NCDS: Pat Kelsey, Assoc. Head Coach - Xavier ("For the 'J' Love of the Game")

By: Pat Kelsey, Assoc. Head Coach - Xavier

For the 'J' Love of the Game

As the season begins its second half and March nears, I feel a sense of sadness in that I have only a few more months to coach a truly special young man: Senior Jason Love. I have been very lucky to have coached some great players during my career. In nine years, I have had the privilege to coach and help develop NBA players such as Josh Howard, Darius Songaila, James Johnson, Jeff Teague and Chris Paul. These are some of the best players on the planet and it was an unbelievable experience to see these elite athletes hone their skills first hand.  When my career is over, however, I will look back and consider myself just as lucky to have coached a young man like Jason.
 
Jason hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During our recent trip to The City of Brotherly Love, I had the honor to meet Jason's father, Wendell.  Obviously, the credit goes to the outstanding job Jason's family has done in raising him into the man he is today.  Jason is mature beyond his years and carries himself with a quiet confidence that is very impressive. He is a terrific student and the ultimate ambassador for this great university and the Xavier Basketball program.  

From a basketball perspective, Jason is a true craftsman. He works on his trade every single day. Jason will be the first to tell you that he is not the most physically gifted player on the floor. It is his zeal for practice and improvement that makes him one of the best big men in our conference. If Jason has a weakness, he wants you as a coach to expose and identify it so he can relentlessly work to make it a strength. I have never worked with a player that doesn't have "teaching slippage." Jason doesn't.  He remembers EVERYTHING!  You immediately see him putting into practice something that you addressed in a one on one film session. Speaking of film, Jason is religious in his tape review. Even if we play a late game and charter home at 2:00am, I know that Jason will be knocking at my door between his 11 am and 1:00pm class wanting to see his mistakes from the night before! I gladly sacrifice sleep in pursuit of giving Jason quality feedback that will make him better.  It motivates me as a coach to know that Jason wants to be coached, wants to get better and sees me as someone that can help him achieve his goals.
 
I hope that my young daughters will have the type of commitment and focus toward their life's work that Jason Love has to his. Most importantly, however, I hope and pray that they develop into the type of high character individuals that Jason Love has become!

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