Kenny Payne identifies realistic expectations for 2022-23

There’s not a lot to base predictions on when it comes to Kenny Payne’s first season at Louisville. To start, it’s Payne’s first ever head coaching job after being an assistant for 18 years in college and the NBA. After that, he has taken over a program going through roster turnover coming off a 13-19 season. Finally, he’s inheriting the mess of the Cardinals NCAA and FBI investigations.

That’s a lot of elements factoring into Payne’s debut season with the Cards. Louisville fans, though, will expect a quick and swift about face. In a recent interview with the ACC Digital Network, Payne shared what he thought were reasonable expectations for his team come the fall.

“(It’s) hard to answer that question. For me personally, I think it’s the culture,” he said. “The change of culture, putting together a program that’s built on hard work, dedication, character, discipline.”

It’s all about the foundation he sets down at the start of his tenure. If they are to return to their national prominence from year’s past, Payne will have to navigate them past the debacles from recent years. He made it clear, though, that he was not slighting the work of the coaches who came before him.

“It’s not that those things weren’t here before,” said Payne. “I’m not saying that. I’m saying it by doing it on my own in my own perspective.”

Payne has been recognized as one of the best development coaches in the sport. He’s also been a part of a pair of national championships as a player and a coach. Pair that with his experience from the Denny Crum years and Payne knows exactly how to lead the Cardinals out of this era and into the new one. How quickly his cure takes effect, though, remains to be seen once he starts next season.