John Calipari, Kenny Payne want rivalry to be "intense" and "very competitive" -- but "respectful"

The bitter rivarly between Kentucky and Louisville basketball simply hasn’t been all that bitter in recent years. Since John Calipari arrived in Lexington, the Wildcats have won 11 out of 14 total matchups, a complete domination on the floor. And when Rick Pitino was fired for one too many — emphasis on many — off-court scandals, the intensity died down.

David Padgett did his best, then Chris Mack did his best to make the basketball program irrelevant.

With the Cardinals in desperate need of a shake-up, they turned to an old friend in Kenny Payne.

Payne spent 10 years on Calipari’s staff at Kentucky before taking a job with the New York Knicks as an assistant coach in 2020. Then in March, Louisville brought the former Cardinal forward (1985–1989) home, hiring the 55-year-old as the program’s next head basketball coach.

His goal? Bring back the intensity that made the rivalry so great to begin with.

“We have to build a culture to where it’s a real rivalry again,” Payne said Wednesday evening at the Kentucky Chamber’s 2022 Annual Dinner.

Payne and Calipari made their first public appearance together since the former took the head coaching job at Louisville in March, with the two serving as the event’s keynote speakers. During the discussion, the longtime friends and coworkers turned rival coaches shared laughs and memories, while also acknowledging the importance of their respective roles at the state’s two biggest basketball programs.

“UofL’s program is vital for our state,” Calipari said. “That program, in our biggest city, has to do things and you have the perfect person to bring people together. I will hate playing and coaching against him but I’m happy to see him in this role. It’s good for this state. With that said, I still want to win.”

For Payne, he knows the pressure is now on his shoulders to bring the rivalry back. Calipari is going to bring it every year he’s on Kentucky’s bench, that will never be a question. Now it’s on Payne to do the same on the opposite end of the court.

The Cardinals need it, the Wildcats need it, and most importantly, the state needs it.

“The one thing we have to remember is that it’s not on this man (Calipari) to bring the rivalry, it’s on us,” Payne said. “It’s on the University of Louisville. Because this state is only going to be as good as we both are. And that’s one reason I took this job. We need the rivalry to be intense and competitive but also respectful so that we can have both schools and the state on top.”

It’s been a long time coming, Calipari says, as Payne should’ve gotten a look during the last coaching cycle before the program turned to Mack. Now, the Kentucky head coach says Louisville has someone it can trust leading the team.

“He should’ve been a head coach long ago, folks. You all are lucky,” Calipari said. “But isn’t it funny how things work out? All of a sudden, he gets to come back to his alma mater and coach at a program that is so vital for our state.”

“… Isn’t it nice to have people that are around you working with you, like Kenny was working with me, that you can totally trust? Where you can let them go do their thing, work at their pace and you know they’re going to get it done?”

Payne has similar love for Calipari, who gave him the platform to become arguably the top assistant coach in all of college basketball. The two coaches will do whatever it takes to beat the other, but the shared support and respect is permanent.

“I love John Calipari. He feels the same about me,” Payne said. “Obviously, we know that we have jobs that make us go at each other. And at the end of the day, (when) we compete against each other, he wants to beat my head, as he’s said already. I want to win the game by one.”

Calipari would like to add a few zeroes behind that margin of victory.

“Look, when we play,” Calipari said, “I want to beat (him) by 100 [laughs].”

Early on in the new head-to-head rivalry, that may be the case. Payne has a rebuild on his hands in terms of current talent on the roster and potential punishment from the NCAA. With patience and work, though, Payne sees light at the end of the tunnel.

“If you think you can achieve greatness without adversity, you’re nuts,” he said. “It’s not happening.”