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Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey let something slip during an episode of his radio show last October.
A team of documentary filmmakers has been following him around for the past three years.
"We're hoping to have an unbelievable wrap-up, and ending, to what could be a really cool documentary if we take care of business this year," he said.
A trailer for the project, "Marching into Madness: In Season with Louisville Basketball," dropped Tuesday morning. The first two installments of the five-episode series will be released at 9 a.m. Friday on Sports Illustrated's streaming platform, SI TV. The next two will be released Wednesday, March 18; and the final one will be released Friday, March 20.
Rough House Pictures, a Charleston, South Carolina-based company whose co-founders include actor/comedian Danny McBride, and the Boston-based Fresh Features studio oversaw production.
How did this come together? It can be traced back to a longtime friend of Kelsey's from Cincinnati who lives in Charleston, Mike Finley. He's buddies with a man named Kevin Barnett, whose writing credits include episodes of Rough House Pictures' popular HBO series, "The Righteous Gemstones," and approached him with the idea of a documentary following a coach.
"He said, 'I've got the perfect guy,'" Barnett, an executive producer on the project, told The Courier Journal. "He was like, 'He's a great coach; but he's an even better human being.' And we had known about Pat Kelsey coaching at College of Charleston. He lived in my neighborhood, but we had never met."
"His personality — that stuff really transcends," added Chris Pappas, another executive producer. "... He's just so energetic and passionate and forthcoming."
Barnett said there was some "hesitation, trepidation" on Kelsey's part in the beginning with regard to having his professional and personal life play out in front of a camera crew. But he trusted Finley's judgement and went along with it; and Barnett said he and his family "opened their hearts — but more so the curtain” to filmmakers Matt Allen and Tom Furcillo of Fresh Features.
Charleston went 27-8 and received an NCAA Tournament bid by winning the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament during Allen and Furcillo's first year following Kelsey. Then, UofL hired him to revive its storied tradition after going 12-52 across two seasons under Kenny Payne. "We think we have an ending," Pappas said, "but then all of a sudden it was kind of a beginning."
"It's an honor, to a certain extent, to be as close as we are and to be given the access to this journey," Furcillo added. "It's going to lead to some amazing moments in the show overall that will stand on their own against any documentary out there that's been done in sports."
One of those moments is when Kelsey dislocated a finger on his right hand last November, while celebrating the Cardinals' first win over archrival Kentucky since 2020 with members of his coaching staff in a practice gym adjacent to the team's locker room at the KFC Yum! Center. Furcillo had his camera rolling in the trainer's room while it was snapped back into place. Kelsey, he said, was "staring right down the barrel of the lenses."
"This felt higher level than almost anything I've ever done," the filmmaker said. "Because it's so authentic."
"It's been really powerful to watch people just tell us their stories in a pretty unfiltered way," Allen added. "We do a lot of shows; and, a lot of times, these type of interviews and things are forced — whether it's the reason that people are doing the project or the manner in which the project is funded or organized or controlled. In this case, it's been grassroots all the way across. They're a team and a group that has put themselves in this position by the sheer weight of their of own ambition and drive. We hope we reflect that in every frame."
In addition to Kelsey, his family and his staff, players such as Mikel Brown Jr., J'Vonne Hadley, Kasean Pryor, Kobe Rodgers and Reyne Smith have their moments in the spotlight during the series. Hadley, Pryor, Rodgers and Smith spent multiple years playing for the coach, with the latter two going back to his time at Charleston.
"It's no secret that cameras gravitate toward people who have something to say," Allen said. "I think that's why PK is such a great character."
Check out the trailer for "Marching into Madness: In Season with Louisville Basketball" below:
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey documentary release date, trailer
Continue reading...
A team of documentary filmmakers has been following him around for the past three years.
"We're hoping to have an unbelievable wrap-up, and ending, to what could be a really cool documentary if we take care of business this year," he said.
A trailer for the project, "Marching into Madness: In Season with Louisville Basketball," dropped Tuesday morning. The first two installments of the five-episode series will be released at 9 a.m. Friday on Sports Illustrated's streaming platform, SI TV. The next two will be released Wednesday, March 18; and the final one will be released Friday, March 20.
Rough House Pictures, a Charleston, South Carolina-based company whose co-founders include actor/comedian Danny McBride, and the Boston-based Fresh Features studio oversaw production.
How did this come together? It can be traced back to a longtime friend of Kelsey's from Cincinnati who lives in Charleston, Mike Finley. He's buddies with a man named Kevin Barnett, whose writing credits include episodes of Rough House Pictures' popular HBO series, "The Righteous Gemstones," and approached him with the idea of a documentary following a coach.
"He said, 'I've got the perfect guy,'" Barnett, an executive producer on the project, told The Courier Journal. "He was like, 'He's a great coach; but he's an even better human being.' And we had known about Pat Kelsey coaching at College of Charleston. He lived in my neighborhood, but we had never met."
"His personality — that stuff really transcends," added Chris Pappas, another executive producer. "... He's just so energetic and passionate and forthcoming."
Barnett said there was some "hesitation, trepidation" on Kelsey's part in the beginning with regard to having his professional and personal life play out in front of a camera crew. But he trusted Finley's judgement and went along with it; and Barnett said he and his family "opened their hearts — but more so the curtain” to filmmakers Matt Allen and Tom Furcillo of Fresh Features.
Charleston went 27-8 and received an NCAA Tournament bid by winning the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament during Allen and Furcillo's first year following Kelsey. Then, UofL hired him to revive its storied tradition after going 12-52 across two seasons under Kenny Payne. "We think we have an ending," Pappas said, "but then all of a sudden it was kind of a beginning."
"It's an honor, to a certain extent, to be as close as we are and to be given the access to this journey," Furcillo added. "It's going to lead to some amazing moments in the show overall that will stand on their own against any documentary out there that's been done in sports."
One of those moments is when Kelsey dislocated a finger on his right hand last November, while celebrating the Cardinals' first win over archrival Kentucky since 2020 with members of his coaching staff in a practice gym adjacent to the team's locker room at the KFC Yum! Center. Furcillo had his camera rolling in the trainer's room while it was snapped back into place. Kelsey, he said, was "staring right down the barrel of the lenses."
"This felt higher level than almost anything I've ever done," the filmmaker said. "Because it's so authentic."
"It's been really powerful to watch people just tell us their stories in a pretty unfiltered way," Allen added. "We do a lot of shows; and, a lot of times, these type of interviews and things are forced — whether it's the reason that people are doing the project or the manner in which the project is funded or organized or controlled. In this case, it's been grassroots all the way across. They're a team and a group that has put themselves in this position by the sheer weight of their of own ambition and drive. We hope we reflect that in every frame."
In addition to Kelsey, his family and his staff, players such as Mikel Brown Jr., J'Vonne Hadley, Kasean Pryor, Kobe Rodgers and Reyne Smith have their moments in the spotlight during the series. Hadley, Pryor, Rodgers and Smith spent multiple years playing for the coach, with the latter two going back to his time at Charleston.
"It's no secret that cameras gravitate toward people who have something to say," Allen said. "I think that's why PK is such a great character."
Check out the trailer for "Marching into Madness: In Season with Louisville Basketball" below:
Watch the trailer for upcoming Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey documentary
Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey documentary release date, trailer
Continue reading...
