Ad Disclosure
Friedlander: Kenny Payne was the wrong coach at the wrong time for Louisville
Published:
WASHINGTON, DC – Kenny Payne didn’t have much of a record to defend when he was asked about his future Tuesday at what will be his final postgame press conference as Louisville’s basketball coach.
So he simply defended himself.
“When I walked into the program as the new head coach, I talked about how I needed everybody on the same page,” he said after Louisville lost to NC State in the opening round of the ACC Tournament. “We sort of forgot that.
“I talked about how I’m not going to let you blame me. I’m not standing up here by myself. I need all of Louisville with me. We sort of forgot that.
“I talked about how it’s going to take time and I’m going to watch and see who jumped on and off the Titanic. We sort of forgot that.
“We talked about how I gave a specific time. I said 3 or 4 years. And I’m good with it. That’s what I believed at that time and that’s what I still believe it takes to fix this program.”
Payne may be right about the length of time necessary to make the Cardinals competitive again, let alone respectable. He just won’t be around to help complete the process. Multiple media outlets have reported that he is expected to be fired, possibly as soon as Wednesday.
The former Louisville star helped his alma mater win a national championship as a freshman forward in 1986. The decision to part ways with Payne was a no-brainer. He had to go after managing only 12 total victories and going 5-34 in the ACC during his dismal 2-season tenure. But that didn’t make the move any easier for athletic director Josh Heird.
Bet $10, Get $150 States: AZ, CO, DC, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, PA, VA, WV /// First Bet Bonus Up to $1500: IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, NV, NY, OH, TN, WY
Payne is a beloved member of the Cardinals family whose passion for the school and its program is undeniable. It was on full display for the handful of media members there to see it Tuesday when he said that coaching at Louisville was more than just a job for him.
He simply wasn’t prepared for the enormity of the opportunity he inherited.
Louisville’s program was already a mess before Payne arrived thanks to a series of missteps that led to NCAA sanctions, a national championship banner being removed from the rafters of Yum! Center and extortion charges against former assistant Dino Gaudio as part of a play-for-play scandal.
It was a reclamation project that screamed for an experienced coach with an established track record as a builder.
Instead, Heird hired a rookie in need of on-the-job training and threw him into the most difficult situation imaginable. One that turned him into Louisville’s version of Matt Doherty at North Carolina and left him open to criticism from the media, from fans who stopped coming to home games in droves and worst of all, from those who should have supported him the most.
His fellow former players.
“Whether I’m the coach or not,” Payne said, “I can look in the mirror and say I gave it everything I had to help this program.”
21+ only. NC only. Subject to eligibility requirements. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov.
Despite a solid resume that includes apprenticeships under Hall of Famer John Calipari at Kentucky and 2-time NBA Coach of the Year Tom Thibodeau with the New York Knicks, everything Payne has just wasn’t enough.
That doesn’t make him a failure. He might someday become a better coach because of the lumps he’s taken these past 2 seasons at his alma mater.
This time, he just happened to be the wrong man at the wrong time.
RELATED: North Carolina online sports betting has gone live, allowing legal sports gamblers in the Tar Heel State the chance to place online wagers on the ACC Tournament, NCAA Tournament and more.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
