CofC’s Coach Kelsey Ready to Build Off Year One

Returning Players & Seasoned Transfers Keep Kelsey Hopeful For Season  Two

By: Jeff Walker, Sports Writer

With Earl Grant leaving as head coach of the CofC’s men’s basketball team right after the 2020-21 season, the college scrambled rather quickly finding nine year Winthrop head coach Pat Kelsey eager to bring his brand of winning basketball to Charleston. The fifth all-time winningest coach in the history of the Big South Conference and a two-time finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, Kelsey brought with him average of 20 plus wins per season during his tenure in Rock Hill, S.C.

However, despite a stellar start to the year and a few marquee wins, Kelsey finished his first season with the Cougars 17-15 overall and 8-10 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Not bad overall since he got what would be considered a late start to preparing for the season as a new coach. A tried and true family man, Kelsey says there were a lot of hurdles to overcome than just hitting the hard court.

“The first year was a little like chaotic. Really it went by so fast. Maybe not as much chaos as a whirlwind. It was life changing, not only for me but my family. Even though we only moved a couple hours down the road we had to uproot kids out of school. I took my wife out of the neighborhood where she knew everyone. Where everyone car-pooled, and more importantly we had a home church.”

He goes on to say, “So here I am doing my best with my wife to find a new home, get the kids enrolled in school and doing everything a husband and father needs to do to take care of his family. And on the other side of the equation I’m a new coach trying to build a new program at a well respected school with a long tradition of celebrating men’s basketball.”

Making certain the family is taken care of was his first priority, and then there was the job he was hired to do which always comes with its own challenges. “So I kind of had to build the program from the ground up, because we only had a few guys returning.”

While players may understand the basics of the game, Kelsey admits there’s more to it from the coaches point of view. “I had to fill a roster and establish a culture here that was mine but that embraced the players. I had to instill my philosophy on game, offense and defense, what I expected from the players, how I act and interact with the players, and basically laying the overall foundations of the game that I’ve learned and appreciated over the years.”

With a full season plus under his belt Kelsey can approach his second season with a different outlook. “Now in year two most of the personal things in my life are all settled. We’re comfortable in our neighborhood and the kids are in school.”

He adds, “From a basketball perspective I’m way ahead because I have so many guys who are back that have experience and can share that with new players. Even though they are players, it allows me to have extensions of the coaching staff. They can tell the new guys, this is how we do it. This is what coach means by that. Most didn’t know last year because we were all new to each other.”

Several first year players received valuable playing time last season, impressing Kelsey from the start. He hopes they will continue to shine. “You have those returners like the freshman who are back. Reyne Smith, Ben Burnham, Babacar Faye, and Charles Lampten really proved invaluable to the team.”

Kelsey’s hoping to see what graduate student Dalton Bolon will add after being sidelined due to injury. “Of course we’ll have Bolon returning who had a broken foot and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season after just a few games.” Appearing in just three contests Bolon averaged 9 points, 4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game guiding the Cougars to a
3-0 start before being injured. “We’ve yet to see his full game potential.”

With key players returning Kelsey is equally excited about some new faces he hopes will make a big difference this season. “We mentioned those core players who were freshman, but now are returning who got a lot of court time. So really that makes them juniors even though they are only sophomores. We talk about Bolon coming back from his injury who will make a difference this season, as well as three graduate transfers.”

A trio of new players have Kelsey excited about how CofC will perform this year. “Ryan Larson who was a three year starter at Wofford. Started over 100 games at Wofford. Jaylon Scott who was the runner-up national player in the NAIA, and then Pat Robinson who was a Division II all American, a team mate of Dalton Bolon. All these guys came in battle
tested, older, veterans, mature, and have integrated easily into our program.”

Does Kelsey expect them to make an impact from day one. “They are all going to factor in. Ryan Larson will be our starting point guard. Jaylon Scott could be one of the best perimeter defenders in the conference. He looks like an NFL linebacker, he’s strong and physical. And Pat Robinson has a ton of experience. Sometimes when these grad transfers come in they carry a bit of a chip on their shoulder, in a good way. They want to prove themselves because they are only here for a short time.”

Kelsey adds, “And with graduate transfers you have to be careful recruiting them. When you peel away the onion you have to certain you are bringing in players for the good of the team. Overall the three guys we have are high caliber players with good character. They are tough, competitive and very successful on the court.”

Breaking it down Kelsey sees it this way. “Regarding our veterans, I would look to our older players, the transfers to have the biggest impact early on. But Ante Brzovic who comes in as a freshman transfer is a big 6’10” Croatian who has big upside as well, and will make an impact over the next few years.”

With a healthy team, new faces, and returners with plenty of on court experience, Kelsey’s pre-season forecast remains the same. “I always have the same expectations going into each new season, and that is competing for a championship. I don’t talk about that much, because I focus on the game ahead, however it’s something I try to instill in the players so they have focus. We may not win every game, but I want them to play at or near championship level every time they are out on the court. There is no shame in losing if you play at a high level.”

With nearly their entire team returning, Towson who won the conference championship last year comes in at the top spot in pre-season polls.

“They should be ranked pre-season No# 1. They won the league and have just about everyone returning including several starters.”

Kelsey believes rankings have significance. “Rankings are important because they get attention and generate excitement. It’s good for our conference and college basketball overall. People in sports, writers and sportscasters love to talk about rankings. It generates a certain buzz. Fans like to talk about rankings.”

Does he focus on rankings. “You’re not worth your salt as a coach if you don’t let your players know who the top one, two, and three teams are, but you don’t harp on those things. Honestly rankings are nice to talk about but you put little things in your pocket that you take out to motivate the players.”

While he’s not trying to sound like a broken record, Kelsey’s refrain is the same. “I said this last year and I’ll repeat it because it’s important. The emphasis is on ‘excellence and the next thing’. I always ask the players ‘what is the most important thing in our program’, and they all repeat ‘the very next thing’. That might sound very ‘coach
speech’, but it’s something we have to hold as our core, whether during practice or a game. And I believe it’s a mindset they can carry with them outside the game.”

For Kelsey, inspiration is ongoing and something he learned from another coaching legend. “Basketball is a microcosm of life. Athletics is a microcosm of life. The great Skip Prosser was such a wordsmith. He would say that the thing you get to experience as a high level athlete is not something the regular everyday student gets to experience.”

The next thing and rising above and beyond challenges are important to Kelsey. “As coaches we are constantly teaching life lessons. What’s the motivation. It’s not if you deal with adversity, it’s when you deal with adversity, and how you respond to it. How do you handle it. You’re not going to win every game. You’re going to have injuries and other things pop up out of the blue.”

When it’s all said and done, Kelsey knows he has to prepare the players for life off the court. “A lot of guys at the Power 5 level don’t get to the NBA level. There’s only 30 teams in the NBA and only 12 roster spots. More often than not guys are leaving college to take on the game of life, not the game of basketball.”

For Kelsey it’s not just the elite coaching position that is appealing to him and his young family, it’s the low country overall. “I kind of knew this going in because Charleston comes with such a rich history. But until you experience it from living here I don’t think you fully grasp it. A lot of people see it from the outside looking in, but when you wake up here everyday you come to appreciate how blessed you are to live and to work in Charleston. It has so much to offer. Not just the charm and history, but the lifestyle, restaurants, shopping, sense of community, weather, and the beaches.”

Coach Kelsey appreciates Charleston for the same reason many do. “You have the core people who have been here their whole lives and then you have so many people who come here, so it’s a good mix of established residents and people who are coming here for all I just mentioned.”

Although he welcomes his role at the school, Kelsey sees the bigger picture. “I absolutely love being the head coach for the men’s team at the College of Charleston. It’s an ideal coaching job, but honestly over the past year I’ve come to appreciate the relationships I’ve built even more. So many interesting, warm and welcoming people here in Charleston, it’s just overwhelming.”

He admits being a likeable and personable figure around the school, and in town allows him a welcoming nickname. “Most people when they learn you’re a coach especially at the level I’m at, they affectionately call you coach. I embrace it.”

Kelsey may be the current coach, but he still gleans from the very best including the legendary John Kresse. “That’s a relationship that’s been so special to me. One of my closest relationships in Charleston. We have breakfast at the Marina Variety Club on regular occasion. Maybe we get together once every 4 to 6 weeks. We talk about his grandkids, my kids, basketball, x’s & o’s.”

Does Kelsey pick his brain. “Absolutely, everyday, all day, I’d be a fool not to. He’s just great all around, and universally respected by everyone he knows and in the game of basketball.”

Kelsey explains in detail. “He’s such a great tactician of the game. His offensive execution is legendary. I’ve talked to some of his former players and they would say ‘if coach Kresse said to be on a particular spot than you better be there, not there or over there, but right here’. You learn so much when you have a conversation with John. The times have changed but the core basics of the game remain and he has a lifetime of knowledge that he loves to share and talk about.”

Coach Kresse is not the only legend who offers advice. Kelsey has conversations with Bobby Cremins as well, just not as often. “He doesn’t live here so I don’t see him as much. We text and talk sometimes on the phone. He’s been really really good to me, donated stuff as does Coach Kresse to our Legacy Club, which is our betterment fund. He’s been very supportive.”

Kelsey recalls being among the coaching gods during his first season at CofC. “Last year at the North Carolina game to have Bobby, Coach Kresse and Roy Williams together was just amazing.” With Kresse’s 560 win banner hanging over the same court that bears his name, Kelsey jokes he’d have to be around a long time to reach that mark. “I’d have to coach to I’m about 120 and have 20 win seasons to get where Coach Kresse is at.”

Building his own impressive resume with consistent 20 plus wins seasons at Winthrop, Kelsey was touted by other programs, with the College of Charleston always on his radar. “I had offers from other schools but we loved Winthrop, and I was trying to build something there. But we’ve always had our eye on Charleston. This is an elite coaching position in an elite city. My family has been coming here since 1981, so I fell in love with Charleston long before I began coaching.”

For those who witnessed Coach Kelsey first hand during his inaugural season with CofC, he’s has tremendous respect for the sixth man i.e. the fans, especially the students. “I think when I took this job and in the press conference I tried to instill where I hope to take this program. Now in year two I feel just as confident. I hope they sense that from me. I understand the only way we achieve, or rise to championship level is with support of the fan base, the student body and the city of Charleston rallying behind us.”

Kelsey says the excitement has been set in motion. “I firmly believe we’re on the way there. My vision, or my dream I like to say when we get to that level, when we peak so to speak, it will be not only because the team embrace the mission, but because we have support from the school, the fans, and the neighboring community.”

Adding, “I think the momentum we started last year will only build this year. We have one of the toughest non-conference schedules of any school in Division I. We will be tested. We are taking a team with different parts and putting them together and diving into a high level schedule.”

Coach Kelsey is thinking long and short term. “With what we’re building and the recruiting class next year, and you talk to people who remember when Coach Kresse had it at its peak, the energy and the buzz was palpable. You could feel it, especially since he built it in that intimate little gym here. I talk to people who have been following the
program for decades and they talk about the heartbeat, how it galvanized in Charleston. I want to bring that back.”

Whether the Cougars won or lost at home Kelsey had the same post game ritual. “As a coach you have to be invested in the fans. They have to share ownership with the program, the players and myself. I earnestly want them to feel that Coach Kelsey values us. Whether it’s over Christmas break and there’s only six or 10 students in that section, I’m going to high five them. If there is 2600 there then I’m going to figuratively high five everyone. I want my excitement to overflow to the fans and especially the students.”

Revitalizing the programs and partnering with whoever wants to take part is what Kelsey is hoping to do. “So bringing it full circle, we build this thing, giving the fans, the students ownership in the mission is integral in our success. I want them to say Coach Kelsey and the players needs us. I want to get back that buzz here on King and Meeting Streets.”

Kelsey wants to create an atmosphere at TD Arena that is similar to prime time television. “The same buzz we had against North Carolina last year. I want to turn this program into can’t miss TV. Holy cow how do I get tickets for to the Cougars.”

Despite being the host location (TD Arena) the annual ESPN Charleston Classic can only include CofC every fourth year. The Cougars will compete again this year.  “There are several high profile tournaments early on, but I truly believe we have one of the premier tournaments in the country. You talk to coaches around the country and they want to come here. Their fans want to come to Charleston. Honestly who doesn’t want to come to Charleston. My family and I wanted to come here.”

This year’s tournament includes Davidson, Old Dominion, Colorado State, Virginia Tech, Penn State, as well as palmetto state teams Furman and South Carolina. “It’s a good lineup.”

Kelsey sees nothing but upsides to Charleston hosting such a high profile tournament. “It’s well run, ESPN do a phenomenal job. We are on the inside. They use our people to help run and host the tournament. Game ops, ticketing, marketing, we do a lot and they really appreciate what we bring to the table. It’s a great tournament and it showcases this fine city of Charleston.”

With players moving around during the college playing years it provides a window of opportunity for Kelsey. “In the day of the transfer portal it’s pretty darn nice to have schools of this caliber come year in and year out, and players get to see and experience Charleston, and maybe they say I’d love to play basketball here.”

The College of Charleston men’s basketball program kicks off the 2022-23 season hosting a former Southern Conference foe, before jumping into a rather tough schedule. “We start off with Chattanooga (Nov 7th), who are coming off an awesome year. We go to North Carolina, and have Richmond here, then Davidson in the opening round of the Charleston Classic. We’re playing teams that were in the NCAA tournament. We’ll be battled tested early on and see how the players react, but hopefully that will strengthen us before we begin conference play.”

For more on CofC men’s basketball schedule, visit https://cofcsports.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule?path=mbball

For the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic, visit https://espnevents.com/charleston-classic/

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