Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope
Eric Crawford

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) - Louisville and Kentucky fans do not agree on much. I think we all know that. 

But stick with me for a second. I am going to ask you to do something unheard of in 2024. Ready? 

Give things a chance. Let them play out.

Now, who am I kidding? I'm a 31-year-old reporter who tweets too much. And during coaching search season, the tweets fly through the air like I'm Jack Gohlke with a sliver of space from distance or facing the most recent edition of Louisville's three-point defense.

(The jokes are equal opportunity, everyone has to deal with them.)

When both the Cardinals and Wildcats started their respective processes for finding replacements for a man responsible for a coaching tree (former UK coach John Calipari) and for quite possibly the worst branch from that tree (former U of L coach Kenny Payne), fans of both programs rubbed their hands together.

No, I am not saying everyone was in agreement that they wanted a change. It was more like a rubbing a magic lamp, hoping a red or blue genie would emerge to deliver wishes of splash hires.

Scott Drew? Surely he would leave Baylor, right? Both programs have more history, tradition and resources than the Bears.

Try again. Make a reservation at Mi Casita in Waco, Texas next time.

Nate Oats? Alabama is a football school! The Crimson Tide is more known for drawing 70-plus thousand fans for a spring game, not hanging on every basket in March.

(Wait...I just checked my notes. Alabama has made more postseason noise recently in hoops than two of the top-10 men's basketball programs of all time. And Nick Saban retired.)

Take another swing. Dan Hurley? He was not into the rich pour of Lexington's Craft brewing. He opted to just keep making his own championship batch in Connecticut.

What about the young, hot name: Dusty May? He squeezed finer tastes out of a bottom-of-the-barrel program to cause Louisville to take a shot. His palate felt the early burn of temptation, but it went down (or up, I guess) to Michigan instead.

There were more names, but who were the last ones standing? In Louisville: Pat Kelsey, from the College of Charleston. He has never won an NCAA Tournament game or been a head coach in a power conference.

In Lexington: Mark Pope, from BYU. He has never won a conference title or an NCAA Tournament game. 

Now, I said I let my tweets fly. This is the point where I remind you that you, my dear friends...you let a whole lot of them rip. And initially, you were not pleased.

Then, something strange happened. Each guy got behind their respective microphones. And they said everything you had been wanting to hear.

Mark Pope

Each of them had genuine unscripted moments, interacting with fans in an energetic way not seen at either school in recent years. Kelsey ran into one of his 52 first cousins while crossing the street from Denny Crum Hall to the Kueber Center. Pope saw the legions of fans waiting to get inside Rupp Arena and decided to hop out of his car to greet them.

They embraced social media and decided to engage you with content. Pope rolled into Rupp on a bus with a bunch of Wildcat greats, who helped fill your nostalgia needs. Kelsey pulled out his phone in parking lots while throwing first pitches and running routes.

And dare I say it...our nation's best cradle of college basketball felt like it got shots of life to revive some hope for two major pieces of it. (Sorry, Indiana. Or not sorry. I don't know how you feel quite yet about Mike Woodson being back. It just doesn't fit this story.)

The days of the big names are over. Jay Wright's suit collection was already made for TV and it turns out he was too.

Maybe Billy Donovan does come back to the college game down the line, but for now, you can go see him at the United Center with the Chicago Bulls. Just drop off Bozich at Guaranteed Rate Field, but be warned: The White Sox are 2-13.

Mike Krzyzewski has a radio show. Jim Boeheim is somehow on TV and doesn't seem to totally hate it. Roy Williams just wants to go to some dadgum games and wear nice sweaters.

College basketball is no longer defined by iconic coaches. They are not extinct, but the meteor is close. As player empowerment has increased with compensation, building a program in the transfer portal, on the recruiting trail and staying ahead of the curve for those two things with NIL has become paramount. You need coaches who are salivating at the chance to dive into the chaos as opposed to complaining about it. 

Kelsey and Pope have not won a single game yet. But their first wins have already happened.

Pat Kelsey and Josh Heird

New Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey with athletic director Josh Heird at Kelsey's introductory news conference.

They have given their fan bases hope that they will relentlessly attack the process of building rosters. They have impressed donors and fundraisers to assist them in doing that. They have seamlessly made every public relations layup. They have emphasized the gravity of the jobs they earned. And they have provided enough details for their plans to win quickly to convince enough of you it can be done.

For once, it sounds like two guys whose main dreams in this profession were to get to where they are now. Is that not what everyone wants here?

UKPOPE Mark Pope

Mark Pope speaks to an overflow crowd at Rupp Arena during his introduction as Kentucky head basketball coach.

Time will tell if they get to stick around long enough to say they met the expectations they are embracing. And as both of them made clear, your criticism and praise are not only encouraged, but expected. I will read your tweets. I can't guarantee they will. But it sounds like they at least care about them to some degree.

These are not jobs where you just get to say you coach at Kentucky and you coach at Louisville. No, you have to work harder than ever to have the privilege of coaching at two places that want to win worse than anywhere else. Then, if you do, congratulations. That means you can soak up some of the most raucous atmospheres in sports.

So, I think we can all agree on this: Maybe Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope were not your first choices. Hell, I am willing to bet for many of you, they probably didn't even crack your top five.

But it doesn't mean they can't be the right ones. Maybe they just fit here. After all, they have embraced enough to be given the chance to consider it.

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