Louisville basketball fell to the Kansas Jayhawks 90-82 in last night's exhibition game from the KFC Yum! Center. Louisville shot an underwhelming 28.9 percent from the 3-point line in its debut and clearly has some areas to improve on when it watches the film. This team has a lot of talent, and this loss doesn't change the team's potential or expectations for the upcoming season.
The beauty about an exhibition game is that it means nothing and helps the team out way more than it hurts, and for the Cards, they should be eager to watch some film and fix a few flaws. Entering this game, all eyes were on the newcomers, but especially on the historic 5-star commit Mikel Brown Jr.
Brown Jr.'s unofficial debut was one that the fans were eagerly waiting for, and unfortunately, it just didn't go the way anyone was hoping for. Luckily for the fans and Brown Jr., it doesn't count, and when Pat Kelsey was asked about it, he remained unfazed and emphasized the future is still bright.
Pat Kelsey is not worried about Mikel Brown Jr.'s future
The 5-star point guard struggled with his shot all evening as he shot 2-15 in his unofficial debut and shot 2-10 from beyond the arc. Brown Jr. was caught with the jitters at times, but showed some potential in his bumpy performance.
When Kelsey was asked about his performance and how to address it with the true freshman, the head coach smiled and expressed how special Brown Jr is.
"He'll be fine," Kelsey stated after the game. "Mikel is a great player and a terrific talent, and all I've talked about and raved about is his approach, his mentality, and his professionalism. This is what we preach every day. If you stay steady in daily excellence, great things are going to happen, and that kid's future —bright — doesn't even describe it. He knows he didn't have his best night tonight. He's an unbelievable player and he's going to have a terrific year."
Brown Jr. showed his youth at times and took some poor shots. He will learn from the tape he watches, and Kelsey and the fans have no concerns about the future. With it being an exhibition game, the 5-star might have just been trying to find his shot and gain some confidence, but Seth Greenberg stated multiple times that Brown Jr. took some ill-advised shots. The first ones that come to mind are his airball 3-pointer in the second half, when he wasn't set and was off-balanced, and his pull-up 3-pointer in transition, which was heavily contested.
Brown Jr. will review these in the film room, learn from them, and move on. The 6-foot-5 guard is an elite talent with tremendous upside. Last night's struggles will only help him grow and become an even better player this upcoming season, and that is what is so great about playing Kansas in an exhibition game.
He is going to have some growing pains in his first season, and after last night, it will be crucial for him to take a deep breath and just play his game. He is an elite scorer, but quickly learned this isn't AAU basketball, and he can't force shots and has to let the game come to him.
Kelsey and the fans are not worried about this 5-star future just because of one bumpy performance, and after seeing him get shots up after the game, it just shows how special he truly is. Louisville is in good hands, and the future is 100 percent bright for the second-highest commit in program history.
Related: 5 biggest questions for Louisville basketball against the Kansas Jayhawks
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