Kenny Payne explains the importance of honoring Denny Crum, former Louisville players

In his first season as the head coach at Louisville, Kenny Payne has been making the rounds at ACC Media Day. There, he explained why he feels it’s important to honor former members of the program. That, notably, included Denny Crum, who coached there for three decades and recently had a dorm on campus named after him.

When Kenny Payne played at Louisville and won a national championship as a player, he did so under Denny Crum. Of all the college coaches who impacted Payne and his career, you could argue that Crum had the largest. When Payne speaks about Crum, you can feel that impact as well.

“One is, I played for a guy who is a Hall of Fame coach, but more importantly [is] a Hall of Fame person,” Kenny Payne said. “Who gave so much to Louisville. Two national titles. So many Final Fours.”

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“To be a part of his program, to be a disciple of his, to give back to the players, which was very important for me, coming back to the school, was that all those guys, regardless of who you played for, you’re a part of this. You’re family. I can’t sit in that seat and allow people to forget who you are, what you’ve done,” Kenny Payne explained.

Kenny Payne went on to explain how he wants to bring the community together. By bringing that community together to honor people like Denny Crum, he has the opportunity to show off excellence and what the standard is at Louisville.

“So, it’s been a lot of goodwill. Bringing the former players and honoring Denny, and the dorm that we have now is unbelievable and it’s a great example of what excellence is, is what he was as a coach.”

Kenny Payne’s first game as the Louisville head coach is against Bellarmine on November 9th.