There’s nothing like coming home, and that holds true for Kenny Payne.
Today, the University of Louisville, his alma mater, announced Payne as their new head men’s basketball coach.
Payne played for the Cardinals from 1985 to 1989 under coach Denny Crum and scored 1,089 points in his career. He was also a freshman on the Cardinals’ 1986 national championship squad that was led by super frosh, “Never Nervous” Pervis Ellison.
Now he returns to the Cardinals on a six-year deal that runs through the 2027-28 season.
“I don’t have all the answers,” Payne said to the crowd after asking them to stand with him. “but I know what I have to take this job and try to help build the answers. I’m one person. I’m not standing here by myself again. I’m not standing here by myself.”
Payne spent 10 years with John Calipari at Kentucky, five at Oregon and the last two years with the Knicks.
Now the 55-year-old returns home as the program’s first Black head coach.
“To accept the job at the University of Louisville, it took a lot to get to this point,” Payne said. “I say, give me the worst-case scenario. Don’t give it your best [case]. I know what the best is. Give me the worst. I understand what that means.”
It’s good he recognizes the worst because he’s walking into a very tough situation.
He’s heading up a program that finished 13-18 last season and is facing possible NCAA penalties stemming from a 2017 federal corruption investigation of college basketball.
This means Payne faces the same dilemma many Black NFL head coaches face- the role of the cleanup man.
They take over teams that are in a state of disarray, right the ship and then are fired after the hard work is done.
We saw that this past season with the Texans and David Culley and the Dolphins with Brian Flores.
Hopefully, this doesn’t happen to Kenny Payne, especially because he played for the university.
But with the response he’s received so far, it seems like the program and its supporters are firmly behind him and want him to succeed.
“After a thorough national search during which we sat down with a number of expectational coaches, it was clear that Kenny Payne was what we need,” said interim Director of Athletics Josh Heird.
Kenny Payne knows what he’s facing and is ready for the challenge.
“While there are challenges, I see opportunities, and if we are united and aligned, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish,” said Payne. “Our fans and community deserve a championship basketball program fueled by exceptional and high-character student-athletes, and it is my responsibility to deliver on that vision. I cannot wait to get started.”
