Kenny Payne to Louisville Endorsements Piling Up
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When the Louisville men's basketball head coaching position opened up last week, interim athletic director Josh Heird knew that there would be significant interest in the job.
Despite the tumultuous half-decade that the program has endured, it's still one of the most attractive jobs in all of college basketball. It still has a rich history, top tier facilities, near unlimited resources, and most importantly - a passionate and loyal fanbase.
"I can assure you, while it's not every coach in the country, I would presume it's a large, large majority of folks in the country saying, 'the Louisville job's open'," Heird said.
Since the university mutually parted ways with Chris Mack last Wednesday, dozens of names have been tied to the job. They range from Bruce Pearl, to Mick Cronin and wild cards like Scott Davenport.
But out of all the candidates for the job that have been proposed, one in particular has been piling up numerous endorsements to become the next head coach of the Cardinals: current New York Knicks assistant coach Kenny Payne.
Many around the city of Louisville are clamoring for Payne, and it's hardly a shocker. He was a member of the Cardinals' 1986 championship team, and developed a plethora of relationships around the Commonwealth when he was an assistant coach at Kentucky.
Soon after the position opened, former Louisville players like Taquan Dean and James 'Boo' Brewer were quick to suggest Payne as the next head man in charge. Butch Beard, who said he wished to be disassociated with the school last January, said he would be ready to help out the program if Payne was hired.
But the Kenny Payne endorsements haven't just come from within the Jefferson County lines.
Legendary college basketball broadcaster and ESPN analyst Dick Vitale was one of the first national pundits to back Payne, tweeting out a very strong endorsement.
"Come on @LouisvilleMBB don’t waste time bring KENNY PAYNE where he belongs," Vitale posted to Twitter. "they tell me at Churchill Downs he is 10 lengths ahead. But the big ? Can the administration get the deal done - recruiting would go up big time . 5 star talents will arrive!"
He's not the only one at ESPN that gave the seal of approval for Payne. Speaking on the ACC Network show 'Bald Men on Campus', both LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg advocated for the former Cardinal.
"He's a super connector," Ellis said. "I got a chance to know him during the time where I was at Kentucky calling a game, and just watching how he is with people, and the kind of respect that - he doesn't necessarily even command it, the kids, like, give it to him. He's been in the business for 30 years, he really understands that. I think he's connected in all the right sources."
Greenberg echoed Ellis' sentiments, even going so far as to saying, like Vitale, that Louisville should hire Payne right now.
"Imagine if you went and said, the second week of February or the first week of February, if you were able to hire Kenny Payne," Greenberg said. "He could hit the road recruiting, he could basically find a way to build a bridge to connect back the community to the program, maybe eliminate a little bit of that (NCAA) dark cloud. Bring the former players back, bring the community back get the community back involved."
Even Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, who hired Payne back in August of 2020, believed that he would be a great fit for the Cardinals.
“He’d be ideal for (Louisville),” he said. "He’s strong on both sides of the ball, he’s strong with individual development. And he’s been around. He brings a lot of experience to any situation that he goes to.”
Following his four-year career at Louisville where he was a 1,000 point scorer, he was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA Draft by the Sixers, playing in Philadelphia for four season.
Payne has never been a head coach in either the college or professional, but he has extensive experience as an assistant. He spent five seasons with Oregon, then had a 10-year stint with the Wildcats. There. he developed a reputation as an elite recruiter, helping secure a top-three class in every one of his 10 season in Lexington.
(Photo of Kenny Payne via the Associated Press)
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