LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Reyne Smith remembers new Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey making him a promise.

In 2021, the Australian guard was weighing his options during recruiting. He had followed in the basketball footsteps of NBA standouts like Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills at the Australian Institute of Sport. Now, he just needed to figure out his next step.

Kelsey told him something early in the recruitment process: If he committed to come play for him, the coach would do a flip into a pool.

A couple of months went by and Smith committed to play for Kelsey. Then, he got a video call. Kelsey's son Johnny held the phone and there was his fully-clothed father flipping into a pool for Smith to watch.

"I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into when I was getting recruited and coming over," Smith said with a laugh. "He's exactly how I kind of thought of him throughout the whole recruiting process, who he is as a person. He never kind of changed up on anything."

That kind of relationship is what has kept Smith following Kelsey. He did it before he ever even played a game, following the coach from Winthrop to the College of Charleston. And he's doing it again, committing to transfer to Louisville as Kelsey attempts to kick start a revival of Cardinal men's basketball. 

"I've been really fortunate that he's had the trust in me to kind of be with him throughout the entire journey," Smith said.

The trust has been backed by what was historic production for his Cougar career. As a freshman, the Aussie set a program record for made threes in a season by a freshman, splashing 90 triples. Over three seasons, he made 294 shots from beyond the arc, which ranks second in Charleston history. 

Smith was a leader for the Cougars this past season, leading his team in minutes, points and threes. The sharpshooter tied for eighth nationally with 112 made triples and also ranked in the top 20 with 284 three-point attempts.

"I think it's definitely really special, the relationship we've built over the years, and kind of my trust in him then leading to the trust he's got in me to go out there and at times, shoot terrible shots and make some plays that he's probably wondering what I'm doing," Smith said. "Just being consistent in the approach of every single day, that leads him to trust you kind of in a way to play with a little more freedom because he knows that you're going to follow the culture every day and you're the same every day."

While wanting to diversify his game in an effort to be more versatile once ACC competition comes, Smith sees his role at Louisville as being more than a sharpshooter. He believes culture is crucial to Kelsey's success, seeing him implement it from the start at Charleston.

The coach finished with a record of 75-27 while making back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances at a program that had just one tournament berth over the 22 seasons before Kelsey's arrival. Smith, who has three years of experience under Kelsey, wants to be a leader in helping instill the values his coach emphasizes.

"It's definitely hard," Smith said. "If it was easy, everyone would do it and everyone would win. So, that's kind of what it takes for us. Culture can be for the good or for the bad. And he reminds us every day of what the culture is: the standard of how you practice, who you are as a person and things like that.

"I think for me, it's going to be to get the new guys to buy in. As the transfer portal and recruiting thing happens, it's going to be a whole new team that hasn't been under PK before. So, it's definitely hard to kind of get used to the culture and realizing that it is every single day, not when you feel like it and when you feel good. It's when things are rough, you got to have the same approach as what you did when things were going well for you."

Pat Kelsey

New Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey talks to fans at his introductory news conference.

Things have clearly not gone well at Louisville in recent years. The Cardinals are 12-52 over the past two seasons, which is why Kelsey is even here in the first place. Smith saw how badly Louisville fans want him to succeed, as he said he was flooded with messages as soon as he entered the transfer portal, which excited him.

"Fans were just nonstop commenting and DMing me saying, 'Come, come, you'll love it here,'" Smith said. "It was insane. I haven't kind of really been in anything like that before."

But just like the guy tasked with turning the Cardinals around, Smith is confident the Cards can win quickly. After all, his trust in his coach has already paid off pretty well.

"Because that's who he is," Smith said. "Everything he does is to win. And the approach from practice, it could be you're doing a layup drill or anything like that. If you're not going as hard as you can in that drill, he is going to stop it and make you redo it as hard as you can. That, to me, is how you create winning: really focusing on the details of everything, not just go out there on the court and hope you win.

"You got to kind of take some control over that. And he said it best: 'If you don't plan on winning, don't put your shoes on.' And that's exactly the approach we'll have. We're not going into next year thinking, 'Oh yeah, we're rebuilding,' and things like that. We're going in to definitely win games."

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