Three Takeaways From Louisville MBB's Time at the 2025 ACC Tipoff

The annual Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Tipoff is always an indicator that college basketball is on the the horizon, and this week, it made its triumphant return.

Representatives from all 18 ACC teams descended upon Charlotte, N.C., each providing insight into the upcoming seasons for their respective programs, and the Louisville men's basketball program was no exception.

Both at the podium in front of the media, as well as on set for the ACC Network, new head coach Pat Kelsey, guard Ryan Conwell, and guard/forward J'Vonne Hadley each had plenty to say regarding the Cardinals.

Below are three of the more impactful takeaways over the course of the three-day event. Louisville is set to tipoff the season on Monday, Nov. 3 vs. South Carolina State at the KFC Yum! Center.

Unselfishness Continues to Permeate Within Kelsey's Culture at Louisville

While flipping rosters is a lot more common in this day and age of NIL and the transfer portal, first-year head coach Pat Kelsey had the dubious task of replacing every single scholarship player on the roster last offseason. He eventually produced an NCAA Tournament team that went 27-8, winning ACC Coach of the Year in the process.

Heading into the upcoming season, Kelsey didn't have to replace as many players as he did last year, but he did bring in a lot more talent to produce an extremely loaded roster. Between the extremely deep back court, a handful of extremely viable wing options and a few big men, the Cardinals have the depth to go up against anyone in the country.

With that depth, especially when combined with Kelsey's high-tempo system where he gives regular run to up to 9-10 players in a season, this is not expected to be a team that places a massive focal point on one individual player. Fortunately, the players on the roster are 100 percent bought into the notion of team before me.

"It's going to be some of my games where I have 30 (points), or some games where I have 10-12," guard/forward J'Vonne Hadley said. "There's going to be those games, especially with out guard play. People are going to go off, and we want them to go off, and we're encouraging people to go off and have great games. Because if we're going to win, that's what it takes."

Part of this is due to the culture and coaching style of Kelsey himself. That being said, the head man himself also says that he and his staff were deliberate in bringing in players that not only were great basketball talents, but were willing to take a back seat at times for the good of the team.

"I think it starts with the content of the competitive character of the guys," he said. "I think it starts with the recruiting, the selection, the evaluation process to see what guys are about, what makes them tick. A leopard doesn't change its spots. It's hard to bring a selfish guy in. You think you're going to change him from being selfish.

"I feel very, very strongly about the group of guys, and their commitment to winning, and understanding that it's going to be this guy's night this night, it's going to be that guy's night that night, and that's the makeup of this team."

Kelsey and the Players Aren't Bothered by Heightened Expectations

When Kelsey first took over the Louisville job roughly a year-and-a-half ago, expectations were not supremely high. Of course, the program has just gone through their version of the Dark Ages, and fans simply wanted to see Kelsey produce a winning brand of basketball.

Well, it's safe to say that year one of his tenure produced that and then some. Not only that, but the Cardinals head into the 2025-26 season with a much more talented and experienced roster, especially in the backcourt. Now, the expectations are back to being historically what they have been at Louisville.

"Last year, a lot of the fan base, when you go to the grocery store and stuff like that, it was, 'Hey, go out there and get some wins.' But now, when you go to the grocery store, they're like, 'Hey, hang that banner'," Hadley said. "You can just see the different level of expectations from our fan base. But we try not to talk about that, and worry about that too much, just because we know what represented Louisville and their history."

The fanbase isn't shy about reminding Kelsey and Co. what they expect out of him and his players moving forward. That being said, they're not running away from these expecations - they're embracing them. But also in the same breath, they're not allowing themselves to get carried away with those expectations, and want to continue laying down the road to a national championship one brick at a time.

"Last year, our thing was 'blinders on, next thing, be great in the process.' We didn't listen to them when we played poorly early on. We didn't listen to stuff when we went 18-2 and won and 14 straight in the ACC," Kelsey said. "We're doing the same thing now, and that is the key to this whole deal. You're talking about expectations and how good we can be. That's an outcome that we can't worry about. It's about tomorrow's practice at three."

Kelsey Not Wanting to Rush Kasean Pryor Back Too Quickly

Louisville undoubtedly has a plethora of talent at their disposal. But there's a very good chance that one of their best players might not be available right out of the gates.

Forward Kasean Pryor, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee on Nov. 29, has made a lot of progress in his rehabilition process post surgery. While the forward himself believes he can be ready for Opening Day, Kelsey wants to make sure he's 100 percent healthy first.

"He's had a great mentality, even when he's been out," Kelsey said. "I think these guys could speak to that. He's leaning forward, and in every huddle as we implement things, as we put in set plays, baseline out of bounds, he's asking questions and champing at the bit to get out there full go.

"When that time comes, it will come. We don't want to rush it. We want him to come back when he is fully healthy. Once you are fully healthy, it takes time to get back in rhythm after not playing for the better part of a year. I'm excited about where he's at and how he's working."

While Pryor had a bit of trouble finding his shooting stroke last season, he still averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in his seven games and three starts last year. The season before with USF, Pryor was the Bulls' third-leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, while also pulling down a team-best 7.9 rebounds. He also averaged 1.8 assists, shot 44.7/35.2/81.5 for the season, and logged 12 double-doubles.