Pat Kelsey understands the Louisville –  “I want to not like Mark (Pope), but it’s hard not to, because he’s a really good dude,” Kelsey said.

 Will we see a return to the glory days of the UK – UofL rivalry?

To call Kentucky vs. Louisville a rivalry, at least lately, kind of does a disservice to some of the other college basketball rivalries that exist.

When Rick Pitino was in Louisville, sure. That was more contested.

Now? Not so much.

UK has dominated as of late, winning five of the last six matchups in the series, and the lone defeat was during the COVID-shortened season.

New UofL coach Pat Kelsey hopes to change things. He’s fully aware of how much this in-state rivalry means.

“Rivalries are what makes college basketball great, man. It’s what makes sports great,” Kelsey said in a recent interview with Andy Katz. “On a different scale, I grew up in Cincinnati, and there’s an unbelievably bitter rivalry (between Xavier and Cincinnati). I don’t know if you wanna say bitter, because it’s a homes-divided kind of thing like it is with South Carolina and Clemson or Ohio State and Michigan.

“Louisville and Kentucky…man, it’s one of the greatest rivalries in our sport. This is a basketball-mad state, a basketball-crazy state.”

One issue Kelsey is having? Finding reasons to dislike new Kentucky head coach Mark Pope.

“I want to not like Mark (Pope), but it’s hard not to, because he’s a really good dude,” Kelsey said. “He came up to me and introduced himself. We started talking, and I walked away like…Louisville fans might not want me to say this, so I apologize; that’s a really good dude.”

Kelsey came to Louisville from Charleston, where his three seasons are considered the most successful era in Cougars history. He finished his three years with a 75-27 record, two conference regular-season titles, two conference tournament titles, and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

Cardinals fans are hoping that success follows Kelsey to Louisville and leads to a more competitive rivalry with the Wildcats.