“I M LEAVING”: Danny Manning angry and announced resignation and departure from Louisville Cardinals men’s basketball today….

On the name, image, and likeness (NIL) front, Louisville men’s basketball received a boost on Monday.

Local businessmen Rick and David Kueber of Glow Brands contributed a $1 million matching gift to the Cardinals’ NIL collective, 502 Circle.

Rick Kueber stated that the funds will be “earmarked for men’s basketball, and any leftover proceeds will go to the other sports” during an appearance on WLCL 93.9 FM.

He said to presenter Drew Deener, “I think we all understand how important the success of Louisville basketball is to the city.” “We’re thrilled to be doing this. The presence of coach Pat Kelsey among us makes us very happy. I believe that these are wonderful times.

Less than a week has passed after the Kueber family’s donation, and on March 28—Day 1 of the Kelsey era—502 Circle announced the highest number of new participants in a single day.

The 48-year-old coach should be able to build his first roster with significant assistance from the money.

All but one of the players from U of L’s 2023–24 squad, whose 8–24 record resulted in head coach Kenny Payne’s dismissal, had signed via the NCAA transfer portal as of Monday morning.

Over the weekend, Kelsey was able to get two commitments via the portal from players on his final Charleston team. First, freshman big James Scott recorded a team-high 45 blocks in 16.1 minutes per game; second, junior guard Reyne Smith led the Cougars in scoring and was among the nation’s best 3-point shooters.

Terrence Edwards Jr., the guard for James Madison who was voted the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year this season, is allegedly paying Kelsey a visit on Tuesday.

“It’s crazy that we’re sitting here and talking about having to put together a fund to put together a basketball team,” said Rick Kueber. “I don’t think any of us ever saw ourselves in this situation, but it’s crucial that we are here now. This money is quite significant.

“We want Pat and his staff to get off to the right start; and we need to put together a roster that’s competitive.”

In 2018, the Kueber family acquired the name rights to the training center that serves women’s lacrosse, women’s basketball, and men’s basketball. Planet Fitness, Sun Tan City, and Buff City Soap are its Glow Brands.

Josh Heird, the sports director, declined to comment when questioned about specifics during Kelsey’s inaugural news conference, including where Louisville is in the NIL game and the salaries of players from the previous squad. However, he stated, “I felt really at ease with our current situation in terms of the resources we require.

“It’s so hard to get into specifics,” remarked the man. “Because we are aware of our numbers, but I am unaware of any other numbers.”

“Are there ranges, or do you hear things? Yeah; but I will tell you, even through some of the conversations (we had) during this (coaching search) process, some numbers I thought were accurate, or somebody was telling me a totally different number in some of these conversations. I know that was kind of a vague answer for you, but I’m very confident that we are going to have what we need to put a good roster together.”

Created in June 2022 by Louisville native Marc Spiegel of Rubicon Technologies and three others, 502 Circle has six membership options ranging from monthly donations of $25 to $850. It became the Cards’ official collective last September through a partnership with their exclusive multimedia rights holder, LEARFIELD’s Louisville Sports Properties Athletic Assets.