How fast the Louisville basketball team can rise to prominence

The Louisville basketball team has been one of the worst programs in America over the last two years. Everyone knows how bad things got in the two years that Kenny Payne was in charge of the team. Now it's Pat Kelsey's program and it's his job to get them back to what they were.

It's going to be quite a challenge. He's got a brand-new team as no one is back from last year's abomination of a squad. That should automatically make this team better this season. The schedule sets up well for them to win possibly three times the number of games they won last year.

That's not the goal at Louisville though. This program has a history of winning championships and being great. That's what the Louisville Cardinals are all about. That's what the fans want too. How quickly can this program get back into national prominence?

How quickly the Louisville basketball program can return to prominence

The key to the Cardinals getting back to being in contention for an ACC Championship is having better leadership. Last year, once they got down they just quit. They didn't have any hope that they could come back and win the game. That's what this team got from Kenny Payne and some of the guys on the team.

Now they have a new squad full of guys who have played at other programs. They're going to lean on guys like Chucky Hepburn to show that leadership when things get rough. He's not a guy who is going to quit even when the team gets down.

How quickly Louisville gets back to competing for championships comes down to how well they recruit. There are a few high-level recruits who have been making visits in the last few weeks that would certainly help them get back to that elite level.

If Louisville can win 16-18 games this year, that could entice some recruits to see that this program is on the way back. They might want to be a part of making them great once more.