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[D-West & PO-Z]

Not EXACTLY the same situation by any means, but Kelsey had a similar task at Louisville last year. 0 returning players, and while Louisville is a high profile program, they were coming off two straight years of being the worst P5/6 team in the country, so it was a bit of a sell job. They weren't a great team by any means, but they managed to finish 2nd in the (admittedly bad) ACC and make the Tournament. No reason Pitino can't do something relatively similar at Xavier.

Very fair comparison. They have more resources but like you said it’s not like they were pulling it and kids were dying to play there. Kelsey did a great job and they got screwed on their seed and faced a tough Creighton team rd 1.

[MHettel]

Not EXACTLY the same situation by any means, but Kelsey had a similar task at Louisville last year. 0 returning players, and while Louisville is a high profile program, they were coming off two straight years of being the worst P5/6 team in the country, so it was a bit of a sell job. They weren't a great team by any means, but they managed to finish 2nd in the (admittedly bad) ACC and make the Tournament. No reason Pitino can't do something relatively similar at Xavier.

And how would you characterize the NIL situation for UofL last year? Broadly, did the have one of the largest NIL budgets?

Maybe that had something to do with it.

[GoMuskies]

I don't know that they did. I don't know that they brought in a bunch of high priced guys that were roundly coveted by others. Maybe a couple of guys. They should have more of a hunting license this year now that Louisville's donors trust Kelsey.

[Xville]

I don't know that they did. I don't know that they brought in a bunch of high priced guys that were roundly coveted by others. Maybe a couple of guys. They should have more of a hunting license this year now that Louisville's donors trust Kelsey.

Outside of Hepburn whom I'm guessing was pricey, they didn't bring in anyone that was that highly regarded. They didn't have the money available that they do now in NIL. There was hesitancy on Kelsey who was a big unknown at this level, and the wallets were not opened up.

[Xavier]

From everything I’ve seen the NIL was about the same as X actually. I think the bigger difference is playing in the ACC vs Big East though. I don’t think Louisville had a win over a tournament team since January. Kinda crazy to say, just way easier to rack up wins in the ACC

[Xville]

From everything I’ve seen the NIL was about the same as X actually. I think the bigger difference is playing in the ACC vs Big East though. I don’t think Louisville had a win over a tournament team since January. Kinda crazy to say, just way easier to rack up wins in the ACC

Correct. Of course now it is much higher with the big money donors understanding that Kelsey can coach at this level. The pressure is going to be on him this year though. They are spending a whole lot of money on this years' roster, and a one and done in the tournament isn't going to cut it.

[MHettel]

Correct. Of course now it is much higher with the big money donors understanding that Kelsey can coach at this level. The pressure is going to be on him this year though. They are spending a whole lot of money on this years' roster, and a one and done in the tournament isn't going to cut it.

I just took a look at the UofL roster. It’s worth the time to scroll through the players and check their histories.

Aside from 1 returner and 4 dudes that Kelsey brought from Charleston, it’s pretty apparent what his roster strategy was.

First, he had 1 FR, 1 So, 3 JRs, and 12 SRs. ( a few guys logged 0 PT so maybe redshirt or injury).

He clearly just brought in some bodies for the end of the bench. Looks like he grabbed about 6 guys with starting experience and another 2 or 3 that had other PT and were probably envisioned as rotation guys. The freshman contributes a little. 2 guys from CofC started.

It doesn’t look like he spread the money too thin at all. I don’t know for sure but again 4 or 5 guys were just bodies out there. Maybe they were walk ons.

And the roster was clearly built to get through year 1

[Caveat]

https://x.com/247HSHoops/status/1907843510599893348

All Wright is All In.

[Xville]

I just took a look at the UofL roster. It’s worth the time to scroll through the players and check their histories.

Aside from 1 returner and 4 dudes that Kelsey brought from Charleston, it’s pretty apparent what his roster strategy was.

First, he had 1 FR, 1 So, 3 JRs, and 12 SRs. ( a few guys logged 0 PT so maybe redshirt or injury).

He clearly just brought in some bodies for the end of the bench. Looks like he grabbed about 6 guys with starting experience and another 2 or 3 that had other PT and were probably envisioned as rotation guys. The freshman contributes a little. 2 guys from CofC started.

It doesn’t look like he spread the money too thin at all. I don’t know for sure but again 4 or 5 guys were just bodies out there. Maybe they were walk ons.

And the roster was clearly built to get through year 1

He did a really great job at balancing for the immediate and the future.

Edwards - Senior
Hepburn - Senior
Smith - Senior
Hadley - 2 years
Pryor - Senior
Scott - Soph
Waterman - Senior
Rooths - Freshman
Johnson - junior
Traore - Senior
Khalifa---coming off injury so redshirted this year but will be rotation next year.

Pryor was a starter but he got injured so he will be back. They are also bringing back Hadley, Scott, Rooths, Johnson and Khalifa. So had Pryor not gotten injured, they would have brought back 5 guys, but since he did, they bring back 6. It's a great starting point, and allowed them to be very aggressive right out of the gate and identify a few guys to backfill positions. This is the kind of thing that I'm talking about that X needs to do in terms of strategy and development.

[Xville]

https://x.com/247HSHoops/status/1907843510599893348

All Wright is All In.

Thank goodness. I was starting to get worried because there was a ton of smoke yesterday and then it was eerily quiet.

So, Roddie has said he's staying home today and we got our scoring guard. Time for some scoring and defensive bigs.