Kenny Payne shares how he has battled through critics in first season at Louisville

It’s been an awful first season for Kenny Payne as the head coach at his alma mater, Louisville. The Cardinals are just 4-23, which is one of the worst records in program history. It’s a record that has led to tons of criticism.

Now, Payne has explained that he battles criticism by doing his best to ignore and instead focus on what matters.

“Well, I don’t know what to say to the naysayers,” Kenny Payne said.

“I, and I hate to say this publicly, but, listen, I got a job to do, and every single day I’m fighting young people to be great. At times, they’re fighting with me. There are other times that they’re fighting against me. So, I can’t worry about what the critics are saying. I really can’t.”

Kenny Payne went on to emphasize that he’s changing the Louisville program. That’s his goal and that’s what he intends on doing, no matter what anyone thinks.

“I have faith in God. God didn’t bring me here to fail. I love the young men that are here. I’m trying to change the program. And if that means I change the program with people doubting that I can, I’m changing a program, and that’s all I have to say about it.”

Louisville picked a great night to play well, according to Payne

On Saturday, Louisville got a rare win. This one came against Clemson and it was just the fourth game this season that the Cardinals won.

After the game, Kenny Payne said that Louisville picked a great night to play well.

“I mean they couldn’t have picked a better night where the fan support was unbelievable,” Payne said postgame. “They got to do it in front of a championship team. The championship team is in the locker room with them right now celebrating. They picked a great night. Unbelievable night. Unbelievable fan support, unbelievable energy in the building. The way they play, the fight they play with, you know we’re gonna make mistakes, but we can make up for it with effort and energy,” Kenny Payne said.

“We played one of the top teams in the conference. But it goes to show if you keep working hard, anything can happen. You pour your heart into this, dedicate yourself to understanding and growing every day, you can get a win. And you can get a win against the best. And that’s what we did. One of the better teams in the conference, well coached team, experienced team. [They are] very good offensively. But we fought, we fought. We played desperate defensively. There were stretches in that game where he had multiple three stops in a row. Everything that they shot was contested. We played well. I’m proud of the guys. It’s more about them than anything else. They deserve it.”