This week Elias sits down with men’s basketball player, Mike Kelsey.

Elias Hajjar: Sharell Snardon said last week in the Hot Seat that the men’s team wouldn’t have a better record than the women’s team once the season ended. Is she right? Mike Kelsey: No, definitely not. I think we’ll definitely have a better record than the women’s team. They are coming into the year as one of the top teams, and we’re coming in and no one really knows about us yet. It would be wrong for me to say they would have a better record than us, but I hope they win as many games as possible too. But I don’t think she’s right.

EH: With the departure of Brenden Stowers you have taken over as the leader/go-to-guy on the team. Do you like the pressure and responsibility that comes with the role? MK: Definitely. You always want to be the guy who takes the last shot, and Brenden was that for us last year and he did a good job with it. I’ll take the torch and run with it.

EH: You scored a game-high 15 points against the University of Cincinnati. Are you good enough to play for the Bearcats? MK: I think a lot of guys on our team could play for the Bearcats. Some of the guys on our team can shoot the ball better than anyone they have. EH: Is UC overrated? MK: They got a lot of guys hurt. They played with about five guys, but when we played them, I didn’t think they were a top-15 team in the nation. I think the guys who were sitting out are going to be key players for them, so you can’t really tell yet.

EH: Do you think college athletes should get paid? MK: No. That would just ruin college sports. They get their school paid for, so I consider that getting paid enough.

EH: In the first Hot Seat ever (last semester), I asked teammate Sean Rowland if he should be a starter on the team and he said jokingly, no “I can’t jump, I’m slow, I’m not athletic and I can’t shoot.” With that said, how do you feel about him being the starting point guard this season? MK: I think he totally won the job. He deserves it, he’s a hard worker like a lot of us on this team. We’re not the most athletic team, we’re not the fastest and can’t jump the highest, but hard work is going to take us a long way. Sean is a great leader, and to have him as a point guard is great.

EH: Your brother is a former Xavier University basketball player and current assistant coach under Skip Prosser at Wake Forest University. In a one-on-one game between the two of you, who wins? MK: Right now, I win. It would be a much closer battle if I was playing him during his prime, but right now he’s been out of it for a couple of years, so there would definitely be some fights and stuff here and there, but I think I can take him.

EH: Fact or fiction: Ken Shields is the best coach you’ve ever played for? MK: Fact. He knows how to win.

EH: Fact or fiction: Sean Rowland is the worst shooter on the team? MK: Fiction. Sean is a good shooter; he just thinks he can’t shoot and if he just goes out there and quits thinking about it, he’s a good shooter.

EH: Fact or fiction: Lisa Guererro is a better sideline reporter than Melissa Stark was on Monday Night Football? MK: Fact. She’s a good-looking woman and I just think she’s better.