LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The date was June 27, 2024. That was the afternoon Pat Kelsey introduced Chucky Hepburn, Reyne Smith and J’Vonne Hadley to the community with their first media session.

This is what the three University of Louisville men’s basketball players promised 254 days ago.

“We’ve all got one year,” Smith said. “This is it for all of us. We want to make a run in the NCAA Tournament. That’s kind of the goal in mind throughout every workout and every day.”

“The energy has been one of a kind,” Hadley said. “I’ve played four years in college and this is the type of energy that I haven’t experienced yet. So I’m grateful for this energy and I’m grateful to be here with everybody.”

“Everybody in this locker room here, they just want to play basketball,” Hepburn said. “We’ve got goals of getting a national championship, getting an ACC championship.”

This is what they delivered: A 25-6 season beyond the wildest dreams of any rational college basketball observer. The Cards more than doubled the number of games (12) U of L won the previous two seasons. 

Picked to finish ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in October, Kelsey’s team planted an exclamation point at the end of their Senior Day regular season finale Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center, defeating Stanford, 68-48.

They will start the ACC Tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday in Charlotte, N.C. as the No. 2 seed, behind only Duke. They could begin their tournament run against Stanford, which earned the No. 7 seed and will play Wednesday.

"Thank you for believing in us all season," Hepburn told the crowd after the game. "We've still got a long way to go. I love you all, Card Nation. Go Cards."

Terrence Edwards Jr. led Louisville in scoring for the second consecutive game with 16 points, even though he missed seven of eight shots from distance.

"We wanted to bring The Ville back and we felt like we did that," Edwards said. "But now that we're here, we've set bigger goals for ourselves. We know we can make a deep run in March."

Hepburn also scored 16 with 4 assists, 4 steals, 5 rebounds and one kiss. When Kelsey removed him from the game with 32.5 seconds to play, Hepburn went to center court to kiss the Cardinal bird before he retreated to the bench.

"It was my Senior Night, the last time I play here," Hepburn said. "I cherish every moment."

"That is storybook," Kelsey said.

Hadley had 11. Smith did not play, watching from the bench with a protective orthopedic boot on his sprained right ankle. Kelsey said he did not have an update on when Smith will be available to play.

Can't forget the defense. Stanford huffed and puffed to 18 points in the first half and 30 in the second. The 48 points were the fewest the Cardinals scored in 31 games this season. The visitors made 20% of their shots in the first half, 30.4 percent for the game, averaging 0.787 points per possession.

"I feel like for the last three months we've really bought into the defense," U of L senior Noah Waterman said.

The community noticed. The players celebrated Senior Day with a high-octane crowd of 18,707. Not only was it the largest gathering of this season, it was the largest crowd since North Carolina helped attract 21,079 to Second and Main Street on Feb. 22, 2020.

"It was a magical day," Kelsey said. "It was special. The atmosphere was unbelievable. 

"(The crowd) meant a lot to the guys. It meant a lot to me as a coach. It's been a fun ride."

Put the Cards down for 25-6 overall and 18-2 in the ACC, the second most games any ACC team has won with a 20-game conference schedule. Only Duke, which went 19-1, has won more regular season games. The Cards earned the second seed by defeating Clemson, which also finished 18-2.

I did not expect this. Kelsey steadfastly refuses to look forward. So I asked him to look back. Did he expect this?

"No, I never thought we'd win a certain number of games or this or this," he said. "But I didn't think we'd be in this position right now. But it's so much fun."

Write Kelsey’s team down as a likely No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament, depending upon how they fare at the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, N.C., next week. They will arrive on 9-game winning streak.

The 25 wins are the most regular season victories delivered by this program since Russ Smith pulled the Cards to 26 victories in 2014. The 90% winning percentage in the Cards’ best in conference play since the 1993 team finished 11-1 (.917) in the Metro Conference.

Kelsey’s team earned a double bye in Charlotte. They won’t play until Thursday. They could start with a rematch against Stanford, which earned the No. 7 seed. The last time U of L won a game in the ACC Tournament was 2022.

The Cards have never advanced to the ACC Tournament championship game and have an overall record of 3-8 in the event.

"Let's go to the ACC Tournament and do our best to climb up a ladder and cut down some nets," Kelsey said.

The legacy this team has built is terrific, with a chance to upgrade it to unforgettable.

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