This^^^^ I think too much is made of KP’s recruiting prowess. Calipari/UK attracted high caliber talent before, during and after Kenny. Too much, in my opinion, credit is given to Kenny in this area. Take UK, Calipari, WWW and Nike out of the equation, then what did Kenny do?
My Coaches wish list
- Thread starter KerryRhodes
- Start date
Many of the big men that came thru UK give Payne the credit for their development. A quick google search will show the respect and devotion many of these now very well known NBA players have for KP.
I know Anthony Davis thinks highly of KP. I’m sure you’re correct that many others think highly of him as well. But none of that speaks to his qualifications as a head coach. That said, if the final choice is Kenny, I’ll be rooting my *** off for him.
You asked what Kenny had done other than use recruiting connections. I’m letting you know that he did a lot to coach up these big men. That doesn’t necessarily prove that he’s head coach material but it does show that he’s more than a one trick pony.
We talked about this earlier in a post but if you look at the top seeds in the tourney, the most common denominator is that the coach has been with the same program for a significant amount of time. That being said one of the top picks for the title is Arizona who is coached by a guy who was a career assistant prior to this year.
Thoughts?
Matt McMahon, Murray State
Why McMahon? Somebody is likely to grab him from Murray State -- and soon. He has the Racers at 30-2 and looking to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. He's taken Murray to the NCAA Tournament three times in the past four years (not counting the canceled season) and the only time he failed to was during a season upended by COVID. He recruited Ja Morant to Murray, but even without the best player he's coached, he now has his best team.
Why not McMahon? Murray State has been his only coaching stop, and he's managed just one NCAA Tournament win in seven seasons – though that could be changing.
Matt McMahon, Murray State
Why McMahon? Somebody is likely to grab him from Murray State -- and soon. He has the Racers at 30-2 and looking to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. He's taken Murray to the NCAA Tournament three times in the past four years (not counting the canceled season) and the only time he failed to was during a season upended by COVID. He recruited Ja Morant to Murray, but even without the best player he's coached, he now has his best team.
Why not McMahon? Murray State has been his only coaching stop, and he's managed just one NCAA Tournament win in seven seasons – though that could be changing.
Really can throw all these coaches into a hat and whomever is pulled out is going to have issues. Outside Drew and Wright whom may not be realistic they all have warts.
The other thing is none of these coaches at Power 5 schools have recruited without Nike. Keep that in mind. Nobody wins without dudes.
The other thing is none of these coaches at Power 5 schools have recruited without Nike. Keep that in mind. Nobody wins without dudes.
Does he have the confidence and gravitas to handle the uofl job? I’ve never heard much about him or from him, so I have no idea. He does run a fun offense and certainly has had great success.
Be careful when you say success on this board. Apparently you have to win a NC, several conference tournament championships, and a bunch of NCAAT games to be considered successful.
Well, that's what success looks like at UofL.
I'm not interested in watering down the definition of "success". That's a variation of lowering the bar. And I'm not into emphasizing goals like GPA and graduating fine young men or women. That reads like stuff in lieu of winning games and what I see on the court/field.
If it comes to that, I'd rather just acknowledge we ain't as good as we used to be. Nor can we expect that to change. More than likely it's the truth...
If it comes to that, I'd rather just acknowledge we ain't as good as we used to be. Nor can we expect that to change. More than likely it's the truth...
Success is having teams that can compete for titles. When that happens consistently then titles, conference and national, become reality.
This new age college sports makes it more challenging to maintain success.
This new age college sports makes it more challenging to maintain success.
The University of Louisville has scheduled a Board of Trustees Meeting for tomorrow at 1:00 https://louisville.edu/president/boards/board-of-trustees/BOTCommitteesAgendaspublic3172022.pdf…
1:13 PM · Mar 16, 2022·TweetDeck
1:13 PM · Mar 16, 2022·TweetDeck
Dick Vitale
@DickieV
The VBDI said it weeks ago the right choice who checks all the boxes is KENNY PAYNE for
@LouisvilleMBB
.
@rickbozich
@ericcrawford
@TimSullivan714
https://t.co/q9OSE33O4K
He is very dialed in. The BOT is meeting tomorrow. ULAA will need to meet first and then BOT will go into executive session to bless the hire.
Amazing that the worst U of L antagonist sees this but some of our alleged fanbase doesn't.
Matt Jones
@KySportsRadio
Kenny Payne is a hire that will unite the Louisville fanbase and give them something to latch onto, which they need He will recruit very well and is beloved by players. How much he wins remains to be seen but he is a great dude who deserves the opportunity
3:18 PM · Mar 16, 2022
Matt Jones
@KySportsRadio
Kenny Payne is a hire that will unite the Louisville fanbase and give them something to latch onto, which they need He will recruit very well and is beloved by players. How much he wins remains to be seen but he is a great dude who deserves the opportunity
3:18 PM · Mar 16, 2022
I’ve been in the Payne Train and you have as well. Fans will rally around him. Everyone on here lives and breathes uofl basketball and wants what’s best for our program, especially after the **** show of the last several years. It’s not surprising at all that people would have differences of opinion. If people don’t want to get on the train then they will be kicking themselves that they didn’t get on. But I’m not gonna dunk on people who weren’t sure who was best for their beloved program.
Well stated. I’ll say this though - while I support Payne’s hiring and want him to be a home run - time will tell whether or not it was a good hire. As for if he was “best for the program”, who knows really but given our current downtrodden circumstances - perhaps he was the best that we could get.
The man has guts to take this on this is a real dumpster fire. He must have a lot of confidence. That might be a real good thing.
We'll see. Looking forward to seeing who the hell will be on this team next year.
Good luck Kenny!
We'll see. Looking forward to seeing who the hell will be on this team next year.
Good luck Kenny!
!!!
Imagine that, we did not extend a 1 year contract for a coach that finished 22-14 and went to the NIT, because he did not meet U of L basketball expectations... I would take that 20 times over now. Oh if we only had the hot tub time machine.
That means only that he has been a very good assistant coach with Bigs. Nothing more.
The BE today is not as strong as. a few years back, which obviously was not as strong when the BE was its original self.
I beg to differ the Big East became recognized as the best basketball conference between 2005-2013.
How old are you? Nothing the BE did then came close to equaling what the league was when Syracuse, Georgetown and St Johns were all at top points, with Villanova right on their heels and everybody else tough.
Pittsburgh and Syracuse should have never left none of the schools have been the same since. The Big East was super conference from the 80’s till it fell apart. Now it is a pretty good conference.
They had 3 schools that were contenders back in the 80’s that didn’t make them the best years for the conference. After their expansion in 2005 the conference had 6 teams that could compete for a National Title. Based on your interpretation that would mean the Metro Conference and CUSA were great conferences because they had 3 contenders as well.
Yeah they were a good conference but they had more teams ranked and were national contenders from 2005-2013. In 1985 Memphis was the other team in that Final Four and in 1986 Louisville won the National Title. So back then the Big East and the Metro Conference were on equal ground so I wouldn’t call that the best years of the Big East.
Yeah sure. You were probably saying that about KP when we were searching for Mack's successor too.
Did Musselman just move up everyone's list with the "take your shirt off and twist it spin it like a helicopter!" loved that celebration. I could handle that for our Cards!
