CARDINALS

Ex-U of L assistant Keatts excited for return

Jeff Greer
@jeffgreer_cj
Louisville head coach Rick Pitino, right, talks with assistant coach Kevin Keatts during the second half of last November’s game against Cornell.

Kevin Keatts just has a suggestion for University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino. Just a thought, no strings attached, no ulterior motive, don't mind him.

Keatts, the former U of L associate head coach who's in his first year as head coach at UNC-Wilmington, simply thinks Louisville might be better off without All-American Montrezl Harrell and guards Terry Rozier and Chris Jones on Sunday when the Cardinals host Keatts' UNC Wilmington squad at the KFC Yum! Center.

"I'm trying to be friendly so the score doesn't get lopsided," Keatts said, laughing. "I'm trying to talk him into maybe just leaving those guys on the bench."

Jokes aside, Sunday's meeting against fourth-ranked Louisville – the first ever between U of L and UNC-Wilmington – will bring back scores of memories for Keatts, who spent three seasons on Pitino's staff before leaving for his new job in March.

Related:Pitino says U of L's guards were "spectacular" vs. Indiana

Related:U of L's Harrell uses smarts, power to overwhelm IU

He'll walk onto the Yum! Center floor with his new team and see nine U of L players he coached and six others he helped U of L sign. He'll see familiar faces everywhere he turns, and he'll go toe-to-toe, mind-to-mind with one of the most influential mentors in his life.

All on a day when U of L will remember Billy Minardi, Pitino's brother-in-law who was killed in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

"It'll be different, for sure," Keatts said. "Certainly this is a basketball game, but it's much more than a basketball game, too, you know? It means a lot to (Pitino) and I know first-hand the emotions he'll have throughout the day. I'm just happy to be a part of it."

Keatts took over a UNC-Wilmington program that lost 63 games in the same three-season span that the 42-year-old Keatts worked at U of L.

But the Seahawks (3-2) are still in one of college basketball's top mid-major conferences – the Colonial Athletic Association – and made four NCAA tournament trips between 1999 and 2006.

Related:Keatts on Pitino's drive to keep coaching

The two coaches during that successful Wilmington run, Jerry Wainwright and Brad Brownell, both moved on, eventually, to lead power-conference programs.

In other words, they have a recent track record of success, and Pitino thinks Keatts can bring that back to Wilmington.

"I think he's going to take his biggest jump next year because he has four players sitting out (after transferring) and he had a good recruiting class," Pitino said.

"Kevin's going to do a great job. He's one of the best assistants I've had."

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On Sunday, though, UNC-Wilmington will play its fifth road game of this young season, one of 17 road trips this campaign, and the odds are stacked against the Seahawks.

U of L (8-0) has the second-most efficient defense in the country, and the Cardinals' offense looked to be in midseason form in Tuesday's win over Indiana at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Harrell, Rozier and Jones combined for 71 of Louisville's 94 points, plus another 26 rebounds, seven assists and six steals.

Call it a hunch, but Pitino probably won't stash those three away. Hey, at least Keatts tried.

"It's going to be a cool experience," Keatts said. "I just hope I don't accidentally sit on the wrong bench."

Reach U of L beat writer Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter (@jeffgreer_cj).