Kenny Payne says he has "one of the best staffs" in CBB after Louisville finishes season 4-28

The Big Blue Nation still admires Kenny Payne, but he’s certainly not doing himself any favors with Card Nation.

In his first year as the head coach at Louisville, Payne’s return to college basketball (finally) came to a disappointing end. The Cardinals lost in the opening round of the 2023 ACC Tournament on Tuesday evening to Boston College, 80-62, as the program closed out what was arguably the worst season in school history. Louisville finished with an overall record of 4-28, including a 2-18 mark in conference play and entering the league tournament as the lowest possible seed.

The last time Louisville won just four games in a single season was all the way back in 1937-38 when the Cardinals finished 4-11. During Payne’s first run as head coach, UL started the season 0-9 before picking up its first win against Western Kentucky at home. Louisville would beat Florida A&M the next game out on Dec. 17 but didn’t pick up another victory until they beat Georgia Tech on Feb. 1 — nearly seven weeks in between wins.

It was about as disastrous of a season as any Louisville fan could have asked for. Even though Payne wasn’t exactly put into an ideal situation when he accepted the role, for a high-profile program like Louisville to win just four games is not going to sit well with the fan base. Payne’s postgame comments after his team’s season came to an end likely won’t help, either.

When asked by a reporter how he would assess his staff’s performance throughout the season, Payne gave an… interesting… response.

“I can tell you I have one of the best staffs in college basketball,” Payne said after losing to Boston College. “I can tell you that they’re unique individuals that have had so much success in this game. I can’t believe you just asked that question. Because you’re looking at guys that have accomplished more in their life as players — forget coaching, their experience in life is why I hired them. They are great coaches and they gave these kids love every day. I don’t even understand the question. What is there to evaluate?”

Kenny Payne on his staff: They did their jobs, they did a great job. I love my staff. pic.twitter.com/bFseAiGqCQ

— Mark Blankenbaker (@UofLSheriff50) March 8, 2023

Louisville fans would probably argue there’s plenty to evaluate. Finishing the season ranked No. 292 in KenPom as a Power 5 program is more than enough reason to do some evaluating in the offseason.