NCAA Basketball: Top 10 best coaching hires from 2024 offseason

3. Pat Kelsey (Louisville)

Things have been dreadful at Louisville in recent years. Chris Mack failed to revitalize the program and Kenny Payne was plain putrid, winning just twelve games across two seasons as head coach. In comes Kelsey to clean up that mess and he may just be the man for the job. It’s his first foray into the power conference level as a head coach but he’s certainly shown his ability at two really solid mid-major programs.

A former point guard at Wyoming and Xavier, he got his first collegiate experience under his college coach Skip Prosser in the ACC at Wake Forest. Later an assistant at Xavier, his first head coaching gig was Winthrop, where he turned the Eagles into a dynamic program, winning four Big South titles and making two trips to the Big Dance. Kelsey then spent the last three years doing even better work at Charleston, with a couple of Tourney appearances, including a 31-4 mark in year two.

It’s important to remember that winning in the Big South or CAA doesn’t mean that Kelsey can magically be a winner in the ACC. Louisville has been abysmal in recent years. He’s a great coach on the rise who can absolutely turn things around and make Louisville a winner again, but we thought the same of their last two hires. This is a great hire with some hesitance, because this could be the guy to restore Louisville to its former glory… or maybe it won’t be.