LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Times like this one, where the moment and the mood combine to focus a University of Louisville crowd on a single player, are worth remembering. Tuesday night, with the KFC Yum! Center chanting the name of J'Vonne Hadley, was one of those moments.
He'd scored 32 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. It called to mind a night in in 2005 when Larry O'Bannon scored 33 points in a win over Marquette. A kid Rick Pitino had often described as "a nice young man" had transformed into a beast, and his name rang down from the Freedom Hall rafters.
Hadley, too, is a nice young man, though he's been on a mission since he arrived on campus. He does whatever is needed. Scores tough points in the post. Grabs rebounds on both ends. Takes difficult defensive assignments, like defending 7-footers, if asked.
But on Tuesday night at the KFC Yum! Center, this was something different. Here was Hadley with the crowd chanting his name — "Had-LEE, Had-LEE, Had-LEE" — about three minutes from the conclusion of a 74-64 win over Clemson, and you couldn't help but feel satisfied for him.
J'Vonne Hadley drives for two of his game-high 32 points in Louisville's win over Clemson on Jan. 7, 2024.
It wasn't just a happy moment but maybe one of those "everything happens for a reason" moments. Hadley's college basketball career has not been by the book. That is to say, if he'd consulted with a resume service like CareerBuilder, they wouldn't have advised some of the roads he took.
He signed with Northeastern out of high school in St. Paul, Minn., but that experience wasn't what he was looking for and he decided to take a step back to the junior college level. His season at Indian Hills Community College, where his cousin had played, was plagued by self-doubt and "some dark times." But the coach there, Hank Plona (now at WKU), helped him work through all of that.
People in this game don't generally take steps backward. But there must have been something at that level that Hadley needed to experience.
He wound up emerging at Colorado, where he was a key piece of an NCAA Tournament team last season that included three NBA draft picks, and became highly sought after in the transfer portal when he moved on.
In Louisville, he has found a program aching to get back to the elite level and the largest fan base he's ever encountered. He's not the biggest or fastest player on the court, but everything he has been through has prepared him for the moment.
J'Vonne Hadley drives to the basket in a win over Clemson on Jan. 7, 2024.
"Man, he's such a pro," Louisville coach Pat Kelsey said. "I mean we got a team full of that. But it's fun to really be able to talk about J'Vonne right now, because he's so darn regimented in his daily process. Like, he's 22 years old going on 40. Every day he gets his work in, he eats right, he gets his sleep, he gets his reps in, he's in the training room, he's doing his recovery, takes care of his business in the classroom. He's the type of kid you hope shows up at your door, you know to date your daughter. J'Vonne Hadley is the real deal, and he had a game he is going to remember for the rest of his life tonight. Big time performance."
Hadley played youth league and AAU basketball with a couple of future pros: Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren. But he says that his professional approach to the game, his organization, his attention to detail, really blossomed in — wait for it — junior college.
"Just not having the same resources, not having the things that we have here, you know, the best in the country, and I'm grateful for that," Hadley said. "I'm taking advantage of that. Our elite trainers, our elite diets, just everything about it. But I did learn that in JUCO, and that's something that will stay with the rest of my life, just being a professional -- in everything, not just basketball, school, work, what you eat, sleep, recovery, take care of your teammates, being a pro."
Hadley knew after he made his second three in the first half that he was on. Against a Clemson team that does a good job closing down three-point attempts, he also knew that there might be opportunities for a guy like him, who doesn't mind getting to the rim, or finding short jumpers. So he was just doing his job.
By the end of the game, point guard Chucky Hepburn was telling teammates to give Hadley the ball and let him work.
"I'm not really a give-me-the-ball guy," Hadley said. "My teammates were trying to give me the ball. I'm just trying to make the right play, honestly."
Hadley, naturally, was the choice for the ACC Network's postgame interview, after scoring the most points of any player in an ACC game this season. His coaches and teammates, meanwhile, were lying in wait in the locker room, dousing him with water and celebrating his game with him.
"They went nuts," Kelsey said. "Obviously, it is because they love J'Vonne, who is a phenomenal teammate. He is the ultimate blue collar, lunch pail guy. There are a lot of guys with higher scoring numbers and stuff like that. The job he does flies under the radar a little bit. But he is huge, a major, major piece of why we are really good. Tonight was his night."
For Hadley, it was a long and circuitous time coming.
"I turned the corner, and I got soaked," Hadley said. "That's just love from the teammates, for sure. ... It's a speechless thing, just to be at this level and playing with this team, with this amazing team. We lost a couple guys, and those guys are on the bench cheering just as loud as the fans are. So, it's just an unreal experience. I'm grateful that God's blessed me with this opportunity."
Louisville Basketball Coverage:
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