Louisville Live has U of L basketball fans feeling good about Pat Kelsey, Jeff Walz teams

This was, however, the first time his team took center stage at the arena in front of Cards fans. His message to them and the players who came before his 2024-25 squad was brief: They aim to play a brand of basketball that will live up to the standards of one of the sport’s 15 winningest programs of all time.

“The revival is real,” Kelsey said.

Watch his full speech below.

Here’s a video of Kelsey’s introduction:

Kelsey’s tenure begins with exhibitions against Young Harris College (7 p.m., Oct. 21) and Spalding (7 p.m., Oct. 28) at the Yum! Center. The first week of the regular season features home games against Morehead State (7 p.m., Nov. 4) and Tennessee (noon, Nov. 9).

After the first round of the dunk contest, one of Walz’s eight freshmen, 6-foot-3 forward Anaya Hardy, stepped in. She had three attempts and tipped the last one in. Earlier in the evening, the Detroit native competed for the Red team during the 3-on-3 competition and blocked one of graduate forward Olivia Cochran’s shots.

Hardy was Louisville’s first commit in the 2024 class. Despite not ranking in the 2024 ESPNw HoopGurlz Top 100, she could be an underrated talent for the Cards in a season in which freshmen will have plenty of opportunities to play early and often.

Highlights from the 2024 Louisville Live Dunk Contest

Louisville’s Khani Rooths, Aboubacar Traore battle as Louisville women’s Anaya Hardy participates in the 2024 Louisville Live Dunk Contest Friday.

Speaking of the dunk contest, it came down to forwards Aboubacar Traore and Khani Rooths.

Traore, a 6-5 senior who transferred in from Long Beach State, had arguably the most impressive dunk, soaring over 6-11 center Aly Khalifa for a one-handed slam. But when the stakes were at their highest, the birthday boy couldn’t pull off an alley-oop off the side of the backboard from junior guard Koren Johnson.

Rooths, the team’s lone freshman, experienced similar difficulties with a couple of his dunks but got one to land before the buzzer every time. In the final round, he went with a behind-the-back, one-handed slam — then got to pose for a picture with Dr. Dunkenstein himself, Darrell Griffith. Not a bad first impression for the newcomer from Washington, D.C., who played his high school ball at prep powerhouse IMG Academy in Florida.

Rooths ranked 34th overall in the Class of 2024 on the 247Sports Composite. He was initially going to play at Michigan but decommitted in the wake of coach Juwan Howard’s ouster.

Expect to see a lot of 3s from Kelsey’s team this season. Only two others across the country attempted more per game than his final Charleston squad, which finished the 2023-24 campaign averaging 30.6.

The most prolific shooter on that team, Reyne Smith, took down BYU transfer Noah Waterman in Friday night’s shootout from beyond the arc.

Smith, a 6-2 senior guard from Australia, outscored Waterman, a 6-11 sixth-year forward, 19-15, in the final round thanks in large part to a barrage of six in a row. He totaled 36 points in the event, going 29 for 50. Last season, he converted 112 of his 284 attempts, which would have ranked second in Louisville’s record book behind Taquan Dean’s 122 in 2004-05.

Of the women’s players competing in the event, freshman Reagan Bender had the best performance. The 5-10 Louisville native, who played at Sacred Heart, finished with 14 points.

The top recruit in the Class of 2026 is a Louisville native: Tyran Stokes. The 6-7 forward had a front-row seat to the show Friday.

Stokes, who lived in the 502 until age 9, opted for a homecoming as the first official visit of his high-profile recruitment. Prioritizing him is a no-brainer for Kelsey and his staff, but the competition will be stiff. We’re talking Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Houston, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, UCLA and USC.

247Sports had Stokes, who plays his high school ball in California, second on its list of the country’s top high school talent, regardless of class, back in July. He would be the Cards’ highest-ranked commitment since the website’s Composite rankings began in 2003.

In July, Stokes told ESPN’s Jeff Borzello that he’s had “a couple conversations” about reclassifying to the 2025 cycle and starting college a year ahead of schedule but noted “that’s not really the option I’ve been thinking about.”

Sacred Heart 6-foot guard ZaKiyah Johnson and Danville Christian 6-5 forward Grace Mbugua made appearances at Louisville Live. Mbugua was previously committed to Liberty but reopened her recruitment in June. She visited Kentucky on Sept. 16 and has the Wildcats and Louisville among her top eight schools.

Johnson is the 12th-ranked prospect in the Class of 2025. She ended her junior season averaging 18.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.1 steals, helping the Valkyries win their fourth straight state championship. Johnson’s prep career has included three straight Sweet 16 MVPs, three straight Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year awards and three straight first-team All-State selections. The five-star recruit’s top six schools consist of Louisville, Kentucky, Notre Dame, South Carolina, LSU and USC, she posted on Instagram on July 3.

As a junior, Mbugua ranked among the top 10 in the state in scoring (25.7 ppg, fifth), rebounding (15.4 rpg, second) and field-goal shooting (61.8%, seventh). She also averaged 6.6 blocks per game and helped the Warriors go 29-3 and reach the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. Since joining the varsity squad as an eighth grader, Mbugua has tallied 2,007 career points and 1,527 career rebounds.

Jason Frakes contributed to this report.

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton. Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.