-court chemistry.

"I feel like both teams were together, both team were connected, but this time we're driven," guard/forward Mike James said. "We have a goal, we know what the team went through last year, and we know what we want out of this season. Everybody has the same goal for each other and for the teams. I feel like we're much more connected in that area. I feel like on the court we talk to each other more, we have each other's backs more. That'll be exciting to see."

Defense is Still First in Payne's Program

When Payne was first introduced as the head coach of the Louisville men's basketball program in March of 2022, he said from the very beginning that he wants to run a program that has an emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. Fast forward a year and a half later, and that message still hasn't changed.

"When you have that many guys, you have to dominate the defensive end of the floor," Payne said. "You cannot let teams control the game. That takes focus and discipline. I use this word often: desperateness. So defensively, we have to be a team that takes stuff away from offenses."

Of course, Louisville will have to make significant steps forward to become a defensive-minded program. Last season, the Cardinals ranked 315th nationally in scoring defense at 75.8 points allowed per game, and 331st in opponent field goal percentage at 47.1 percent.

With the roster almost completely flipped over, Payne says he is starting to see what Louisville can be on that end of the court. They just have to be consistent.

"You see in in spurts," he said. "You see that we can pick up full court in spurts. We haven't gotten consistent at it, and I don't want us to be consistent at it right now. We're learning about each other. We're learning the importance of playing defense. And as we watch games, and as we play games and watch the film of it, we'll understand why we're doing what we're doing."

Transfers Skyy Clark, Tre White Standing Out Early as Leaders

Louisville's four scholarship returners - Mike James, J.J. Traynor, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Emmanuel Okorafor - have all adopted their own crucial leadership roles on a team looking for a huge rebound in year two of the Kenny Payne era. With that being said, two of the most vocal leaders throughout the summer and preseason so far have been transfers Skyy Clark and Tre White.

"I think, for those two in particular, I think being in those roles where they may not have been happy at times helped them," Payne said. "The experience of being in college helped them. I think they bring that to the table, which makes us better."

Both players bring high-level experience to Louisville. Clark averaged 7.0 points, 3.7 assists and 2.1 assists per game during his freshman campaign at Illinois, while White put up 9.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game to get named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. But while both players have shown that they can perform on the court, Payne likes how they can elevate Louisville on and off of it.

"I need guys that are givers," he said. "I need spirit children, who have a spirit about them that everything about them and around them lifts up the room, lifts up a team. I need guys that are more concerned with their play in conjunction with the team, than themselves individually. I think these two kids fit that. They're givers.

Payne Not Worried About Naysayers

Of course, when you go 4-28 at a program with a tradition like Louisville's, it will generate a high level of criticism whether you're a first-time head coach or not. As Kenny Payne heads into year two at the helm, his biggest takeaway is not worry about those who aren't in his corner, and keep his focus on building up the players in his program.

"I learned that the people that are with you are going to be with you. The people that aren't, don't worry about them," Payne said. "My job, the main thing I take away from it is, I had an obligation to the young people - whether I've recruited him or brought him in or not - to love them. To be good to him, to not take my frustrations out on him. And I didn't."

That being said, a certain level of expectations come at a program like Louisville. If Payne doesn't start producing results soon, eventually his seat will start getting hotter. But even with that being the case, he doesn't feel pressure in year two considering what he was handed when he took the job.

"I don't feel pressure," he said. "I feel like when you look at it, genuinely, honestly, it's the first step. This was broken, right? It was broken on a lot of different fronts. So to watch it, see it evaluate it, figure out how do you fix this, how do you change this, has been hard.

"I feel like we've taken a major step in the right direction. I want people to watch us and say it looks different. That's why I keep talking about the eye test. It feels different, the energy's different. Then people will understand that we're headed in the right direction."