Pat Kelsey had to acknowledge it.

Ninety-one days into the job, on a Thursday in late June, the Louisville men's basketball head coach walked into a room at the Cardinals' practice facility packed with reporters waiting with questions about a team that won't play a game that counts for more than four months.

"The passion for Louisville basketball," he said, "never ceases to amaze me."

That moment encapsulates why The Courier Journal is launching a U of L men's basketball mailbag.

The storied program is, to borrow a phrase from athletics director Josh Heird, "the lifeblood" of a city that in 2015 was crowned "The College Basketball Capital of the World" by The Wall Street Journal; and Kelsey has rejuvenated a fan base desperate for a return to national prominence after reaching historic lows under ex-coach Kenny Payne.

Can it be done? We're about to find out.

The first edition of the mailbag will be published before our first look at Louisville's 2024-25 roster, a two-game exhibition tour of the Bahamas tipping off July 30. Kelsey and his staff have also been out on the road evaluating high school recruits competing on the AAU circuit for their 2025 class and beyond.

If you have a question on either front — or anything else related to Cards basketball as Year 1 of the Kelsey era nears — follow the instructions below to submit it for the mailbag.

How to submit a question to The Courier Journal's Louisville basketball mailbag

Questions can be submitted via email (bholton@gannett.com) and X, formerly Twitter, at @brooksHolton.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball Pat Kelsey era: Send us questions about Cards