Kenny Payne 'Surprised' by 'Hatred', Negative Recruiting Against Louisville
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When Kenny Payne took over as the head coach of the Louisville men's basketball program earlier this year, his hiring was met by near-universal acclaim. From fans to those in the college basketball media, there were very few who weren't excited to hear that Payne was taking over the Cardinals.
Now that he has been on the job for roughly half a year, Payne has discovered the segment of people who are actively pulling against his program, specifically opposing coaching out on the recruiting trail.
Speaking at the St. Stephen Baptist Men's Ministry Prayer Breakfast over the weekend, Payne touched on a variety of topics, including the amount of "hatred" his program is facing from others in basketball.
"One of the things that I've been surprised about is how many people across the country have interest in us. But, with that comes something that I wasn't prepared for, and that was the hatred," Payne said via WHAS11. "I wasn't prepared for universities to say, 'Louisville is going on probation, why would you ever go there?' all to deter these kids from listening. Especially from people that I've helped in the past. That's a lesson for me."
As many fans know, Louisville's men's basketball program is in the midst of an ongoing NCAA infractions case, stemming from the recruitment of Brian Bowen/Adidas pay-for-play scheme as well as allegations that occurred under former head coach Chris Mack. Louisville is expected to learn their punishment from the case sometime before the start of the 2022-23 season.
Payne also noted that a lot of the "hatred" he and his program have faced out of the recruiting trail has come people that he has longstanding relationships with.
"As I've taken this job, and I hate to say this, my relationships with certain people that have been in my life for 30-40 years has changed," he said. "That hurts me. It hurts. I haven't dwelled in it, but it's something that I have to deal with daily."
Considering that Payne spent a decade at Kentucky as an assistant coach before a brief stop with the New York Knicks, many could interpret that these comments are directed at Wildcats head coach John Calipari. However, Payne has reiterated multiple times this offseason that he and Calipari will remain friends despite now being fierce rivals.
"It won’t be the negative hatred for John Calipari from me," Payne said to CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein's on College Hoops Today back in May, talking about whenever it comes time for Louisville and Kentucky to face off. "It’ll be a game that I’m going try to do everything in my power to help my team win and he’s going to do the same. I hope I win by one, but we’ll see how that goes and regardless of what happens, we’re going to give it our best shot.”
It's hard to determine if the negative recruiting against Louisville has played a sizable role since Payne took over, but it's hard to argue that recruiting in the 2022 cycle left some to be desired. While Payne did land Devin Ree, Fabion Basili and Tennessee transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, the Cardinals were spurned by several guard prospects over the summer, both in transfer portal and out of high school.
That being said, there is hope that recruiting for the Cards will skyrocket in the Class of 2023. Louisville is deep in the mix for D.J. Wagner, the No. 1 prospect in the class, as well as high profile players like Aaron Bradshaw, A.J. Johnson, Curtis Williams and others.
(Photo of Kenny Payne: Scott Utterback - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK)
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