Louisville had it all: they won a national championship under legendary coach Rick Pitino in 2013. The Cardinals had made the tournament virtually every season since 2003 under Pitino. They had transitioned from arguably the hardest conference in basketball, the old Big East, to the new hardest conference in basketball, the ACC, for the 2013-14 season. The program seemed destined to start a new dynasty before the allegations came against Rick Pitino.
Flash forward: the national championship was removed along with many wins from that era; the hires from his departure in 2017 all failed. The Cardinals only reached one NCAA Tournament and finished one season with four wins. However, everything changed with one hire. Louisville basketball is back with Pat Kelsey. The turnaround has been remarkable, but is it a new normal? What does such a rapid turnaround mean for college basketball?
Louisville Basketball is Back: The New Winning Formula
The Roller Coaster Season
The 2024-25 season has been an interesting ride for the Cardinals. They lost early to Tennessee by 22. Louisville followed that up with good wins against Indiana and West Virginia. They lost four of their next five. Before going on a nine-game win streak, including wins at Pittsburgh and SMU and home wins against Clemson and North Carolina, Louisville has an overall record of 15-5 and an 8-1 record in ACC play. Their only conference loss is to Duke, a team with a legitimate chance to run the table in the ACC. Louisville basketball is back.
They will need to keep up the strong showing in the future, as they still play Pitt and Wake Forest at home, but their schedule is much easier down the stretch. The Cardinals rank 24th in the NET. After years of struggle, Louisville will make the NCAA Tournament unless they collapse down the stretch against far inferior opponents. They’ve recovered from the injury to Kasean Pryor, the player whose injury sparked the losing stretch in the middle of the season. With Chucky Hepburn leading the charge, the Cardinals will roll through the regular season and compete for an ACC championship.
The New Winning Formula
Louisville is an interesting case study for the positives of the current college basketball landscape. A massive roster overhaul is entirely possible in just one season. Louisville won eight games, remade most of their roster, and now will make the NCAA Tournament, barring a chaotic collapse. Louisville basketball is back, but they’re not the only team to do it, either. Michigan basketball has recovered quickly under Dusty May. West Virginia has rebounded well behind coach Darian DeVries. Georgetown has drastically improved from their first season with Ed Cooley. The transfer portal has opened the door for rapid roster improvements, but there are more similarities for all of these programs.
- Each team had sustained success before their collapse
- They struggled mightily from a bad coaching hire
- They took a coach from a successful school (three of four from a mid-major)
- They used the transfer portal to completely remake their roster
The significance of this for college basketball cannot be overstated. Historically, good programs can recover quickly with these new parameters and return to college basketball dominance. It won’t be impossible for programs to build themselves to elite status. However, these historically good basketball programs will never be gone for long, even if they hire a bad coach.
Louisville Basketball is Back: What it means for College Hoops
The Cardinals still recruit well from high school and even recently signed their potential point guard of the future. They’ve made waves in the transfer portal as well. Louisville basketball is back. The college world shouldn’t be scared because this is possible with any program. Watch for Miami to become a contender with a good hire following their disaster season. Syracuse may be making the same mistake, but one offseason can change the whole program. Fans of college basketball rejoice: the days of prolonged ineptitude of your favorite team are likely over. However, you could lose your coach, or you could lose all your good players to the transfer portal. It may be a toxic environment, but the transfer portal has certainly helped good basketball programs quickly turn their programs from laughing stocks to contenders.
