Pat Kelsey compares Kentucky roster to Noah's Ark: "He's got two of everything"
Mark Pope and Pat Kelsey have been chummy with one another ever since taking over as coaches of the most bitter rivalry in college sports this offseason. They understand the magnitude of Kentucky vs. Louisville, the former calling it a “brawl” and “like brothers going in the backyard and getting after it” while the latter added “I know how bitter it is and I know how important it is here.”
Thing is, they both really like each other.
“I love Pat, man. I actually love him. He’s a hard-driving, on it 24/7 guy. I love him, actually, and I’ve got a ton of respect for him,” Pope said.
“I want to not like Mark, but it’s hard not to because he’s a really good dude,” Kelsey added. “He came up to me and introduced himself. We started talking and I walked away like — Louisville fans might not want me to say this, so I apologize — ‘That’s a really good dude.’”
So imagine what it was like when the two got together in the same room for the Leadership Louisville Luncheon this week, a conversation moderated by Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg. They opened the event talking about their passion for the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the quick comfort they’ve found in their new roles, embracing the excitement both fanbases have entering this new era of the rivalry. Then they praised each other as coaches and their ability to lead their respective programs.
“We have a lot of similarities. Like, we’re both really imposing figures physically,” the 5-foot-8 Kelsey joked. “(Pope) played in the 90s at Kentucky, I played at Xavier. He scored 1,236 points, I missed a thousand points by 847. He knows Ashley Judd, I’ve seen one of her movies before.”
After sharing leadership strategies and diving into their coaching journeys, starting as towel boys and working their way up to lead prestigious programs, they finally got into some basketball talk. When asked about the upcoming season and what excites Pope about his debut in Lexington, he talked about the summer and just how productive the Wildcats were able to be both on and off the floor.
“I’m incredibly excited,” he said. “We talked about starting with people, and I think we have tremendous people. We had an eight-week training camp this summer where we got together. We don’t have a single player on our roster that’s played at the University of Kentucky before, and we only have one player that has played for me before. So we tried to squeeze a whole season into eight weeks and my guys responded brilliantly.
“The things they learned about on the court I was excited about, but their interactions off the court are what really have me inspired. Where I see guys going out of their way to intentionally as a verb love each other and lift each other and care about each other. I’m also watching my guys learn very quickly what this great state is and what it means to have a chance to wear Kentucky across their chest. That’s a brilliant thing. And we all share that together — Louisville, Lexington, everyone in the state. We share that together, wanting to grow this place and make it better. … We’re incredibly excited about this coming season.”
What are Kelsey’s thoughts? He couldn’t help but discuss the Cats to open his response.
And he’s clearly a fan of what Pope’s been able to do with his roster.
“Obviously, with the rivalry, I’ve paid very close attention to what Mark has done and what he’s built,” he said. “He’s underselling it, he’s like Noah’s Ark. He’s got two of everything.”
How about his own team? Kelsey talked about overcoming the new challenges of college sports and how establishing a winning culture is the most important part of building a program. That’s going to lead to games won for the Cardinals.
“Collegiate athletics is different than it’s ever been before with NIL, which creates a whole new thing,” he said. “The teams that can be the most cohesive, that can love each other, that can sacrifice, those are the truths of winning whether you’re at the professional level of football in the NFL, Major League Baseball, collegiate basketball, that’s a big, big part of building a winner.
“Oh, and by the way, I think we’re gonna be good. I really like my team.”
Mayor Greenberg said that he hoped both Kentucky and Louisville made it to the national title game in April 2025, Pope and Kelsey agreeing that they’d be cool with their debut seasons wrapping up together in San Antonio’s Alamodome.
I think Big Blue Nation and Card Nation would agree.
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