Louisville Live is here. Updates from U of L basketball tipoff event at KFC Yum! Center

Posted by Admin October 4, 2024 Basketball

Who’s ready for some Louisville basketball?

The Cardinals’ men’s and women’s teams are ringing in the start of their 2024-25 seasons Friday night with the return of Louisville Live; and this year, the traveling pep rally is taking on its largest venue yet: the KFC Yum! Center.

U of L’s 22,090-seat home arena isn’t as innovative as previous destinations (Fourth Street Live!, Churchill Downs and Louisville Slugger Field) but was an obvious choice considering new men’s head coach Pat Kelsey and his overhauled roster have not yet taken center stage there; that coach Jeff Walz‘s women’s team features eight freshmen and one transfer who haven’t experienced that feeling, either; and that average scanned ticket for the men’s team fell to 6,504 per game during former coach Kenny Payne‘s woeful two-year tenure.

“Obviously, the vision is for rear ends to be in all of those seats — to create one of the best atmospheres in college basketball,” Kelsey said Monday. “When it’s right, it is; and it’ll be great to get that energy on Friday.”

Courier Journal reporters Brooks Holton and Alexis Cubit will be at Louisville Live. Below, you’ll find their live updates when the event begins; and, until then, things to know about it and the Cards with a new season on the horizon.

Louisville Live begins at 8 p.m. Friday inside the Yum! Center with hosts Bruce Dougherty and Ari Waller. The arena will open its doors to fans at 7 p.m.

There will be activities on the plaza in front of Yum! Center before Louisville Live — featuring giveaways while supplies last — and a pep rally, dubbed the “Rally in Whiskey Alley,” on the block of Washington Street between First and Second streets. The block will be closed to vehicle traffic around 5 p.m.

Louisville Live will feature introductions of men’s and women’s basketball teams, an intrasquad three-on-three competition, a 3-point shootout and a dunk contest.

One team in the three-on-three competition will be: men’s players Terrence Edwards Jr. and J’Vonne Hadley, women’s players Mackenly Randolph and Ja’Leah Williams and former Card Stephan Van Treese. The other team will be: men’s players Koren Johnson and James Scott, women’s players Imari Berry and Anaya Hardy and former Card Chelsie Hall

The 3-point shootout will include men’s players Kasean Pryor, Noah Waterman and Reyne Smith and women’s players Izela Arenas, Reagan Bender and Tajianna Roberts; while the dunk contest field is composed of men’s players Frank Anselem-Ibe, Chucky Hepburn, Khani Rooths and Aboubacar Traore.

Note: Tipoff times and TV assignments are to be determined, unless noted otherwise.

Monday, Oct. 21: vs. Young Harris College (exhibition), 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Monday, Oct. 28: vs. Spalding (exhibition), 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Monday, Nov. 4: vs. Morehead State, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Saturday. Nov. 9: vs. Tennessee, noon, ACC Network
Tuesday, Nov. 19: vs. Bellarmine, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Friday, Nov. 22: vs. Winthrop, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Wednesday, Nov. 27: vs. Indiana (Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise, Bahamas), noon, ESPN
Thursday, Nov. 28: vs. Gonzaga or West Virginia (Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise, Bahamas), either noon or 2:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Friday, Nov. 29: vs. TBD (Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise, Bahamas)
Tuesday, Dec. 3: Ole Miss (SEC/ACC Challenge), 9 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday, Dec. 8: vs. Duke, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Wednesday, Dec. 11: vs. UTEP, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Saturday, Dec. 14: at Kentucky
Saturday, Dec. 21: at Florida State, 2 p.m., The CW
Saturday, Dec. 28: vs. EKU, noon, The CW
Wednesday, Jan. 1: vs. North Carolina, ACC Network
Saturday, Jan. 4: at Virginia, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Tuesday, Jan. 7: vs. Clemson, 7 p.m., either ESPN2 or ESPNU
Saturday, Jan. 11: at Pittsburgh, either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
Tuesday, Jan. 14: at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday, Jan. 18: vs. Virginia, either ESPN or ESPN2
Tuesday, Jan. 21: at SMU, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Tuesday, Jan. 28: vs. Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday, Feb. 1: at Georgia Tech, 3:45 p.m., The CW
Wednesday, Feb. 5: at Boston College, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday, Feb. 8: vs. Miami
Wednesday, Feb. 12: at N.C. State, 7 p.m., either ESPN2 or ESPNU
Sunday, Feb. 16: at Notre Dame, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday, Feb. 22: vs. Florida State, noon, The CW
Tuesday, Feb. 25: at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday, March 1: vs. Pittsburgh, either ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
Wednesday, March 5: vs. California, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday, March 8: vs. Stanford, ESPNU
Tuesday, March 11, through Saturday, March 15: ACC Tournament (Spectrum Center; Charlotte, North Carolina)

Frank Anselem-Ibe (center, fifth year)
Patrick Antonelli (guard, fifth year)
Terrence Edwards Jr. (guard/forward, fifth year)
J’Vonne Hadley (guard, fifth year)
Chucky Hepburn (guard, senior)
Koren Johnson (guard, junior)
Aly Khalifa (center, senior, redshirt)
Spencer Legg (guard, junior)
Aidan McCool (guard, graduate student)
Kasean Pryor (forward, fifth year)
Kobe Rodgers (guard, senior, redshirt)
Khani Rooths (forward, freshman)
James Scott (forward, sophomore)
Cole Sherman (guard, junior)
Reyne Smith (guard, senior)
Aboubacar Traore (forward, senior)
Noah Waterman (forward, sixth year)

Note: Tipoff times and TV assignments are to be determined, unless noted otherwise.

Monday, Nov. 4: vs. UCLA (Aflac Oui-Play Event in Paris), ESPN
Friday, Nov. 8: vs. Southern Indiana, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Tuesday, Nov. 12: at UT Martin
Saturday, Nov. 16: at Kentucky, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 21: vs. Morehead State, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Sunday, Nov. 24: vs. South Florida (WBCA Showcase in Orlando, Florida), 1 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 30: at Colorado
Wednesday, Dec. 4: vs. Oklahoma (SEC/ACC Challenge), 5 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday, Dec. 7: vs. UConn (Women’s Champions Classic in Brooklyn, New York), 9:30 p.m., FOX
Thursday, Dec. 12: vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Sunday, Dec. 15: vs. N.C. State, 1 p.m., ABC
Saturday, Dec. 21: at Memphis
Sunday, Dec. 29: at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Thursday, Jan. 2: vs. Miami, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Sunday, Jan. 5: at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACC Network
Thursday, Jan. 9: at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Sunday, Jan. 12: vs. Georgia Tech, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Thursday, Jan. 16: vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Sunday, Jan. 19: at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday, Jan. 26: at Virginia, 2 p.m., The CW
Thursday, Jan. 30: at SMU, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday, Feb. 2: vs. Notre Dame, noon, ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 6: vs. California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday, Feb. 9: vs. Stanford, noon, ESPN2
Thursday, Feb. 13: at Florida State, 6 p.m., ACC Network Extra
Thursday, Feb. 20: at Duke, 7 p.m. ESPN2
Sunday, Feb. 23: vs. North Carolina, 2 p.m., ESPN
Thursday, Feb. 27: vs. Clemson, 6 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday, March 2: at Notre Dame, ESPN
Wednesday, March 5, through Sunday, March 9: ACC Tournament (Greensboro Coliseum; Greensboro, North Carolina)

Izela Arenas (guard, freshman)
Reagan Bender (guard, freshman)
Imari Berry (guard, freshman)
Olivia Cochran (forward, graduate)
Jayda Curry (guard, senior)
Rebekah Graves (guard, freshman)
Anaya Hardy (forward, freshman)
Nyla Harris (forward, junior)
Eseosa Imafidon (center, redshirt freshman)
Elif Istanbulluoglu (forward, sophomore)
Isla Juffermans (forward, freshman)
Mackenly Randolph (forward, freshman)
Tajianna Roberts (guard, freshman)
Merissah Russell (guard, graduate)
Ja’Leah Williams (guard, senior)

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton. Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.